Signs of change already positive for Hawks
The tears for Denis Savard were replaced by cheers for Joel Quenneville Sunday night.
The vision of an NHL-quality coach behind the bench will have that effect, and the impact of Quenneville on a group of kids who've gone two years without much teaching was apparent during the Blackhawks' 4-2 win over Vancouver.
No proof necessary beyond the sight of Patrick Kane ... backchecking.
"I think he's going to be more responsible as he grows," said Quenneville, who spoke to Kane within hours of getting the job Friday. "But he's got a big upside and I think he's been really good these last two games."
It is a comforting thought in the aftermath of the last few days.
See, when a figure as popular as Savard is so unceremoniously dumped, there is, naturally, great concern.
After months of talk about a Stanley Cup, there is also concern that maybe the club from which Savard was fired isn't quite as advertised, but no one sold the idea harder that the club was on the verge of ordering rings than did Savard.
What's interesting is that it's difficult to remember any crying for Trent Yawney two years ago, even though Yawney could actually coach.
On his way out the door, with a foot in his backside, he was ripped for being too defensive minded. Yet, few bothered to wonder how Yawney was supposed to have won with the roster he had, or explain how he was supposed to open up the offense.
In his last game as coach, a loss at Edmonton in November 2006, his starter in goal was Brian Boucher.
On defense, he had the likes of Lasse Kukkonen and Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Jim Vandermeer, Jassen Cullimore and James Wisniewski.
On offense - and we're not making this up, folks - the Hawks started a line of Bryan Smolinski, Tuomo Ruutu and Carl Corazzini. They were followed by Patrick Sharp centering for Tony Salmelainen and Radim Vrbata. Denis Arkhipov, Martin Lapointe and Michael Holmqvist made up the third line, and that left Craig MacDonald in the middle for Jeff Hamilton and Karl Stewart.
And you feel sorry for Savard?
That's a weak AHL team, let alone a decent NHL team.
Yawney is now the top assistant in San Jose, picked by a guy who could have chosen anyone in hockey to be his right-hand man. He's moved on, and so, eventually, will Savard.
At least Savard was given a decent amount of time and a half-decent roster.
Yes, the Hawks have some work to do to make this group good enough to compete for a playoff spot, but when Quenneville figures out which players can be taught and which can't, he might find a way to get it done.
He didn't seem thrilled, for example, that with a 4-1 lead and only five minutes left Sunday, Kris Versteeg (2 assists) turned the puck over and it led to a goal when all he had to do was send the puck deep.
"I'd like to see us be more responsible when we have a lead like that late in the game," Quenneville said. "We'll get smarter as we go along."
Savard would have told us he was happy the kid was trying to make a play.
Yes, Quenneville can coach and teach, and once he learns the lineup and the players and their good and bad habits, which will take a few weeks, he'll change the bad and improve the good.
So better to change coaches now than in January, and Quenneville after one game is already making positive alterations.
Sunday night in his second match at the helm, he had his defense stepping up sooner and giving away less at their own line, and the Hawks were fighting back before, during and after whistles.
There are plenty of issues to be resolved, like trading Nikolai Khabibulin while he's playing well, and maybe the Hawks can even get some size or skill in return.
They lack both at the moment, and the need for a top-flight enforcer is glaring.
Offensively, after Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brian Campbell, the Hawks aren't creating much, but those three have tremendous skills, so with a fresh plan after 10 years, the power play should become more productive pretty quickly.
"We're definitely getting more pucks to the net," said Patrick Sharp, who had 2 goals and an assist Sunday. "(Quenneville) wants us to be more aggressive and much faster with the puck."
The Hawks had 2 goals with the man advantage Sunday, as many as they had in the previous five games to start the season, and Kane dominated with the puck.
"I think the big difference is our approach," said Toews. "I'd say we're being much more aggressive."
The Hawks are still undersized defensively, which is going to be hard to change midseason, and Campbell, for all his brilliant offensive moves, has an approach to defense that reminds one of Alfonso Soriano.
Still, with some roster tweaking this could be a playoff team.
So Quenneville will need help from above, and that's GM Dale Tallon's job, which he better get on top of in short order, or his short game will soon become his focus.
You have to give Tallon this much: The team he said Yawney should have done better with is long gone, replaced by one that actually looks like an NHL squad, instead of a minor-league team.
That's progress.