Tony

Pretty sure that's an image of him actually getting hurt ?

It takes something really funny or really stupid to make me actually laugh out loud, and this did it.

They fucked up paperwork and didn’t get their offers in to their RFA’s on time, so they probably ended up spending more on those players to retain them than they otherwise should have. Brian Campbell was also a poor/bloated contract at the time but there was always a debate about the value he held to the Hawks.

I have no issues with thinking/saying the Hawks should have been punished more. That also isn't going to change my fandom though, I have no control over what punishment the NHL handed out. However, if the organization was still intact from the dynasty (Stan was still in charge, etc) I have control over saying "Yeah, I'm out until he's out." I also don't disagree with you that Tallon was the main architect here, Bowman was trash for the most part.

That's sort of where I am at, and have admitted that once they "get good again" it will be much easier to jump on the bandwagon. The entire core is gone from the Cup Dynasty. That not only includes the players, but the Front Office, Coaching Staff, even the announcers. Even a lot of the HR/PR/Marketing folks have been totally turned over, right or wrong. Aside from Rocky still being at the top, it's a totally new organization. They deserved to be punished, and now with a new spark inserted into the organization, I'm ready to re-invest my time into them. I've missed hockey in this town a lot and am really excited to see what Bedard brings to the table.

I totally agree…it’s a huge jolt to the franchise that basically changes everything. The timing is so interesting as well, with Kane and Toews both officially gone, having Bedard start this hopefully “new era” right after is pretty cool.

Lol, just amazing.

Yes you can.

By most accounts and from what I know, I don't think Jerry is a bad guy at all, incredibly loyal, sometimes to a fault, but as you said, he's still 100% with it, still very sharp. He's a very good businessman. Bad owner.

Pretty sure it’s David Puddy.

I have some news you aren’t going to like. You, me, and everyone else in the stands don’t have any impact on that. “We” aren’t part of the team. We’re fans. Fans that have been rooting for one of the worst franchises in sports. I don’t try to tell people to be fans. You want to hold out hope, that’s on you. But it’s nothing more than blind faith. Using any historical data to guide your decision making will tell you this will be another season of MLB without the White Sox in the playoffs

What "Solution" are you suggesting?

The depressing fact that we always circle back to is...say the Sox flip the script and go on a 10 game winning streak (that was hard for me to even type out, let alone imagine) That brings them to 18-21, which still sucks, especially considering the division and this "World Series Window" On top of that, while making the playoffs gives you a better shot at winning the World Series, than, say, not making the playoffs...this team isn't anywhere CLOSE to Tampa, the Blue Jays, still even the Astros, and then teams like the Braves, Mets, Brewers, Dodgers, etc. So what is the point? There is too much history to tell us Rick and Kenny don't know how to build a consistent winner (because they legitimately never have) and Jerry won't ever invest to "push the team over the top" or seemingly invest in the infrastructure that winning organizations have. There have been a few outliers in the last 15 years, like the Nationals winning it all in 2019 and the Royals in 2015, but in both those cases those teams executed full rebuilds and the Nats made the playoffs in 5/8 years during their run, while the Royals had a much shorter run with a 5 year "window" but two World Series Appearances. The other teams to win World Series since 2005? Cardinals, Red Sox, Phillies, Yankees, Giants, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers and Braves. Those have been the premiere franchises in baseball basically since the 90's and there is a reason for it, which isn't just payroll. The point is it's not just about "luck" in the playoffs, it's about building a consistent organization that can make playoff appearances on a regular basis, giving your team an actual chance for sustained success. That objectively will not happen with the current leadership in place.

This is going to save someone’s job, isn’t it?

I say this being 100% genuine...in 2023 raising your child to be a Sox fan is just setting them up to hate baseball ?

I’ve used this analogy a bunch, but they went “all-in” with the rebuild and it has been a total failure. When you go all-in and lose…you don’t get to buy back in. Yet Rick and Kenny are still employed.

I'll be somewhat shocked if their first round pick, whenever that happens, isn't an OL or DL

We're well past the post of anything left to salvage, the train has left the station...I'm just here to see how bad it's actually going to get.

Very well put Ray

I’m also curious to see what happens there. Kenny JUST talked about accountability, so if no one meets the media tomorrow, just add another line of bullshit to the list

14 hours is far too long for this thread not to have a post in it