Chicago Blackhawks Make Case For Worst Team Of Kane/Toews Era

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Apr 20, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane (88) reacts after a goal by Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) during the second period in game four of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

The problem is how they lost

You might be reading this right now and scoffing at the idea that the franchise’s second 50-win team ever could be worse than a team that didn’t even make the playoffs, but hear me out.

The ’07-’08 team was the first Blackhawks team worth watching for years. The ownership beforehand was so poor, many fans boycotted the team. My father, a lifelong fan, would not even let me watch the team because he was so upset with ownership.

But that year felt different. Obviously, the team wasn’t at the caliber we became accustomed to in the first half of this decade, but it was showing the signs of getting there. That team missed the playoffs by just three points, and there was finally hope in Chicago. A young team led by a coach that, bless his heart, should not have been coaching in Denis Savard just missed the playoffs.

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Maybe it was youthful exuberance from the up-and-coming teenage stars that were the same age that season as I am at the writing of this post, or maybe it was just a passion and effort for the game. That sort of passion and effort has felt non-existent at times, really, since the ‘Hawks last hoisted the Cup on home ice.

The problem with this playoff series against Nashville is not that the team lost. Losing is one thing — but being truly defeated is another, and defeated is an understatement for what we just witnessed by our beloved ‘Hawks. Three goals in nearly 13 full periods of playoff hockey is simply unacceptable, and most anyone, hockey fan or not, could tell you that’s not good enough.

After every loss in this series, we heard the rallying cries from the leadership group about getting excited for the chance to win the next one, yet when they hit the ice there was no excitement, and now they don’t have a chance to win the next one.

This wasn’t a regular sweep they let happen, and they’re always disheartening for a fan base, but this one was flat-out embarrassing, and will be tough to live down. The Blackhawks became just the third 1 seed since conference-based playoffs became part of the NHL to get swept in the first round.

I truly believe that if the team we saw lose tonight was playing the team from ’07-’08, the outcome may not have been much different.

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