Talk of Hawks dynasty floors McDonough

Seems like just a few months ago that John McDonough was Public Enemy No. 1.

Dale Tallon could do no wrong in the eyes of his supporters, and McDonough and Stan Bowman were the bad guys for supposedly setting up and ousting Tallon.

But now the cheering around Blackhawk Nation is for McDonough and Bowman, and there's talk of the Hawks winning multiple Cups in the next couple of years.

"I'm not comfortable with any of it," McDonough said Wednesday. "I've seen it written about how we're going to be Stanley Cup contenders for years to come.

"I've heard how we're like the Oilers of the '80s. I read these things sometimes and go, 'oh, God.' Think about where we were a year or two ago. We're just getting this thing started.

"The only guarantee is where we are now, which is hungry and grounded. We know what we've accomplished so far: nothing. When's the last time we won a division?"

That would be 1993. So long ago it was still the Norris Division.

"Yeah, so what have we accomplished?" McDonough asked. "I've sent the message to the organization that there will be no complacency here. We're not going to get caught thinking that the future is guaranteed."

McDonough has gone from getting booed at last summer's convention to getting congratulations from his fiercest critics, and Bowman has gone from inexperienced to genius.

"Nobody here is buying into the hype. Nobody," McDonough said. "And I'm not comfortable with any pats on the back.

"We're not entitled to anything, not to the sellouts or the TV ratings or making the playoffs this year or next year. We are in the 'earn-it phase.'

"Fortunately, we have a great coach in Joel Quenneville and a very hungry bunch of terrific kids who get what Joel is telling them."

So the Hawks don't believe they're guaranteed a Finals appearance this season, or that this run goes on indefinitely, especially while facing a nightmarish cap situation.

"We know that with Stan and Kevin (Cheveldayoff) and Al (MacIsaac), we have the right guys here," McDonough said. "We realize we've got some tough decisions to make going forward, and some might not be popular, but we have our eyes wide open.

"The great thing about Stan is he doesn't panic and he doesn't jump into something haphazardly without studying the long-term ramifications.

"(Firing Tallon) was painful and sometimes you make decisions you know are going to be criticized, but if you know in your heart it's right, and you have 100 percent of the information, you have to make tough choices."

Nevertheless, more tough choices are coming, and the wrong ones could damage the future and the team's core, so no one on the West Side is ordering rings yet.

"I don't have us in the Cup Finals the next five years like some people do," McDonough said. "We're not going to get caught up in the hype or talk of dynasty. We take a very realistic approach here.

"We're grounded and hungry and nothing is guaranteed, but we do believe we've got the right people here."

Ivan Boldirev-ing

Like a lot of playoff teams, the Hawks have discussed Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk, and why wouldn't they?

If you can get an elite player before the March 3 trade deadline that furthers your chances of winning a Stanley Cup, of course you consider it.

The Hawks probably don't want to trade 3-for-1 to rent Kovalchuk, but in Brian Campbell they have a matching salary, and the Thrashers did try hard to sign Campbell when he was a free agent.

Campbell has a no-trade, but once a year the Hawks can ask for a list of eight teams he'd be willing to accept. The club then has 45 days to move him, or it becomes a no-trade again.

Even if the Hawks ask Campbell it seems like a longshot, because Atlanta's going to want more than Campbell for a talent like Kovalchuk, like Patrick Sharp, Dave Bolland and Cam Barker. I'd make that deal, too.

After all, you can't blame anyone for dreaming of a Jonathan Toews-Patrick Kane line, followed by a Marian Hossa-Kovalchuk line. No team in the league could possibly defend against that.

Seam stress

Any chance Mark McGwire never makes it to spring training as Cardinals hitting coach? He hasn't even faced the media mob yet, and his steroid story is getting worse every day.

He's going to be a distraction for the St. Louis players once spring training begins, and you have to think that's going to get old real fast.

Rooney Rule

After what Washington and Seattle just did, should the NFL even pretend that a team is required to interview minority candidates for head-coaching jobs? All they did was embarrass some qualified men with token interviews, and that's worse than no interview at all.

Chipping in

Comedian Alex Kaseberg: "The PGA Tour opened in Hawaii, and even without Tiger Woods, golf is exciting. In the first round, the leader was that guy who isn't Phil Mickelson who was ahead of that other guy who isn't Vijay Singh."

Best headline

Sportspickle.com: "NBC moves Jay Leno to Notre Dame head football coach."

And finally -

ABC's Jimmy Kimmel: "Tiger Woods has not been seen since Thanksgiving. He's so hard to find, people are speculating that he may be working in customer service at Home Depot."

brozner@dailyherald.com