Uncomfortable Thoughts About the Rebuild

I had a selfish worry this season.

I knew going into this season that I wouldn't be able to follow hockey as intimately as I wanted. With an MBA program on the plate (which is aiming squarely at my gonads) and a full-time job, sacrifices were going to be made. I feared that if the Hawks were taking that next step in the rebuild (a step in the right direction), I wouldn't be able to be a total hockey weirdo about it. I worried that I'd miss writing in-depth breakdowns as the Hawks played a fun brand of hockey.

I don't think we have to worry about that, and that's a bad thing.

The 31st-place Blackhawks are 4-8-0. And we're already getting rumors about some "big shakeup."

Some of the names included are Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore, although I personally don't see that happening. The target is allegedly Ivan Miroshnichenko, a disgruntled prospect unable to get NHL ice time in Washington (and someone I'm not so certain helps this team).

It's easy writing about a bad team. But eventually, it just becomes a repetitive cycle of talking about the same things. Besides, you can hear about it from someone with actual coaching experience. Here's a video from Petey that breaks down some of the things I've talked about in the Hawks' defensive zone.

The problem with the Hawks isn't really the system. It's a roster construction issue exacerbated by poor coaching.

The Hawks aren't built to play the way Blashill wants them to, and from the many books on coaching that I've read, fitting players to a system vice versa the other way around is sort of a cardinal sin.

So, what next? Do we fire some assistant coaches? Do we fire Jeff Blashill? And if Blashill goes, Kyle Davidson has to go... right? He can't stay here to hire a third coach (and that's not counting going all the way back to Colliton, which there were five, including interims)... right?

I'm not so sure.

Danny Wirtz extended him in the off-season, and while extensions might not mean jack for a GM in other orgs, this isn't "other orgs." But maybe the recent dip in attendance wakes Wirtz up?

There hasn't been a GM in NHL history to start a rebuild and see it through to a Cup.

If Davidson stays, there are other concerns, as well. Earlier in the season, I broke down the Hawks prospect pipeline. I pointed out that my concern was that there wasn't anyone else coming up. Now, I'm not a prospect nut, but so far, there isn't anyone causing any reason for excitement.

The Hawks are coming to a really uncomfortable point. A lot of fans are upset. Even in places like Reddit, where they once raved about Davidson being their goat. It sucks. Because I don't want to be right about this rebuild not going anywhere. I want to be wrong. I want fun hockey.