Chicago Blackhawks Are Making Fans Throw in the Towel

As a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks, the current state of the team is unacceptable.

"“No, maybe I can’t win. Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he’s got. But to beat me, he’s gonna have to kill me, and to kill me, he’s gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me, and to do that, he’s gotta be willing to die himself and I don’t know if he’s ready to do that. I don’t know, I don’t know.” – Rocky Balboa"

You might be asking yourself, why am I starting a Chicago Blackhawks article by quoting Rocky Balboa? Well, if you watched Thursday night’s debacle against the Philidelphia Flyers, this quote from the “Italian Stallion” may make a little more sense.

In the sense that Philly was Rocky, and the Blackhawks were anybody who went against him in the movies. The Blackhawks didn’t have any killer instinct or heart, but they definitely died out there. Just like my hopes that this team would be good. All it took was a 2-4-2 start. If anything, I should really be quoting this Rocky scene.

In the Chicago Blackhawks’ last 5 games, they are 2-2-1. That isn’t terrible, if you are just going strictly by the record. If you actually watched these games, you would know that record could EASILY be 0-5-0, but somehow, someway, they have managed to steal wins against Columbus and Edmonton.

The Blackhawks also miraculously figured out a way to steal a point against the Vegas Golden Knights, in a game they had no business being in.

Although this loss against the Flyers was 4-1, don’t fool yourself. If it weren’t for those offsides recalls, this game becomes a 6-1 blowout. Don’t tell me to calm down, YOU CALM DOWN. I am calm. As calm as watching the Seabrook and Maatta pairing will make me, which is the basically the opposite of calm.

What else makes me angry about this team? Well, I’m glad you asked. Chicago Blackhawks’ head coach Jeremy Colliton has been about as good of a play-caller as Matt Nagy has been for the Chicago Bears.

This is not a comparison I would want right now. So far, through these first 8 games of the season, I have heard nothing but player blaming coming from Colliton’s mouth which has been utter ridiculousness.

“It’s not the combos”, my a**. This man wants to stand up in front of all these reporters and try to make them believe that if the Maatta and Seabrook pairing tried a little harder, they would be better?!

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In what world Jeremy? In what world, because what I see is the deployment of 2 bottom pairing blueliners that have made countless mistakes, and yet, they still average TOP-4 minutes. That’s on the coaching staff to acknowledge when something isn’t working.

Anybody who is generally into hockey could’ve told you that Olli Maatta was not going to come in here and improve this defense. He honestly might have made it worse. Which, when comparatively speaking from last year, so far, it HAS! Then, to pair him with Brent Seabrook, god bless his soul, is idiotic. This will be the reason why he gets fired, which could be now or a couple of months down the road.

As a hockey writer, I know this isn’t a “professional” piece. Instead, I write this as a fan of a team that expected more from every single player and person in that Chicago Blackhawks’ organization.

I expect more from a team that has the pieces to at least contend for a playoff spot. The line juggling every other game, the deployment flaws, and the utter shifting of blame on everybody from the head coach makes me sick.

As fans of this team, we deserve better and shouldn’t be treated to the pathetic performances we have seen in the last week and a half. I know this roster isn’t a Cup Contender, I know it’s eight games in, and I also know that this team is better than it’s 2-4-2 record. That’s where I stand right now.