The Hawks have hit rock bottom, but the most damning to me is what Jonathan Toews has become. The guy just doesn't give a shit anymore. He’s selectively trying and this is a guy who was known as “captain serious” and is/was a very talented two way player who got it done through sheer force of will. He isn’t making bad plays in the defensive zone because he’s making bad reads or has had a lapse in judgement. He just isn't skating, he isn't working!
A few years back the points weren’t there and he was a fifty-ish point center not worth his cap hit, but his defense and two way play was still great. People argued he was hurt/his diet/his commitment/etc. I thought it was maybe bad luck/injuries. Maybe all those playoff grinds just took a toll on his body and he just wasn't the same anymore (similar to Seabrook and even Keith). Then last year happened.
Last night he looked like a guy who was happy enough to have a pair of assists in the bank and that he could coast because of it (in turn was responsible for 2 goals against which he himself admitted in the post game interview afterwards). That’s not the guy that wears a letter for team Canada. That’s not the guy that Sidney Crosby reached out to before the captaincy was announced and asks if it’s alright with him wearing the C. A better/different coach might be able to get Toews to the commitment level that made him one of my favorite players. It’s heart breaking that it’s gotten to that point with him.