Chicago Blackhawks: This horrible mistake is only getting worse

The Chicago Blackhawks are in a terrible position right now. After another dud performance at home against the Vancouver Canucks, the Hawks are now 0-4-1. Not having a win in their first five games is an absolute disgrace. On a night where they honored Patrick Kane for reaching 1000 games last season, you’d like to see them come out better than that.

It is hard to rip on a coach that is doing his best. Jeremy Colliton believes in his team and it does seem like the team supports him as the coach. You have to feel bad for him when he gets booed as hard as he does or “fire Colliton” chants are loud around the United Center. It is probably embarrassing for him and nobody likes to see that on a personal level.

However, winning or lack thereof isn’t personal. The NHL is a results-based league and the Hawks have had miserable results. Colliton’s system is a system in which the team defends by playing man coverage. This roster is not built to play in that system and it shows on the ice.

There are a lot of times where the players are out of position in their own zone and they give up high danger chances or even goals as a result. They also can’t score which is a major problem. They have only scored nine goals through the first five games and six of them have been on the power play. That is a disaster for them at even strength and something has to change soon.

The Chicago Blackhawks made a huge mistake that they are still paying for.

Hiring Jeremy Colliton in the first place was a bad idea but that is mostly because that meant that they fired Joel Quenneville. That was one of the worst decisions in the history of the franchise. Not long after that season ended, Coach Q became the coach of the Florida Panthers. Here we are in 2021 and that team is on fire.

While the Hawks sit there at 0-4-1, the Panthers are 4-0-0 and are tied for the league lead with 8 standings points. This team is as good as any team in the NHL. An Atlantic Division title, President’s Trophy, and even Stanley Cup are all on the table for them. They are absolutely unbelievable and their coach is a big part of it.

That is a decision made by Stan Bowman that continues to look worse and worse every day. The team has not been the same since and there is actually only one person to blame. Colliton may need to go but it isn’t all his fault. He has a chance to move on to be a great NHL coach one day but it can’t happen here at this time.

Bowman needs to be shown the door just as much but for completely different reasons. We all want the Hawks to turn it around but as it stands, it is hard to see it happening any time soon. Hopefully, they are able to turn it around before it’s too late. You can’t make the playoffs in the first six weeks of the season but you can sure miss them.