Rozner: Chicago Blackhawks, Colliton starting to plan for future

When Joel Quenneville first went nuclear, it was in the 2011 postseason against Vancouver.

The Chicago Blackhawks were in desperation mode as he added Patrick Sharp to a line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, putting his three best forwards in one unit.

It almost worked as the Hawks took the Canucks seven games and lost in overtime.

In 2013, Bryan Bickell joined the pair of future Hall of Famers in crucial games and the Hawks won the Stanley Cup.

In 2015, it was Brandon Saad's turn, and again the Hawks took the big prize.

So it's an odd place in which the Hawks find themselves now, new coach Jeremy Colliton putting Nick Schmaltz on a line with Toews and Kane on Monday night in Carolina.

The results were mixed in an overtime loss, Toews and Kane dangerous together as always, but Schmaltz deferring far too much instead of shooting the puck when afforded opportunities.

“They did a lot of good things,” Colliton said of the top line. “Their shift length was much better. They were able to drive our team. They can be better. They can give us more.

“They can be a little bit more responsible defensively. I think they'll be surprised by how much they can create offensively when they do that.”

The question is, however, what's the point of doing it now? Only Colliton and GM Stan Bowman know for certain.

They say they're still trying to make the playoffs this year, which is rather unlikely.

Consider that Colliton also created a line of Alex DeBrincat, David Kampf and Dominik Kahun.

And he split defensive pairs Duncan Keith and Henri Jokiharju, and Brent Seabrook and Erik Gustafsson, getting Keith and Seabrook back together and creating the pair of Jokiharju and Gustafsson.

Gustav Forsling, who played so well with Jan Rutta early in the 2017-18 season, was called up Tuesday morning.

If the real answer here is the Hawks are beginning to look at the future, more than throwing a Hail Mary, that would actually make a lot more sense than believing a line with Toews and Kane can save the season.

Colliton might have said as much postgame Monday when discussing the new combinations.

“We'll let their performance dictate how things go,” Colliton said. “We're trying to let guys prove themselves or not, and that's part of the process.”

In overtime, Colliton eschewed the usual groups and went with Toews, Schmaltz and Keith, and then Kane, Kampf and Seabrook, when the Hawks gave up the winning goal.

It did not go well in OT.

“We had a lot of good efforts from guys that we need to come through and play some minutes for us,” Colliton said. “We're trying to build these guys up.”

There were several other differences, including the first penalty kill when Colliton started with Luke Johnson and David Kampf, but Johnson was tossed, Kampf lost the faceoff and Teuvo Teravainen scored off the draw with a blast when Johnson didn't reach the shooter.

That's OK. The Hawks are going to need some new penalty killers after years of relying on — and wearing out — players like Toews and Marian Hossa.

Meanwhile, Gustafsson played a career-high 25:43 and that's not shocking, given that the Hawks would like to learn more about him, and that he played well for Colliton at Rockford.

The Hawks have nothing to lose but games while trying to find out more about their younger and less experienced players, a process that should have begun the last few months of last season.

“(Keith and Seabrook) have played together for a long time, so we know what we're going to get out of them,” Colliton said before Monday's game. “And then we can really focus on bringing the young guys forward together.

“Maybe they're a little more likely to communicate out there, take charge, be the one who wants the puck.”

Colliton left little doubt about his motivation for splitting up Keith and Jokiharju, instead playing the rookie with Gustafsson.

“He's going to continue to grow,” Colliton said of Jokiharju. “Getting back to playing him with a younger guy, feeling like they can be comfortable together and want to take responsibility and find a way to solve it themselves.

“That can only be good for his development.

“We would be comfortable keeping him with (Keith), but it's just a way to try to bring these younger guys along a little quicker.”

That sounds very much like a look at the future. If true, it's entirely appropriate.