Three Stanley Cups Later, Blackhawks Dump Quenneville

What's wrong with this picture, besides everything?

Virtually anybody who's been paying attention the past couple of seasons knows there's been a clash of opinions between Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and GM Stan Bowman.

The latter just happens to be the son of hockey legend Scotty Bowman, who's now what amounts to be a special adviser to the club.

 

Depends on who's answering.

Defenders of Bowman the Younger say he serves coffee and brings donuts. Maybe so, because Barry Smith -- OG's yes man in Detroit -- is still on the 'Hawks' bench annoying Quenneville with his presence.

The only note of interest in Smith's history is he's the dude who learned the right-wing lock system while coaching in Sweden, brought it to the Red Wings, where Bowman promptly morphed it into a left-wing lock and took credit for it.

 

Fortunately for him, there were enough Swedish players in Hockeytown who'd had experience with it.

If that's the case, then others who've been watching roster decisions seem to think that the acorn shoulda fallen closer to the tree.

 

After leading the Blackhawks back to relevancy with an exclamation point by claiming Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015, Quenneville had shown he could keep a club competitive over a reasonable period of time.

Last season, though, was a tough one.

Some point to the 2017 Cup run where Chicago was the West's top seed but had their run cut short by the up-&-coming Nashville Predators, to the total disappointment of 'Hawk fans and catfish alike.

 

Since then, the Preds have consolidated their status as an elite team, and the Blackhawks have missed last spring's playoffs and are 6-6-3 so far this season, good for a measly sixth place in the NHL Central.

Quenneville didn't sign Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to 25% of the cap allotment, and whoever did -- hey, Stan -- left themselves with little wiggle room for roster mistakes during the length of those contracts.

 

The sorta mistake where one bad Brandon Saad trade can be amplified in its inequity in every passing game.

This all made for the sorta palace intrigue where Bowman surely felt he'd better make a move before anyone else did, and so the axe fell.

So, welcome to the club, Jeremy Colliton, and say hello to Barry 'Pipeline' Smith on the dark side of your bench. Here's wishing the only daggers you'll see coming will be of the Chelsea persuasion.