Luckily, there is no elevator music at Madison Square Garden. So what New York Rangers General Manager Neil Smith told some friends on his way down about the Blackhawks came across as loud and blaring as a Metallica concert.
”They`re not as good as they were last season,” Smith declared shortly after the Rangers beat the Hawks 4-1 Tuesday night. ”You can`t take apart a 106-point team like that. Bryan Marchment for Troy Murray? No way.”
Smith won`t be the last to second guess coach and General Manager Mike Keenan if the Hawks can`t take an inconsistent regular season and turn it into a cohesive unit for the playoffs in several weeks.
A measure of their current second-class status is that the Hawks have been beaten in two of their last three games by teams that have replaced them in the prominent positions they held last season.
The Rangers are first overall in the National Hockey League with 84 points and Detroit, a 2-1 winner last Saturday and on a six-game winning streak, holds a commanding lead in the Norris Division.
The Red Wings will try to extend their domination over the Hawks this season to 5-0-1 in a game Thursday night at the Stadium. And although the Hawks have a 6-0-3 home unbeaten streak, questions about them are numerous with the playoffs just weeks away.
Keenan must wonder how his chances to win can be worse this year than last, when that impressive team failed in the first round, losing to Minnesota. Changes needed to be made, but the debate is how many and with whom?
The Hawks remain an mediocre team offensively, the same as last season. But that is considered sufficient because Keenan bases his cautious system on protecting his own slice of the ice.
Should the current focus therefore fall on the defense and goaltending, and how they compare with last season? The Hawks have allowed 186 goals through 62 games this season, 24 more than last season.
Ed Belfour hasn`t been quite as spectacular as his Vezina Trophy performance of 1990-91, but he has been quite good most of the time. Dominik Hasek has provided the Hawks with a real alternative to Belfour, which was a backup role not as well defined last season. So the problem does not seem to lie in net.
What about the defense? Except for Chris Chelios, the other five defensemen on the ice Tuesday are all new to the Hawks this season. That requires some explaining.
While Steve Smith and Bryan Marchment came in trades, Cam Russell and Frantisek Kucera weren`t full-time members of last season`s squad. This latter pair played on the fringes when they weren`t in the minors. Rookie Adam Bennett is a recent minor-league callup, playing fairly well while veterans Keith Brown and Rod Buskas heal from injuries.
Marchment has had a sporadic season, playing well and being physically imposing at times, while caught out of position on other occasions. But it seems far too early to say, as Neil Smith did, that the Hawks didn`t get fair value for Murray.
Marchment`s NHL experience is limited. With time, he could develop into a solid defensive presence.
Steve Smith hasn`t been the offensive influence defenseman Dave Manson has been with the Edmonton Oilers, but he has provided a savvy player and a composed personality. While some would debate the merits of this deal, who`s to say Manson would have emerged under Keenan as well as he has in Edmonton?
The two weren`t kindred spirits and Smith appears better able to ride out Keenan`s periodic displays of temper with equanimity.
It seems the answer may lie more in the Hawks missing Brown and Steve Konroyd, two veterans, on defense than anything else. Konroyd for Rob Brown still looks like a good trade. Keenan was seeking offense while gambling that he had enough defense to pick up the slack.
Brown and Konroyd never got much credit when they played together for the Hawks, so some may scoff that their absence is that crucial. But that does seem to be the case.
The final question about the Hawks is whether good defense and goaltending is enough to overcome a dull offense, one that hasn`t taken control of games early or scored enough goals in critical situations late to win games? How many times can a team be expected to win 2-1?
Jeremy Roenick is too often the only skilled player in sight, especially on the road. Is that because of Keenan`s grind-and-grab system or just a lack of depth in this department?
The answer would appear to be a little of both.
Unless Keenan can get some answers of his own in a hurry, he will be left in April at the mercy of many, who like Neil Smith, will insist he took a good team and made it worse.
