Hawks stun fans (and players) with letter announcing full-on rebuild

The Blackhawks make it official, even if Jonathan Toews isn’t happy about it.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Hawks stun fans (and players) with letter announcing full-on rebuild
Zuma Press

The Chicago Blackhawks have made it official, sending their season ticket holders a letter on Tuesday confirming the team was committed to a rebuild after trading winger Brandon Saad and allowing veteran goaltender Corey Crawford to leave in free agency this month.

All that despite the reaction from captain Jonathan Toews, star forward Patrick and veteran defenseman Duncan Keith, who have openly criticized the moves in the past weeks. 

“We recently said goodbye to a pair of popular, two-time champions and acquired some new players via trade and free agency,” the letter reads.”We understand it was tough to see those respected veterans go and realize you may have some questions about our direction. We’d like to address that direction and share why we’re hopeful for the future of Blackhawks hockey.

“We’re committed to developing young players and rebuilding our roster. We want more than another window to win; we want to reach the summit again, and stay there — an effort that will require a stockpile of emerging talent to complement our top players.

“The influx of youth and their progression will provide roster flexibility and depth throughout our lineup. We were already the youngest team in the 2020 playoffs and several Blackhawks experienced that intensity for the first time; this will help to further establish a culture that embraces the grind of improvement driven by competitors who are relentless, engaged and motivated by a team-first mentality to win.

“As our young players develop and learn how to win consistently, they’ll make some mistakes. Inevitably, we’ll miss the mark sometimes, too, but we’ll communicate openly with you on this journey together.

“We know that what comes next must be more than just words, and that inspires us.”

It has been a tough couple of years from the Hawks, who still managed to defeat the Edmonton Oilers in the qualifying round of this year’s playoffs before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. However, no one can ignore the fact that the Blackhawks have not advanced past the first round of the postseason since winning the Stanley Cup in 2015.

Something had to be done and Bowman has made it official, hoping fans will understand and be patient with the process. 

It reminds us of the time when the New York Rangers, back at the trade deadline in 2018, communicated with the fans to let them know they were embarking a rebuilding phase and were hoping to see fans supporting the process and get on board. That ultimately wasn’t followed by a complete gutting of the roster, but a decent number of notable veterans — Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Michael Grabner, Nick Holden — were shipped out. But so far, the Rangers have been looking better and better… 

This might be another tough pill to swallow for a guy like Toews who reacted strongly to the announcement prior to the opening of free agency that Crawford would not return after spending 13 seasons with the team and that Saad and defenceman Dennis Gilbert had been traded to t he Colorado Avalanche for Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm one day after the free agent market opened.

“Bottom line is, I want to win,” Toews said. “The expectation for the other leaders on this team and myself is to come ready to training camp every year to be a playoff team. We prepare ourselves to win a Cup for our fans. I’ve never been told that we were going through a rebuild. That has never been communicated to me, for that matter. A lot of this comes as a shock because it’s a completely different direction than we expected.”

We bet now, the message is clear for Toews and other veterans on the team… 

Like most fans, they might not be thrilled with the new plan. 


Source: NHL