PARTING SHOT
OT defeat against Sabres in finale ‘leaves bad taste’
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Blackhawks have been telling us all season who they are, so why would their season finale be any different?
They followed the same script thathas been their calling card — just enough offense to mount a lead and too little defense to keep it — by giving up the lead twice before losing 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime Friday night at KeyBank Center.
“It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth overall, right?” defenseman Seth Jones said.
The Hawks ended with a 28-42-12 record, their worst showing by points percentage (.414) since Trent Yawney’s 26-43-13 (.396) campaign of 2005-06.
Derek King ’s Hawks went 14-21-6 on the road and 14-21-6 at home: an equal opportunity doormat from East to West.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” King said. “It’s almost like, ‘What are we going to do tomorrow for practice?’ It will sink in later.
“Unfortunate how the season went. I thought we made some strides here for a while, and then we just teetered off and lost our edge.”
This wasn’t how this season was supposed to be.
Former general manager Stan Bowman tried easing into a rebuild before taking a big swing in the summer and loading up on players — Jones included — who were supposed to launch a playoff run.
But the Hawks got off to a miserable 1-9-2 start under Jeremy Colliton, and — fast-forward through a new coach (King) and new GM (Kyle Davidson) — they have resorted to a hard rebuild.
Dylan Strome learned from last fall’s preseason hype “that expectations don’t really matter,” and he plans to carry that lesson into the offseason.
“Some teams talk about teams maybe being a playoff team, maybe being a rebuild
team, maybe being a Stanley Cup contender, and I don’t think it matters,” the center said after the game.
“What matters is on the ice. We have to have that belief in the room.
“A lot of people were expecting big things at the beginning of the year and obviously it didn’t happen. So hopefully we can silence the critics next year a little bit.”
Jones agreed: “Expectations are expectations.”
“That’s all outside noise for any hockey team,” he said. “You have to go out there and put the work in. ... Clean slate next year, 82 more games, (and) being ready every night will give us a chance in every game.”
Here are five takeaways from the OT loss.
1. Goals by Dominik Kubalík and Dylan Strome show the hockey gods have a sense of humor. Kubalík fell as he ripped a shot past Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski in the second period. Strome capped the Hawks’ scoring with a tip-in in the third. Ironically, both may be on their way out of Chicago.
Kubalík finished on a high note, but he had a career-low 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in a careerhigh 78 games.
Strome had been a hardsell to the previous administration, often a healthy scratch, but that doesn’t mean the current brain trust is completely sold on him.
Both are arbitration-eligible restricted free agents who counted at least $3 million apiece against the cap this season, potentially making their negotiations even thornier.
“I felt like my year really turned around and can take some positives from it, also some things to work on,” Strome said. “Whatever happens, I’m ready for it.”
2. The players have the offseason to stew on what went wrong.
But will they? Should they?
The season should leave a bad taste, but losing may serve a higher purpose next season. It tends to be that the worse the record, the better the prospects.
But it shouldn’t come at the cost of players accepting losing and indoctrinating that spirit into their culture.
“The competitive nature of myself and all of us is to be ready for next year,” Jones said. “Come back with a chip on our shoulder, all the guys in the locker room stick together and we’ll go from there.”
He said the attitude has to start with each individual’s summer workouts and training camp.
“We can’t wait till the start of the season like we did this year,” he said.
Strome was asked whether the end of what became a disappointing season was a relief, and it was a hard “no.”
“Everyone’s probably pretty upset we’re not going to the playoffs,” he said. “Now we’ve got to watch for two months and it’s never fun. We wish we were still playing. I think that’s the mindset we have in there.”
3. Derek King may not stick around, but hopefully some of his qualities will.
Derek King didn’t get to run his own training camp or devise his own schemes, but thatthose exemptions ultimately won’t spare him /from/ criticism.
King brought a lighter touch than Jeremy Colliton and a more congenial voice, but /he/ still dished out tough love. Eventually, however, the team alternated between disinterested and disoriented/,/ as often as it did with Colliton.
If nothing else, though, players seemed to like / King/him and often spoke up for him. Maybe some of King’s better qualities — honesty, accountability, relatability — will /stay/ keeping rubbing and while he or someone makes up for his shortfalls, such as his lack of experience with the X’s and O’s.
And King believes the benefits go both ways — especially if /he returns/ goes back to coaching /in/ Rockford.
“I’ll talk to the players, get some exit meetings,” he said. “I’ll get feedback from the players, what I can do to be a better coach and I’ll tell them what I think they can do to be better players.
“That’s how it usually works. It’s too bad it ended this way, like a short season, but I’m looking forward to having a chat with these guys.”
At some point, /GM/ general manager Kyle Davidson said he’ll interview King for the permanent role, /something/what King wasn’t focused on / before the season finale/ that before potentially his last as head coach. At the very least, Davidson and his staff will pluck pick King’s brain.
“I’ve stressed enough this year,” Kinghe said. “I’m just going to take my brain out of my head and go relax back in Rockford, see my family, and then we’ll go to Florida. “They’ll know where I am.”
4. The Hawks doubled down on Sam Lafferty.
Sam Lafferty got a new lease on his NHL life when they the Blackhawks traded for him Jan. 5 and dealt Alex Nylander to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Now he has security. Lafferty agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension ($1.15 million cap hit) that runs through the 2023-24.
“A lot of satisfaction,” he said ofLafferty replied when asked about his reaction /to the deal/. “I was really happy to get it done and really grateful for the opportunity and super excited to be a Blackhawk.”
Since his time with Hawks, Lafferty has had five goals (one off a seasonhigh in his career) and six assists /with the Hawks/, and he had averaged a career/-/high 14 minutes and 36 38 seconds entering Friday’s season finale.
“That was a great signing,” Derek King said. “He’s going to be a big part of the rebuild. He’s the kind of player you need. Brings some energy, he’s a good character kid. He’s got a lot of upside to him. “They’re moving in the right direction.”
5. Derek King has a very Derek King attitude about the season.
With all of his folksy banter and funny quips, some fans may see King as someone who doesn’t take his role seriously, while others value him as a coach who keeps the game in perspective.
King keeps it relaxed and easygoing so the players will be relaxed and play like themselves.
“Sometimes it’s hard to show you’re enjoying it because people might be thinking, ‘Oh, they shouldn’t be having fun out there because they’re in last place or they’re not making the playoffs again or they’ve struggled,’ ” King said. “But you have to enjoy it. You can’t come to the rink miserable, tiptoeing around.
“You have to come and want to work and get on the ice and work. Doing that, you’ve got to have some fun in there.”