As a fellow Canadian Randle I have to say that you guys are both right.  Hockey is won by a good combination of both skill and grit.  If you try to win with just one of those its virtually impossible.  In fact I will say it IS impossible.  The Canucks have too little toughness there is no questioning that.  The Hawks are a very very smart franchise.  I am pretty sure its due in no small part to the Bowman family, Stan and his dad are geniuses.  They know how to draft the right talent to compliment their amazing core.  I wish the Canucks had half the hockey smarts that the Hawks do.  Really I wish any Canadian NHL team had a management team like that.  You spend your money on the right personnel like the Hawks have done, and you fill it out with character guys and when those character guys start asking for too much money you bring in younger cheaper character guys.  Heaven knows there are a ton o character guys being groomed in the CHL.  There will never be a shortage of them.

The Hawks have a great core of players right now which is mostly due to sucking for many years.  Toews is a great captain.  The Hawks will be cup contenders for at least 7 more seasons.  Bowman is a geniuse.  The Hawk GM re-loads every off season the re-load revolves around the same great core of players.  The recipe for the reload is always to add  gritty, character guys to compliment the core players.........and it works.  Gritty players like Bolland who demand huge money are traded away for draft picks.......Bolland was not part of the core of the Black hawks.  Bolland was a gritty, character player who complimented the core players.......Bolland has been replaced by other gritty charachter players who carry less salary cap hit than Bolland demanded of the hawks.  The Hawks are no worse and no better without him BECAUSE he has been replaced by the Hawk GM.

Wish the Canucks would do the same??  Fire Gillis and build around a core of players WHO HAVE the will to win.........Sedins and Luongo are not working....Blow it up and start from scratch.

Both you guys make great points , obviously great hockey fans who make a lot of sense ..I was tryting to make a point , and a lot of this has transpired on sitemail between Muddy and myself and has not been seen on the public forums . Character is a lot like skill  you cant just insert a character guy like that..me being a Canuck fan hated Bolland, can you guys name a player that has frustrated the Sedins as much as he has? his value goes way beyond his stats ,i think he is the type of guy that is equivalent to a first line player , i think the Leafs stole him no matter what his cap hit ,and the Hawks are a weaker team  for it .  you cannot just throw in a spare part with characterand expect the same results,,that is what i was trying to get across to the Gator hunter to no avail ..

The Sedin sisters certainly do not have that fire to win.  At least not when it counts.  Lu, I dont know, I dont think he is the problem there.  Gillis is the fool that signed him to that insane contract.  If Lu had a normal contract I dont think there would be half as much hate on him, and thats just not fair.  I love that Torts has been splitting up the twins, I think that could help.  But I think trading those 2 away would be the best thing for them to do.  And not for draft picks, for current guys who have a surplus of grit and at least some skill.  Maybe keeping one of them wouldnt be so bad, its having both of them on the same line I think.  You cant have 2/3s of a line being pantie wastes.

So randle can admit that greeny and juskay are right, even though I made the same points.  Randle just can't bring himself to accept that what us Blackhawk fans have been saying all along; identify your core players, surround them with good supporting players and draft well. 

Good for Bolland and the Leafs that he is working out for them and helping them win now, as for what it means for the Hawks is more playing time for their young prospects and money saved that will be used to pay Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook when their current contracts expire.

Posted by randle44 on 10/14/2013 8:58:00 PM (view original):
Both you guys make great points , obviously great hockey fans who make a lot of sense ..I was tryting to make a point , and a lot of this has transpired on sitemail between Muddy and myself and has not been seen on the public forums . Character is a lot like skill  you cant just insert a character guy like that..me being a Canuck fan hated Bolland, can you guys name a player that has frustrated the Sedins as much as he has? his value goes way beyond his stats ,i think he is the type of guy that is equivalent to a first line player , i think the Leafs stole him no matter what his cap hit ,and the Hawks are a weaker team  for it .  you cannot just throw in a spare part with characterand expect the same results,,that is what i was trying to get across to the Gator hunter to no avail ..

Randle is 100% correct that Charachter =Skill.  As a CANUCKS FAN I would say that DAVE Bolland (as a Hawk) was a hated foe.  Canuck fans hated the SOB.  But most Canuck fans would love to have Bolland on the CANUCKS roster. In Vancouver, there are certain HAWK players (Kane) who are part of the Hawks Core, that most CANUCK FANS would PUKE if they were on our team......lol 

So Randle......You are correct!!! 

Bolland is not a spare part.  Bolland is just a HAWK, that the HAWKS could no longer afford?  And the Leafs are a better with Bolland.

Hope I explained my OPINION!!

Can't blame Bowman for letting Bolland go!!!!


Cheers and GO CANUCKS BABY!!!!

Jimbo gooned at his first hockey game...glad to see Chelios going into HOF next to Smyl he was my favorite player..

Why am I not surprised at you being a Chelios fan.

because he has character and balls ..ill take that as a compliment ..over the robotic players of today ..i also like Roenick,B.Hull ,guys that speak their mind ..guys that dont have to ask their wives for approval before they open thier traps ..sorry Mrs Deathinahole ..no offense .

 Nice job Lou , 2 goals just like that ..were those unstoppable?  i think not ...opposition goalies seem to stop those on a reg basis ..just comical that Luongo has this perception that he is a world class goalie..he is just average ..that is all he has ever been ...all he will ever be ..if this dirt bag is Canada's  Olympic goalie we are in trouble ...say it aint so ...Babcock and Yzerman are smarter than this ...i hope

Kaner!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njej_mJ4p3Y

is this another video of Kaner passed out on a sidewalk. punching out a 90 yr old ,,or in a limo with a dude? ive seen enough of those already , guy is a douchebag ..

Too bad you guys suck ...we own the hawks ...just get that hairy f@ggot  back in the limo with Kane and VersFag ..your 2 little fairies sucking some dude's junk all nite ..its all good ...Chicago is full of F@ggots anyhow ...too bad Toews plays in your fairy town

Canooks have lost 53% of their reg season games all-time against the Hawks and 57% of playoff games all-time. I'm thinking they should stick to the **** Hockey league, because we all know what is going to happen in the playoffs - you know, where your team bends over and spreads their butt cheeks every year.