City hall on tap, revisionist history, best pickup hockey game? And other Blackhawks balls

Tonight’s Blackhawks-Wild game is starting to look a bit like an afterthought. Chicago has lost six of its last seven games, including two against the Wild not too long ago. Preceding tonight’s game is the organization’s “Town Hall” event, which will shed light on GM’s search and direction for the team going forward. This is the first time Rocky and Danny Wirtz have answered real questions since the Kyle Beach and “John Doe 2” sexual assault investigations began against the Blackhawks.

• There’s a lot to discuss and answer for the Blackhawks outside of GM’s current search, that’s for sure.

• I don’t know exactly what I’m trying to hear, nor do I know if something that can be noted will make the last few months feel different. These are stocks. What Shares are taken by the organization to make the changes they want to make. That’s what I’m going to focus on.

• Regarding the GM research, we may never know exactly who will be interviewed, but I have a few ideas who should be interviewed.

• Although the consensus seems to be that Kyle Davidson will simply retire his interim tag, I still think an outside hire should be the way to go if the team really wants (needs) a new prospect on the roster and the future of the club. But again, making a change a month and a half after the trade deadline has its drawbacks.

• If you’ve watched the Blackhawks this season, your eyes will tell you that this team is not a playoff contender. But if those same eyes had looked at the team on paper in September, you and many others would have thought they were. You would have been right both times.

• One of my favorite things on social media right now is seeing all these people saying things like, ‘I knew this team wasn’t good in August!’ Oh yes? You and who else? From what I remember this summer, there was a big vocal section of Blackhawks fans and people outside the organization who thought this team would be so much better than it has been. Revisionist History is a course in which we can all get an “A”. Unless you’ve been cynical about the Blackhawks for the sake of being cynical about the Blackhawks, this team has been a surprising disappointment.

• And Marc Crawford is fed up…

• One would think that with so many players playing a “checking” role in the lineup, there would be more effective forechecking from the attacking group.

• News on the Blackhawks ending broadcast as Eddie Olczyk will join NBC’s Olympic hockey coverage and replacement voice Chris Vosters will play per game, also on the Olympic broadcast team.

• Thanks also to Leila Rahimi of 670 The Score who will also be part of NBC’s Olympic broadcast team.

• And congratulations to all the women in sport today on National Day of Girls and Women in Sport! It’s more than a day, honestly, it’s a 24/7-365 recognition that the hockey world and the sports world in general, whether it’s performing, broadcasting, reporting, front office, coaching, etc., is a space where all women belong.

• News from the IceHogs as Michal Teply, who recently experienced a hot streak, is now in COVID protocol.

• Among other prospects, 2020 second-round pick Drew Commesso was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for the second month in a row!

• Commesso is going to Beijing with the United States team to take part in the men’s Olympic tournament starting next week! Hey, count me excited about this kid.

• The women’s tournament begins tomorrow as Team USA take on Finland. Here’s a first look at the women’s team in the new Olympic jerseys for the United States

• It’s an incredible story about former MLB and NHL players who gather on Justin Morneau’s incredibly professional-style outdoor rink for your occasional hockey games in Minnesota.

• Hidden in this video is a photo of former Blackhawks big man Dustin Byfuglien, who looks to be enjoying his retirement from hockey.

• “Big Buff” indeed.

• We mentioned a few days ago that the NHL Reverse Retros would be back next season. This was a really cool preview of last season’s Chicago design release, coming from Craig Shimala:

• It’s just awesome.

• An update on MLB lockdown…

• Rough.

• Plus, if you missed that story in the NFL yesterday, all I can say is that this feels like the ultimate, “I got the receipts” moment…

• Good for Flores. I hope he ends up becoming the owner of Giants after this.

• That will suffice for today. See you tonight for City Hall and Blackhawks-Wild at 8:30 CT (seriously?)

Catherine J. Martinez

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