July 2nd 2010: Blackhawks sign defenseman John Scott to a 2 year deal.
July 1st 2011: Blackhawks sign winger Daniel Carcillo to a 1 year deal.
We all remember these fateful days, but usually for different reasons. Each day was the opening of the free agent signing period in the NHL. Much bigger names were inked by the Hawks on those days, but these two guys were snuck in under the radar. Both of these players were signed to low risk, low paying contracts to bring "grit" and "toughness" to the Blackhawks, which is something they haven't had in a decade. Some may argue that they aren't much tougher today than the day they won the Stanley Cup, and I'd have to agree those people.
These two players that are known first and foremost for one skill, tenderizing faces. To date, Carcillo has 4 fighting majors, and Scott has 2. While, last year John Scott had 8 all season. I would hardly call 6 fights in 37 games "grit" or "toughness", and before I get 20 emails saying that grit is more than fighting, I understand that means more than just fights. Most of the fights Scott or Car Bomb have been in, are as a result of some random 1-on-1 yapping with an opposing player, not to set a tone or protect a teammate. For the first time in a year and a half, we saw Scott actually stick up for a teammate that took a cheap shot, when Kruger was concussed against the Penguins. The same goes for Car Bomb when he stuck up for Toews, a few games previous. Otherwise, just about every time one of these players displays their "toughness" it ends up biting the Hawks in the ass, or just simply turning the game momentum in favor of the opponent. Now, of course, this is not Scott or Carcillo's fault, because they are doing what they do best.
This is no longer a league where players like Tie Domi, or Stu Grimson would fit on an NHL team. The rules against fighting and for opening up the ice make these players irrelevant, ESPECIALLY John Scott. The league is just too fast for him, and he's FAR too slow to make up for the mistakes he makes. He's a huge 6'8" 260 pound liability. The fact that he hasn't been in many scuffles this year isn't really all his fault, because the rest of the league has seen what he can do, and just simply avoids him for the 5 minutes he sees a game. Ignore him, and go about their business. No one the Hawks have played looks frightened of John Scott whatsoever. He's not quick enough to catch someone in a corner, and I highly doubt he'd know what to do if he DID have someone lined up. Last night, he had one of the Kings smaller players trapped behind the net and gave him some stiff arm/chokeslam hybrid thing, that just looked awkward. The bottom line is that he's lost on the NHL ice. He doesn't have a defined position and he's not cerebral enough to swing a game around, when the Hawks are trudging uphill or running around like it's a Chinese fire drill. Playing him in almost half the first 37 games is a fucking JOKE.
Car Bomb is another chapter, but from the same book. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that he was sat down, when he signed, and told that none of those stunts he pulled in Philly or Phoenix were going to be tolerated in Chicago. We all know Quenneville won't put up with it, but again, who's at fault here? You bring a guy in and then muzzle him by telling him that he now can't do what he's good at. It's what he KNOWS. As a result, you have Carcillo running around without a purpose, and hearing "don't do it" from a big bushy gray mustache, in the back of his head. He's a neutered and muzzled pitbull that can only piss on your leg every once in a while. Do you think that last year's Car Bomb would have been in a position to basically skate into an opponent's fist and end up with a concussion? No fucking WAY. He would have been on that guy's back throwing uppercuts from behind, and probably biting the guy's ear, Iron Mike Tyson style. This year they have had him skating on the TOP LINE, with two of the best players in the NHL, where his is GROSSLY out of place. Dan Carcillo is not, and never will be, Al Secord, Wendell Clark, Dino Ciccarelli, Cam Neely, or even Rick Tocchet. He will yap his fucking head off, throw haymakers, and take cheap shots. Once, on a blue moon, he'll be in the right place and throw in a goal or two.
The moral of the story here, is that there are two people responsible for this charade. Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville are to blame for both of these failed experiments, PERIOD. They put two square pegs on a team full of round holes, and keep jamming the fucking pegs into the holes over and over. You can't have it both way's gentlemen. Either the dogs are released, or you cage them up. Don't chop their balls off and wonder why the whimper away. Neither of these guys are players that the Hawks NEEDED. Being upset with Scott or Carcillo PERSONALLY, is irresponsible, but being upset with Q or StanBo is perfectly
If you're looking for that kind of aggression, look no further than one of the GOOD moves Bowman made this summer. Jamal "Megamind" Mayers, has a team leading 7 fighting majors, but you don't think of him as a fighter. He has shown that when a teammate is in need of some help, he's more than willing to jump in to make a point. He's useful on the penalty kill, a leader in the locker room, defensively responsible, can play wing or center, and has actual hockey skills. The biggest part of MegaMayer's game is that he's SMART. He doesn't seem to take stupid offensive zone penalties that handicap the team, like the others do.
The problem here is that we all know I'm pissing in the wind, because the management will jam their decisions down our throat over and over, rather than admit failure. So be it...I suppose.
