Blackhawks need to make some deep changes

It's been just over a week since Stan Bowman delivered his fire-and-brimstone, we're-going-to-get-better-or-else statement after the Blackhawks were unmercifully booted from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Nashville Predators.

Bowman swore change was coming, and he certainly wasted no time making good on that promise by firing Joel Quenneville's good friend Mike Kitchen on Monday, doing the same to Rockford IceHogs head coach Ted Dent the next day and trading backup goalie Scott Darling on Friday.

It's difficult to say what is coming next, but in the coming days, weeks and months it wouldn't be at all surprising if at least one or two franchise-rattling moves were made.

The most telling thing Bowman said during his Q&A session with the local media was that it's sheer lunacy to expect a different result with the same personnel that failed to compete with the Predators.

"We expected to win the Stanley Cup when we started the season," Bowman said. "We expected it when we started the playoffs … We didn't come anywhere close to that, so we need to reassess everything."

So go ahead and put every possible scenario on the table.

The Hawks could trade Brent Seabrook, and a prospect or two, and try to secure one of the top picks in a draft they are hosting. They could move Niklas Hjalmarsson. Or perhaps they trade a young forward for a young, puck-moving defenseman.

At this point we should expect the unexpected.

Still, doesn't it feel like a drastic move would be an overreaction? Especially for a team that won 50 games and was the top seed in the West?

Sure, the Hawks fell flat on their collective faces against Nashville, but Bowman's plan all season was to let the young guys mature into the players they became. It stands to reason that they will all improve in Year 2 and be that much better equipped to handle the postseason spotlight.

If Bowman goes overboard - or miscalculates where his team is - it could set off a chain reaction from which the Hawks never recover.

Three things need to be addressed:

• The defense absolutely, positively must get younger and faster. P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ehkholm are all 26 or 27 years old and they skated circles around the Hawks during that four-game sweep. The Hawks, meanwhile, may go into next season with a 34-year-old Duncan Keith, a 32-year-old Brent Seabrook, a 30-year-old Niklas Hjalmarsson and a 39-year-old Michal Rozsival. And what if Brian Campbell comes back? He turns 38 on May 23.

Hawks equipment guys might be buying canes and walkers in addition to skates and sticks.

The hope is Gustav Forsling, Michal Kempny (if re-signed) and perhaps Erik Gustafsson can make major strides, especially if Trevor van Riemsdyk is swiped up by Las Vegas in the expansion draft.

During his end-of-the-season interview with the media, Quenneville went out of his way to praise the 25-year-old Gustafsson, who played 41 games for the Hawks in 2015-16 but spent all of last season in Rockford.

"I still think he could turn out to be a special defenseman," Quenneville said. "We're going to need those young guys to come along here and hopefully somebody jumps up and takes (on a big role). But he'd probably be the leader in that area."

• While this team still has a ton of high-end talent, it's also one that doesn't possess enough "grit" and "sandpaper" to push people around in the postseason. Nobody seemed to miss Andrew Shaw in the regular season, but he sure would be useful against the Predators. Name one Hawk who consistently stuck his nose in the crease against the Preds.

Right. You can't.

Ryan Hartman, John Hayden and Richard Panik (if the Hawks can afford him) need to bring the Shaw-like attitude next April - and not just from October to March.

• It's time for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to play an entire season together. Enough with splitting them up.

The Hawks' top three lines in 2017-18 should look something like this (assuming Panik is re-signed):

Nick Schmaltz-Toews-Kane

Artemi Panarin-Artem Anisimov-Marian Hossa

Ryan Hartman-Tanner Kero-Richard Panik

This gives Toews a chance to find his game again and it would also appease Hossa, who had a few eye-opening things to say when asked to recap his season.

"I had so much fun in the beginning, playing most nights with the Russians. We had fun," said Hossa, who scored 26 goals. "There were stretches where I wasn't having as much fun. I was more a third-line role, more defensive role or whatever you want to call it.

"But I had a way better year than (2015-16). I felt better, I felt less pressure, more rejuvenated."

If Toews comes back healthy, faster, more determined and can play with Kane all season, watch out.

If Hossa has at least one more big year in him and is happy playing "with the Russians," then let him do so … and watch out.

And if the defense can get younger, faster and more skilled, then maybe - just maybe - the Hawks aren't quite done lifting Lord Stanley's Cup over their collective heads.

• Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh