Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

It's Not So Bad For The Chicago Blackhawks

02/28/2018 at 8:59am EST

from Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times,

So how does Bowman feel now, 63 games into a lost season — the playoffs out of reach, his most expensive players underperforming, his star goaltender’s future cloudy at best, his promised offseason makeover a failure, the team a seller at the trade deadline for the first time in a decade?

Oddly enough, quite optimistic.

“Where we are today is equally frustrating, but it’s sort of in a different way,” he said. “We haven’t had the season that we wanted. [But] I think the one bright spot has been the progression and emergence of some of our younger players.”

It’s spin, of course. Bowman can’t do the same fire-and-brimstone routine a year later. With his job on the line, he has no choice but to put on some rose-colored glasses.

But he’s not wrong, either. Five years from now, when the Hawks look back on the 2017-18 season, they’ll see it as the year Nick Schmaltz grew into a future No. 1 center. The year Alex DeBrincat became an instant star. The year Vinnie Hinostroza proved himself an NHL player.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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