By With today’s 24 hr news cycle, it’s hard to believe that I’d be writing about a story that is a week and a half old. But here we are. I’ve let the information sink in. I’ve watched this team struggle, and I’ve watched this team get a hard fought win. I needed time to go through the stages of grief. Every day is still a struggle, but I’m in a place where I can at least write about it. This is mostly hyperbole… but for every hyperbowl, there is a cup of truth.
Joel Quenneville is no longer associated with the Chicago Blackhawks. That’s a reality that we are going to have to let sink in. I don’t think I’ve ever been more upset by a coaching change. Q, Kane, Towes, Hossa, Sharp, Crawford, Keith, Hjammer, Roche. These are the names that made me fall in love with hockey… and Q is at the top of the list for a reason. Watching the Hawks take care of the Ducks to win the west in 2015 was probably the most fun I’ve ever had watching sports. As someone who knew (and still knows) nothing about hockey… those teams made hockey FUN/EXCITING/MARKETABLE (our friend Gary should take notes). It’s hard to not feel like we are taking that feeling of pure bliss, putting it through a shredder, spitting on it, and then incinerating it by letting go of Quenneville. It breaks my heart. This is the closest I’ve come to crying about sports since I lost my family NCAA tournament bracket challenge when I was ten. I hope the best for Q wherever he ends up. He deserves better than whatever this organization is doing at the moment. Annnnd that’s the most real I will choose to get about the situation at this time.
On to the anger portion of the blog. FUCK STAN BOWMAN. There have been rumors of a power struggle between Q and Stan for quite some time. I guess this is a trait of all ultra successful dynasty type teams (so I’m told). But if you would have told me this in summer of 2015, I never would have envisioned it would lead to ZERO playoff wins since, and a demolishing of the franchise to (chokes on his words) rebuild status. I can only blame one man. Q did the best with what he was given. In the words of Patrick Kane, “I think Joel got a lot out of this group the past couple of years.” Allow me to translate from hockey guy to normal guy:
“Stan screwed us over so many times. Panarin… gone. Turbo… gone. Vinny… gone. Hammer… gone. Defense… shit. Toews and I did our best to hide the gaping roster holes Stan has left for us.”
Stan has to go. I don’t care if there isn’t an obvious choice to replace him. I don’t want to live in a world where Joel Quenneville is punished for the sins of Stan. FIRE STAN. PLEASE FIRE STAN.
Updated list of the beautiful humans Stan has taken out of my life:
- Coach Q
- Artemi Panarin
- Hjammer
- Turbo Turavinen
- Vinny Hinostroza
- Marion Hossa (yes we are somehow blaming Stan for him being allergic to pads)
That is all for now. Good luck Coach Q. I hope you get GBs job someday.
-Z
Curse of Muldoon 