Denis Not Deemed Savvy Enough

There are reports that Denis Savard and Dale Tallon had a conversation on Wednesday afternoon before the game against Phoenix regarding the goaltending situation. Savard evidently wanted to play Nikolai Khabibulin in net while Tallon favored the highly paid Cristobal Huet, who he signed on Day One of free agency in the offseason. Whether or not this discussion took place, it makes more sense to fire Savard over this--as crazy as it would be--than citing Savard's lack of experience, as John McDonough, Dale Tallon and Scotty Bowman did at yesterday's press conference. They knew about Savard's experience entering the season, so it would not have taken four games into a season to realize this apparent issue. More than likely, if Savard was not let go because of philosophical differences, he was dismissed because the Hawks see the chance to seize the city and do not want to miss out on this golden opportunity. For the first time in many years, the Hawks can own this city again, and McDonough knows he cannot let this moment slip through his fingers. Bottom line: Joel Quenneville is a safer choice to lead the Hawks moving forward.

I do believe that Quenneville is the right man to lead the Blackhawks into the future. This guy can plain and simply coach. He's notched 40 wins in eight of his nine seasons and made the playoffs every year he has coached but one--and that year his club earned 95 points. He will, however, need his veteran players to step up. Martin Havlat is an elite player when he is healthy. And he had a spectacular goal in Wednesday's win. But he must stay healthy. Brian Campbell must be a difference-maker on defense. Brent Seabrook, deemed untradeable, has not been a consistent performer on the NHL level. He has failed to make the stides necessary to be a top-notch defenseman. And even younger players like Dustin Byfuglien and Dave Bolland--albeit young and prone to inconsistencies--showed last year that they can play better than they have this season.

The honus is on the players now. And Dale Tallon. If the Savard firing was really a group decision, then the next major announcement will be one, as well. Dale Tallon better hope he is still part of that all-powerful decision-making group.