Did KD slip a note under his door? IMHO Richardson got a raw deal, he just didn’t have the horses, however he did have them in every game

Careful what you wish for. Holland was really good when he didn't have to deal with a salary cap. After that not so much.
- HawkintheD

Not a perfect human but did pretty well last year. A bounce away from the Stanley Cup in a Game 7. Hardly "not so much." Made impactful trades in the last couple of seasons, found a coach the players played for, saw something in the goalie that was mostly vindicated.

I agree with this 100% and unfortunately your thoughts ended up being prophetic. ...... So it's LR that is the problem? If so the first known chink in KD's plan, the hiring of LR? Or, will it end up it wasn't LR that was the problem.

Does it show KD is succumbing to pressure, doesn't have what it takes to see something thru , doesn't have the political capital to see things thru adversity or he's being a wise pragmatist and simply adjusting to events and fixing wrongs? Does it show us anything good or bad about Danny?...... Who called for LR to be whacked?

I see Danny as a least resistant hates confrontation kind a guy so far. To some degree I'm wrong? ............

Really liked LR's steady hand and path that started with 1,400 NHL games as a no nonsense NHL Dman. I'll miss the guy.
- Mr Ricochet

He had me until he skated Bedard with Richardinson and Joey Anderson. How does that help the kid develop? They spent the entire Florida game in their zone chasing....I was there. Did Savard skate Kane with Kevyn Adams and Yanic Perrault? That's my point. I get he needs to be better in all 3 zones, and like Kane, I am sure he will be.....but for a kid who is struggling this year to score, skating him a checking role is the most idiotic thing I have seen yet as a fan.

So far that....and the way he handled the Hall benching, the mind games with Kurashev/Reichel/Allan hard to defend his end here. I was supportive until the last 10+ games and he lost me and this team's inablity to routinely hold 1-2 goal leads entering the 3rd period alone....you can blame players but the lines, the matchups, the system also beg to question exactly what the hell he was doing?

Rumour has it Bedsy complained to his father about the f'd up situation and dad talked to KD. It's either Luke or me.

Rumour has it Bedsy complained to his father about the f'd up situation and dad talked to KD. It's either Luke or me.
- boilermaker100

where did this rumor come from? If you say Eklund.....

I don't disagree.

You have a very HUGE asset in Bedard but he's 19. He also has ZERO help around him and to expect this kid to carry a line at 19 is not fair. He doesn't have the Toews or kane that each had a young age OR even Sharp OR Marty Havlat. He has a broken down Taylor Hall, a disengaged Teuvo, and whatever the hell Bertuzzi is because effort and speed aren't there for 59.

With how deep their prospect pool is on D we all best pray that the big raw D kid down in Rockford HITS because the kid in Philly looks pretty damn good. Not saying he's a bust but adding to a deep pool where you are somewhat thin at F doesnt' make sense to me.

Davidson desperately needs to find 98 a LEGIT top line player and soon. With the Rangers looking to make a major move and Vancouver possibly shopping Miller....why not make the call? I mean what is the plan for 98 to have that player this year or even next year because I dont see it on the roster NOW or in the system being NHL ready
- SteveRain

Michkov was drafted the year before and wasn't an option unless you wanted him over Bedard. I think you may be thinking of Dedimov who still is in the mother country and hasn't played a NHL game yet.

Rumour has it Bedsy complained to his father about the f'd up situation and dad talked to KD. It's either Luke or me.
- boilermaker100

Another rumour has it Richardson slept with his mom.

Michkov was drafted the year before and wasn't an option unless you wanted him over Bedard. I think you may be thinking of Dedimov who still is in the mother country and hasn't played an NHL game yet.
- boilermaker100

Thank you....that's who I was thinking about...

where did this rumor come from? If you say Eklund.....
- SteveRain

A Boilermaker special.

Another rumour has it Richardson slept with his mom.
- stevefrmglencoe

Touche.

Beginning December 15, 14 of the next 19 games at home including the Winter Classic at Wrigley. Look for Nazar to be called up, possibly Lev or KK to hype attendance and interest.

A Boilermaker special.

- boilermaker100

Is that a (BM5)

Is that a (BM5)
- SteveRain

negative 5

Davidson is the problem. He is over his head. Richardson may turn out to be a good coach eventually, but probably better suited as an assistant.

Not cloud 9 at the expense of a guy who lost his job. Too bad for him he didn't get a 3 year extension like Granato. I have to wonder if they reached out to him and if he would take the job knowing there are 4 years of losing ahead of him.

They looked terrible against Columbus. I unfortunately was at that one and I saw Wirtz sitting in owner's box. The too many men penalty last night against Boston was not a good look.

I think Davidson will probably get another draft but would not surprise me to see Holland or some other long time NHL guy come in and take over at the end of the season.
- stevefrmglencoe

No doubt, that CLB game was bad but next game the destroyed one of/the hottest club in the sport, TOR, in the fancies...... And, will the next guy keep the club within a goal going into the 3rd like LR has 23 outa 24ish times? Does that matter?

I thought from Day 1 Danny would take the path of least resistance and hire KD 3 yrs ago. I was ok with a 33 yr old, worked his way up from being an intern, first time ever runnin a club kid but not without a safety net of an old time Hockey Man to oversee him and just as importantly bring in new and experienced eyes into Hockey ops.

I like most everything KD has done but would not surprise me a bit if he failed. With his resume and allowed to run an NHL hockey club without a safety net or an experienced hockey man to oversee him he would seem to have to beat the odds to be successful.

No doubt, that CLB game was bad but next game the destroyed one of/the hottest club in the sport, TOR, in the fancies...... And, will the next guy keep the club within a goal going into the 3rd like LR has 23 outa 24ish times? Does that matter?

I thought from Day 1 Danny would take the path of least resistance and hire KD 3 yrs ago. I was ok with a 33 yr old, worked his way up from being an intern, first time ever runnin a club kid but not without a safety net of an old time Hockey Man to oversee him and just as importantly bring in new and experienced eyes into Hockey ops.

I like most everything KD has done but would not surprise me a bit if he failed. With his resume and allowed to run an NHL hockey club without a safety net or an experienced hockey man to oversee him he would seem to have to beat the odds to be successful.
- Mr Ricochet

Had a couple of interactions with him and watch all of the shows, he is certainly a nice guy. Hopefully, this is a turning point for him and the franchise.

The older players all know they are incredibly overpaid and getting way more ice time than they deserve. They got a guy fired. With the record, Richardson may never get another head coaching job again. They all need to play with more passion and fire. I don't think Sorensen has the gravitas to make Bertuzzi and TT play with more purpose but I hope I am wrong.

In another 10-20 games, the call ups will start. At the deadline there will be a handful of trades. Soon the college season's will end and those guys will get their few late season games. In the offseason, 3 or 4 more veterans will be signed as place holders. After a few more seasons, this could be a playoff contender.

He had me until he skated Bedard with Richardinson and Joey Anderson. How does that help the kid develop? They spent the entire Florida game in their zone chasing....I was there. Did Savard skate Kane with Kevyn Adams and Yanic Perrault? That's my point. I get he needs to be better in all 3 zones, and like Kane, I am sure he will be.....but for a kid who is struggling this year to score, skating him a checking role is the most idiotic thing I have seen yet as a fan.

So far that....and the way he handled the Hall benching, the mind games with Kurashev/Reichel/Allan hard to defend his end here. I was supportive until the last 10+ games and he lost me and this team's inablity to routinely hold 1-2 goal leads entering the 3rd period alone....you can blame players but the lines, the matchups, the system also beg to question exactly what the hell he was doing?
- SteveRain

The benchings of Allan and Reichel worked, Steve. It worked! And agreed, if you're gonna scratch an NHL vet of Hall's acclaim and not talk to him beforehand is malpractice.

I was fine with D!ckinson centering Bedard if only to get the little boy to wing. You do you remember last yr of the historically horrendous off the puck yr Bedard had, the worst since fancies had been invented according to Dom at The Athletic, he was best with Foligno statistically than any other player. Like Foligno, D!ckinson has the 2 way game to somehow mitigate Bedard's horrific hockey playing so I was good with that.

But having Anderson on that line made zero sense. Those were wasted valuable NHL shifts that are gone forever and gives the appearance of a rudderless ship. ...... And even though with what I thought was too many and frequent lineup changes none was a firing offense.

Depending on the reason I can be ok with the firing but I'm afraid it could be the first sign of an in waaaaay over his head OWNER. Anyone who has watched the Bears since the 70's, that bastard Reinhorn for 5 minutes and Dollar Bill Wirtz knows bad ownership can and does make for 30-40-60 yrs of futility even in a world class city.

That is my concern and young Danny Boy's seemingly path of least resistance, can't stomach confrontation DNA supports my concern in my world.

I get they've not won games but his assistant GM literally said "where the goals gonna come from" and that's been their biggest issue.

I suppose they had to do something but wow. Wonder what their expectations actually are and who could possibly fix that?
- fattybeef

I imagine it might be somewhere in the range of winning close to 50% of the 1 goal games you are in -not sure if that is realistic at this point, of it is should be a stretch goal.

Next question is who are they going to bring in? King is definitely not the guy... Wait until Laviolette gets the axe in NY? Gallant? Boudreau? Hakstol?
- Popsghostly

I thought that King was the guy that would get the axe, not LR. Dean has done a good job with the young D, hope that they keep him around.

Not a perfect human but did pretty well last year. A bounce away from the Stanley Cup in a Game 7. Hardly "not so much." Made impactful trades in the last couple of seasons, found a coach the players played for, saw something in the goalie that was mostly vindicated.
- stevefrmglencoe

What about his time in Detroit after the salary cap was a factor? That was largely my reference point.

Something tells me if KFC or a subsequent GM oversees one Stanley Cup appearance during their tenure you wouldn't be happy.

I get they've not won games but his assistant GM literally said "where the goals gonna come from" and that's been their biggest issue.

I suppose they had to do something but wow. Wonder what their expectations actually are and who could possibly fix that?
- fattybeef

Great questions, fatty. Can't wait to get some reporting on this. Not expecting much but hoping the national guys can get us some answers that matters, not just get em hits.

I'm afraid the losing might continue but this time they won't be within a goal going into the 3rde 23 outa 24ish times.

The Granato in the studio for Hawk games. Is that the one that was the BUF coach? If so I wonder if he would have agreed to take over for the last 55 games? .... I liked those young BUF squads under him and they were young.

To bad for LR, i hope the other coach has them working on possession and doesn't have a line blender. Don't mind a line mixer but the line blender was a bit crazy.

Not being the worst team in the league is likely a start.....

I thought high 70s-low 80s point wise should have been realistic. Part of that is on Davidson but like all GMs he fired his coach to buy himself a little more time.

The timing is odd.....missed a chance to get Montgomery Have to think this decision wasn't just made in the last week, but again...nobody here knows that for sure.
- SteveRain

Forgot about that. Monty would look good behind the Hawk bench....... ,Really look forward to some reporting on this. Love to know the who, what when, where and why on the move.

Steve from Glencoe just called me and asks, "Since he was hired, have you heard any sports writer, hockey writer say ANYTHING negative about Luke Richardson?"

Nobody with strong second guesses on his abilities or reasoning.

It is difficult to attempt to frame this as a Kyle decision but more of a owner decision.


NOW the heat shifts to Davidson's early trades, recent signings, and post season activity.

Forgot about that. Monty would look good behind the Hawk bench....... ,Really look forward to some reporting on this. Love to know the who, what when, where and why on the move.
- Mr Ricochet

Hope if the Pens launch Sullivan
, KD gives him a call.

Next question is who are they going to bring in? King is definitely not the guy... Wait until Laviolette gets the axe in NY? Gallant? Boudreau? Hakstol?
- Popsghostly

King IS the guy who from the GET-go Luke was told was a coach on his staff.