by Andy Jachim
The Hawks’ recent struggles (with the exception of a super exciting OT win against the Leafs last Friday) have come with some sour news from a pair of veterans in the forward group.
Taylor Hall is expected to undergo surgery on his right ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. This a tough blow for Hall, who’s been dealing with injuries all season long. This was supposed to be a revival season for Hall’s career, but instead, he’ll be on the shelf until next year.
Corey Perry is also away from the team and will continue to not be around for the foreseeable future. Originally, the media and fans were kept in the dark regarding Perry’s absence, deemed an “organizational issue” keeping the 38-year-old away. Since last week, Kyle Davidson and Luke Richardson have noted that Perry is away from the team for “personal reasons,” and it doesn’t appear that he’ll be back anytime soon.
What do these two absences mean for this team right now? Well, if you’re in the camp of hoping Connor Bedard notches 2 points a game and the Hawks lose 5-2, you’re probably cool with it. Most fans want the young guys to thrive and for the team to lose as much as possible, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a part of that party. Obviously, I would rather have Hall and Perry here to help the youngsters and make this a somewhat decent product to watch, but that won’t be the case now.
The likes of Cole Guttman and Joey Anderson have been called up from Rockford over the past week and will get their shots at being everyday guys in the NHL for the rest of the season.
I’ll dive into the 2024 draft class in the coming months, but having guys like Macklin Celebrini and Cole Eiserman there for the taking is too good not to dream about. I know this is such a loser mentality, but when you know this team is still a year or two away from being truly competitive, why not shoot for the stars? I’m all for getting Connor Bedard as much help as possible, and either of those two does that. I know that in a few years when Celebrini or Eiserman help Bedard and the rest of this young nucleus chase the cup, none of us will be complaining.
The bottom line is that losing Hall and Perry obviously makes this team worse. However, we’ve been used to bad hockey in Chicago for quite a few years now, so what’s the hurt? I’ll take tough times like these while supporting the young cast we have here now if it means we get more fantastic young pieces to add to the future this summer. It’s all about the process, and all we can do is be patient.
