I'll miss Savvy, but I wasn't surprised

Roman, I don't think the issue of firing Savard was right or wrong. People and fans knew he was on a short leash going into the season with the staff additions of Joel Quenneville and Scotty Bowman. The surprise wasn't that much of one.

The issue of contention was the timing of the firing. What was the justification in firing a guy like Savard the night after a victory? How could you make a rash decision after only 4 games? The regular season isn't even one week old, and there's already a coaching change.

I had a chance to watch NHL Live on NHL Network earlier...they had Savvy on the phone. He was nothing but appreciative and supportive of this Hawks team. He is a true class act, and I sincerely hope that McDonough and Rocky keep Savard in the franchise's mind like they've done with other Blackhawk legends.

Roman--

What are the things to know about Quenneville? We know the history of coaching -- the real good year he had down in St. Louis. But how does he run practices? Is he a players' coach, or a hard-boiled type? In short: what can we expect? Any info you could provide would be helpful.

I agree wholeheartedly on how tough it is to see Savvy go. Hopefully, he won't go far and still be involved with the club.

Roman responds: Tom, I'm pretty sure Quenneville is more of the task-master type. And I guess that makes sense considering the team has played without some fire the first three games.

Awful decision. Just awful.

If McDonough feels a key piece isn't right and a change is needed, then I'm assuming Tallon will not be far behind Savvy. How is Tallon qualified to run this organization?

A sad day for me as a Hawk's fan!

Roman responds: Jack I was thinking the same thing about Dale, especially with Bowman in the house.

It's not Savvy that should have been fired, it should have been Dale.

What GM in their right mind uses 22% of their cap in goal? He signed Huet without having a clear landing spot for Khabi.

Then to top it off, he over pays for Campbell; wait until you see more D-zone lapses like he had against Washington. Yeah, Ovechkin is great but Campbell didn't do a thing to stop him coming in over the line. There's more of that to come. He sure had better be a GREAT PP quarterback.

The 'Hawks already have a stud defenceman, his name is Duncan Keith.

Dale still doesn't have a bonifide 2nd line centreman.

Dale had better hope Quenneville gets this team well into the conf playoff picture, perhaps to the conf finals. He doesn't have any cap wiggle room with Khabi and Havlat still on the roster. Yes, that'll be nearly a $13M relief next season but this season is only 4 games old.

Don't look behind now Dale, you're next to be tapped on the shoulder.

Roman-
This flat-out sucks. It is a classless move. With all that Denis Savard has done for this organization, firing him like this is a slap in the face. If they knew that Savard wasn't the right coach for this team at this time, they should have made this move over the summer. The slow start is not Savard's fault. Neither is the goaltender situation or moving a steady veteran center when there's nobody on the roster to replace him.

This move is hard to justify on any level.

Roman, what's the status on Bowman re: his age, health, and current role? Guess I was under the impression he was more interested in a consultant-type gig rather than another full-time job.

Roman responds: Yeah I was under the same impression about him wanting to be an adviser. I was at the UC the other day and saw Bowman. Not sure, but he looks healthy. Don't forget, his son is an asst. GM.

fire savvy at this point and time in amateurish at best and shows immature leadership at the top. tallon comes in a few years ago after the rule changes and trades for a bunch of big slow players when anyone who knows hockey understood that the changes supported fast play. then tallon is lucky enough to get years of top first rounders because of the previous lousy records the hawks had. next up he spends all that money on huet, instead of a strong second line center. watch, habby will end up being the starting goalie. i was at both home games and watched the road games on t.v. they played well against n.y. and not so against washington, they outplayed nashville but the breaks did not go their way, i was in the 11th row and the hawks had about double the good scoring chances that the preds had. huet was sloppy in goal and look what happens, loose in a shootout with both shootout goals thru the five hole, next up they take it to the coyotes and win big. sure makes sense to fire the head coach after that kind of start, NOT!!!!!. my family had season tickets from the late 60's to me taking them over in the late 80's. i stuck with the hawks until 95 and boycotted them for the next 10 years. when rocky came in and savvy came in and i saw a major turn around they won me back and i bought season tickets again, 10k worth, and now i am so disgusted that i am ready to sell the season tickets for what ever i can get and boycott them again, this time for good. the funniest thing about the whole situation is that ownership is oh so loyal to upper management but when it comes to the players and coaches they are treated like cattle, ie, mikita, hull, etc, yes they brought them back in to the fold but my gut says they did it only to put money in the owners pockets by sucking in old time fans like myself that left. with the savvy firing i feel this way more than ever. anyone want to buy 2 season tickets at center ice, ll rows up for 50cents on the dollar, what a joke this is. what the hell does mcdonough know about hockey, nothing, he is a marketing guy and that's all.

John McDonough said that they liked the job that Savvy had done and was growing as a coach. It seems a shame that a mere 1-2-1 start should warrant a firing. My gosh, if the Bears operated that way, can you imagine how different things would be there?

I think Denis Savard is wonderful human being. He is a Hawk legend. He worked extremely hard. He did seem to be outcoached from time to time, but I also saw growth. I hope there's more to this story than what we see. For all the work the Hawks have done to preen their image, this move doesn't follow on the surface.

This move is awful. Don't believe me? Go ask the fans in St. Louis and Colorado. Savard probably wasn't the right guy, but the Hawks look like an embarrasment by making the move now. Tallon is clearly the one who should go. He screwed up under the new rules after the lockout by signing the wrong type of players, and he just continues to make bad decisions.

If this was a move designed to make the Hawks better, then you hope there is a legitimate plan and it comes together quickly. If this is a personality issue, which seems at least reasonable to consider with the timing, then that's real bad and doesn't bode well for the future. Hopefully this will be a sign of things to come and will be quickly followed by the firing of Tallon, the hiring of Bowman as GM, the moving of Huet (anywhere, PLEASE!), and the signing of a #2 center. And, maybe we can get a couple of lines set and keep them set for more than a period or two!

what about the assistant coaches

We all thought the Chicago Blackhawks had turned the corner in terms of treating the whole organization and the fans with more respect and honesty. Regardless of why Savvy was fired, it was a low-ball move that should and will be viewed around the league, and by fans, as completely unacceptable. I'm not an avid hockey fan, but I watch the Hawks and follow the NHL enough to know that Savvy and the team were going to gel at some point this season. So what if they lost a few games to start the season. Look at all the hoopla and high expectations that have been put on the young Hawks. It is extremely hard for such a young, talented team to start off a very important season playing at their optimal level. Not to mention that every opponent will be trying to beat their brains out even more now that the Hawks are getting so much attention. It's only four freakin' games!!! Tallon, Wirtz and all the other liars in the front office allowed Savvy and the team to gain a false sense of security and now they will have to start over. All the continuity they have established the last couple of years is for naught. Did the management think of that? Or do they even care how Savvy or the players feel? I truly feel bad for Dennis; he seems to be a good coach and an even better guy. I hope the best for him. As for the rest of this season, lets hope all is not lost.

I am kinda surprised it was Quenneville, considering he was pulled over for DUI suspicion a few weeks ago.

I saw my first Blackhawk game in 1947...and I committed to the Indianhead. I'm totally stunned...what now, Alpho Suhonin...or Ebbie Goodfellow? You people really know to stick the knife in a loyal person's back. We all remember Billy Reay. Well I guess the apple didn't fall too far from the tree...Arthur "the Bloodsucker" gave us "Dollar Bill" who preceded "Rocky the Rat"!

The real problem is the team is now too young , We miss Robert Lang,Jason Williams,Keyven Adams,Rene Bourque ect... More than anyone realizes . You have to have the right mix of young talent with those savy (no pun intented) veterens . For crying out-loud our captain is 20years old. This team will not win consitantly throughout a 80 plus game season much less make it to the playoffs ? Great job tallon, hope Huet can play center this season ? What a waste of money with already having a #1 in khabi and the future as i have been lead to believe in Crawford.......Good luck denis, Thanks for pointing us back in the right direction.

Roman,

I am a long time fan of the Hawks. I have to say, I am very disappointed in Rocky Wirtz over this move. Rocky was doing everything right since Mr. Wirtz had passed on. The fans were back, the excitement was building. Honestly, it felt like the old days of packed houses were back. Denny Savard is as much a part of the great history of the Blackhawks as Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita. I am sure that Savvy was a BIG part of the reason the excitement was coming back in a big way. Rocky did so much right and then made the huge mistake of allowing Dale Tallon to make this move. TERRIBLE!!!! Savvy is a guy who knows the game as well as anyone. He's passionate about it and his players see it and understand it. Tallon on the other hand is the guy that should have been fired. He's a non event and a guy this fan thought was in way over his head. Were I a betting man, I'd say that the firing of Denny Savard will go down as one of the worst moves ever made in the long history of this organization. Rocky, I am very disappointed in you.

Let’s see Dale…
Perhaps the man you should have fired is the man you see when you brush your teeth. It must be nice to waste other people’s money. Do you EVEN know what you’re doing? Do you have a plan? You’re paying BIG MONEY to 2 goalies; you’ll now be paying 2 coaches. You trade Robert Lang for a draft pick and now you’re looking for a center. Your team is small by NHL standards, yet you preach beat-em-on the-ice-and-beat-em-in-the-alley. Rocky has hired some good hockey people. How long will it be until your winter can be spent golfing?

This felt like a kick in the groin when I heard the news. Denis is a legend in Chicago and a true gent. He deserved better than the apparent con game the Hawks organization played on him and the fans. I truly believe they were very concerned of the PR hit they would have taken by doing this at the end of last season. But it seems like they wanted to sell the season tickets and then fire him after the seats were sold. Didn't Rocky say at the Wrigley Field press conference that Denis had nothing to worry about in regards to his extension.

Why not fire him over the summer? This is equivalent of firing Lovie after the 3rd quarter against the Colts...

Idiotic...

Was a brassy move. Hawks management are not taking any shorts and I respect that. What do they need to wait for??? Until its out of reach??? Bulls did that and STILL ended up firing the coach. Savy is going to be alright, but he had too much talent to come out laying an egg like this. They are not the Bulls. Hawks spent their money and have generated enthusiasm all summer long. Savy was blowing it! People are excited again and they need to build off that excitement. Good move. Sends a message THROUGH the organization. Win or go homes

Look. Savvy is a great person and player and he is the coach. It is his responsibility to have the players ready to play game in game out. Clearly in the first 3 games the players weren't ready to play. And, after watching last night's game, while they won, they had no business winning that game either.

There were way too many defensive lapses in all the games. Duncan Keith said it best, if it weren't for Khabi, the Hawks would have lost last night as well. Additionally, go back through all the quotes that Savvy made in the preseason, and he made a huge point of emphasis about playing better on defense.

Savvy in some cases seem to play favorites as well. He would sit Buf for huge periods of time for whatever reason, but when someone messed up worst than Buf they were still playing their regular shifts. Speaking of shifts, it seemed that in the 1st games some of the guys were playing way too many minutes. That came to light in the TV broadcasts. It seemed to surprise Pat Foley, who has been watching and broadcasting hockey for a very long time, that some of the players were logging nearly 30 minutes per game.

You can expect these players to be averaging 30 minutes per game, and stay fresh at the same time. No wonder they had defensive lapses. The players were tired.

I also noticed Savvy had been messing with the lines way too much already in the season. Savvy should be fired just for the fact of starting the season by splitting Toews and Kane apart. Who came up with that bright idea?

And in today's papers the rumors are out there that the Hawks are looking for a defensemen. How stupid is that one? Going to look for a defensemen outside the organization just because Tallon screwed up the cap. If he would have handled the goalie situation correctly they could have kept Cam Barker, Carney and Adams which would have given them more veteran leadership and still have cap room to get a center.

Because they don't have a 2nd line center they have Patrick Sharp playing out of position. Sharp has long ago acknowledged that he feels more comfortable at the wing than center.

If they don't let Tallon go today, it is a matter of hours, days or a few weeks before he is gone. It is highly unlikely Tallon will last the whole season.

If you've watch the Hawks as I have these last four games. You saw a team that looked slow and played on their heels,not their toes. They had a hard time getting the puck out of their zone and substaining an attack on offense.I didn't think they would make a change this quick,but you could see something was wrong.

Roman, this move was in the works when Scotty Bowman was brought into the picture. He brought in Queneville and they all sat back and watched. The problem is, you'll have a taskmaster coach who wants to fight and not a "heavyweight" battler on the team. Kids like Kane, Toews and Versteeg will get burned out and not develop under a guy like Queneville. I want to win a Stanley Cup like every other Hawk fan, but I want these kids to succeed and be professionals. Savvy may not be the best coach for this team, but he wasn't able to prove whether he was the guy, or not. This stinks!!

I'm watching this press conference and the first thing I notice is that Dale Tallon is "shocked". I'm sure he was out voted by Bowman and Mcdonough. This stinks of Bowman and his way of "dominating" a team. That all being said, this better be right. I'm tired of "it's the coaches" or "we're too old" or "we're too young". This better be the guy!!!!

I am so mad right now. This looks horrible. The hawks were just starting to get respect around the league again and then THIS!!!!!!! They choose to fire a hawk legend who improved the team since he started after what? 5 games!!!!!!!! Solely on that point is unacceptable! I am so mad now and I bet 100% of the hawks fans are mad as well. I bet you the only person that thinks this was rational was tallon who decided to sign HUET and keep BULIN! what an idiot! he should've been fired just for that! We should've never gotten huet... bulin is good and has won a cup...so he's had some injuries big deal....corey crawford is awesome as well...TALON YOUR AN IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!! I would say this is the worst day in blackhawk history period. Firing a legend class act like savard just feels like a nightmare!

TALLON I REPEAT.... YOUR AN IDIOT.... and I hope you read this..... everybody else in the league thinks your an idiot and so do the fans! Resign now!

Clue-less in Chicago
As a long suffering Hawk fan I guess I'll have to now suffer even longer. The move after only four games just shows how clue-less the Hawk front office really is. I guess we all knew when they, Tallon and company, brought Joel on board that Savvy's days were numbered, but not this early in the season.

Savvy is a class act and he will land on his feet. Best of luck Denis and thanks for all the great memories!

Gents...There was no sense of security involved here. There is no sense of security in any team sport. All coaches know they are hired to be fired no matter how good the coach is or how badly the team is playing. While they would probably love to send a few guys out, they can't because of the cap. So, this is the only way to light a fire under the players and put them on notice it is expected for them to win. All the experts have the Hawks ending up in 6th place, well the way they were playing in the first 4 games they would never end up in 6th place.

Savard knew he and the players had to produce ...and produce quickly...or he was gone. That's why Rocky didn't sign Savard to a contract extension leading up to the start of the season. If you can't read between the lines, I'm sorry for you, but it was well known that Rocky was awaiting input from Scotty Bowman and to see how the season started before giving Savvy an extension. You can count on the fact that Bowman had seen something in this team and said something, and that is why Rocky made the move.

Some of you have said the club was going to gel 'sometime.' How long are the fans and the front office supposed to wait for the team and coach to gel. Until they are 1-10-1. That very well could have been the outcome after the long road trip, and by that time it would have been too late, just like it was last year, to come back and make the playoffs.

It's also a lame excuse to claim the start is due to young players or that Wednesday night's opening ceremonies with the red carpet distracted them. The Hawks are the 2nd youngest team in the Western Conference next to San Jose, and they are the 4th youngest team in the NHL with Ottawa, and Buffalo younger than the Hawks. San Jose is off to a 4-0 start with a new coach, Buffalo is 3-0 and Ottawa is 1-1-1 with a new coach (Craig Hartsburg). Washington who the Hawks lost to on Saturday is 2-1 and the same average age as the Hawks, and a relatively new coach for them as well. Those teams are doing better than the Hawks.

Savvy has been with the team a long time; 9 years as an assistant, and nearly 2 years as the head coach. He has 2 of the top players in the league in Toews and Kane and supposedly 3 of the best defensemen. Yet Savvy breaks up Toews and Kane, the defense is spotty at base, the power play is the second worst in the league and when the team should be at 4-0 or 3-1, they are 1-2-1. The finger points directly to Savvy on this one.

Look I understand some of you think the timing might be bad, but what happened to Savvy is kind compare to what the Mets did to Willy Randolph. Let the guy go on a west coast road trip after weeks of speculation, and then fire him after the team wins very late at night.

I'm not the biggest hockey fan in the world, but I do check it out from time to time; especially when they're doing well, which hasn't been often of late. Call me a fair weather Hawks fan if you will, but ...

... this is a bush league move on the part of management. A low class / no class, cheap shot after only 4 games. I'm flabbergasted!

If they wanted to get rid of him, they should have done it at the end of the last season.

This is disgusting.

I watched the news conference and Tallon was really broken up about this. Seems obvious that this was not his call. Makes me think that getting Huet to replace Khabby wasn't his call either. Both moves were totally classless, and that doesn't sound like Tallon's style.

This blows, Savy might not have been the best coach in hockey, but he got the most out of the talent he was given. The Hawks have many overrated players on this team. Thier defense beyong their top $ are brutal, Sopel is slow and horrible. Cam Barker showed a lot of promise last season & shouldn't be in Rockford, he should be up with the Hawks continuing to learn from Brian Campbell. Toews & Kane are good players, but not superstars, nor will they ever be. Thet are not close in skill to the Ovechkin's & Crosby & Zetterbergs...etc. Beyond Kane & Toews, which young offensive players have the Hawks developed? I don't think Tallon had anything to do with this idiotic decision, definitely a Bowman move. Dale will be out shortly, maybe he can do the Wolves broadcasts. Quenneville better get this team deep in the playoffs or it will be a major bust. If he does, with the limited offensive talent on this team, he deserves to be coach of the year.

I don't know that what this young team needs a task master. Anybody remember Keenan? Sure the act works for a while, but then it's stale, and kids stop responding to it. Then it escalates and then all cohesion is lost along with team spirit. This could be disastrous for morale. I loved Savard, as a player and a coach. Are we going down the bad decision highway? Is this another Bobby Hull not worth a million bucks deal? Crap, I'll miss ya Dennis. I believe the first bad move from the new regime.

he was in over his head, never been a head coach and it was an appointment from the old regime - when the hawks didnt matter and needed an old hawk behind the bench to gather interest from a departed fan base

but now the hawks do matter, they have huge attandance, and a ton of young talent that needs to be developed (and win)

bad timing, should have done it last summer, nice guy, but great move and the best thing for the hawks in the short and long term

Joel Quinvoille is a pro and will get better results

hi
tom i agree with you 110% on what you said in your comments,sorry for wasting 10,000 on this no class operation.
savard improved the team 1st year and second year by 17 points,without
toews and the injury overpaid havlat due to injuries and
AHL goalies,and almost made playoffs.
this year he had 1 legit 20 year old center and no one else,
sharp is a winger.
and brutal goalies again.
mcdaugh the backstabber and rocky the rat stick to marketing,
because you two are buffoons hiring a fossil in bowman and a drunk

overated quenville.
thanks for letting going the legend who saved organization in 80"s
and gave 2 entertaing years as coach.
commit to the indian was the greatest statement of all time.
savvy you deserved way.........better.
I will never follow this team again,the fooled me too.

I'm a life long Hawk fan that has been so pumped for this season to begin, and now this? Tallon has been with the Hawks for years, check his resume and tell me what he has done! I will support Quenneville, but I'm afraid he's an old school dinosaur that will not be able to connect with these talented kids!

4 games into the regular season and you fire the head coach? Stay classy John McDonough.

I would like to thank John McDonough for reminding me all that I had forgotten over the past two years. I had truly forgotten what it's like to be a fan of a team that is nothing less than a complete embarassment to the sport of hockey, and a complete attack on the values of honor, integrity, and justice.

Savvy's firing brings back memories of the darkest days of our storied franchise, and it reminds me that no matter how much we want to believe that the Curse of the organization has been removed, and that Rocky Wirtz is going to rectify the brutal disrespect that management has applied to us fans over the last decade, that Curses are genetic, and this one won't be removed until the Wirtz genes are removed from the organization for good. In addition, i think the backstabbing meglomaniac of a president can take his "One Goal" slogan and stick it in his ear. Long live the Curse: The Blackhawks will not achive their "One Goal" as long as McDonough is President.

Setting aside the backstabbing of a living hockey legend and true gentleman, a rationale evaluation of the situation strongly suggests that this team was not good enough to qualify for the playoffs last year. Period. And while I believe that they are good enough this year, it is apocryphal to suggest that you can HAVE A REFERRENDUM ON A COACH AFTER ONLY 4 GAMES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. EVERY COACH IN THE LEAGUE WENT THROUGH A 1-2-1 STRETCH LAST YEAR. LOOK IT UP. AND THEY WILL AGAIN THIS YEAR.

If Savvy had not succeeded in delivering the team to the playoffs this year, there's very few of us that would have questioned a change in leadership, including myself. But by not giving one of our own a chance to grow with the kids and bring us back to our hockey glory, of abusing him the same way so many of our legends have been abused in the past, it just causes me to hate the son as much as the father. Good riddance.

Savvy you are my favorite Blackhawk and you will be missed. I am 43 years old and have never seen a cup but I have the memories of your greatness.You are a class act and I hope only the best for you.Tallon is a bum and he needs to go. What the hell has he done with this team? Between the Cubs and the Hawks I am ready to jump off a bridge! HANG IN THERE SAVVYYYYYYYYYY 18

I was a big Savard fan when he was playing for the Hawks, but when JR came in a lot of us were able to see what Savard's game lacked. As a coach, Savard's team lacks the same toughness. I think Savard can win eventually, and it would be great if the organization can find him a place where he can fine tune his coaching abilities. With a new coach, I think a lot of the players will now realize that to win they will have to start getting physical.

There goes the big PR effort. Here's another team deluded by the thought they can win a Cup this year. News for ya', Hawks, you're not the Tampa Bay Rays. Chicago is still paying the price for Tallon's building a team of the Nineties at the end of the lockout. And Tallon's manhoods are now on the clock for the butcher's block.

All that cash blown on Campbell, a no-defense PP pointman, that will be one of Tallon's big regrets. Along with his signing of Khabibulin of course. When they don't work out, they're untradable contracts and screw up your cap. And maybe he'll regret the signing of Huet, though I think he'll come around.

Denis had a different attitude this season, you could see he was feeling heat. It's all lining up. Scotty B is there to groom his boy Stan (the Asst GM) for Tallon's seat once the GM gets the boot at the next Hawk slump.

This is the crazy way sports is today. Denis, you deserved better, you comported yourself with total dignity and don't blame yourself. They had it in for you from the last second of last season despite the great job you did to turn them around.

Loved Savvy as a hockey player, but he was terrible as a coach. Savard couldn't keep line combinations together for more than one-half of a period. Completely unacceptable. Other than that, the biggest problem with Savard was the lack of structure in the gameplan. He coached like it was a pick-up game. Just skate around hoping that someone makes play. The PP looks like a chinese fire drill right now. There are some rumors about Tallon and Savvy disagreeing on which goalie to play, and Savvy going over Tallon's head about a contract extension, which would lead to some dissent in the organization.

In short, the timing might be bad, but I like that management pulled the trigger right away. If you feel there should be a change, make the change. Don't end up being like the Bulls and just wait until it's too late. Hopefully Quennville will install some structure and let the lines stay to together to build chemistry. Otherwise, we might have more coaching changes than wins this season.

By the way, GM Fail Tallon will be fired as soon as Khabi is traded.

I'd have to agree with just about everyone. The timing sucks. They all talk a big talk about Denis is our man and we want him to lead us long into the playoffs. What a bunch of bullcrap! Same bullcrap talk from another Chicago team. Tell the truth don't lie to the common fan. What if new Coach Quenneville gets pulled over again for a DUI? What happens next? And they say if was lackluster preseason too. Didn't they win 5 games? More bullcrap. I've been a Hawkfan for 37 years and with this move I'm expecting to see this team in the Stanley Cup finals this year. Nothing less, if this is truly the man to get us there. When McDonough was with the Cubs how many World Series were they in. None. Here's hoping Mr. Mcdonough reads these blogs, Hey John the Hawkfans are way different then the Cubfans, we expect to win. If you don't do the job are you going to resign, or is it going to be hey this puts fans in the seats?

Once again the proof is in the pudding. The Wirtz Family needs to GET OUT of HOCKEY. Rocky your words are worth trash. Espicially after the Wrigley Conference where you said 'Denis had nothing to worry about...' Just like father, a liar. Who ought to be fired is Bowman, McDonough, and Talon. Dale we know each other, I can't believe you let this happen!
What happens to coach 'Quennee' when he is convicted of DUI and does time in jail? Every TRUE Hawk fan should stay away from the UC until NEW owners and management are in place. Remember what the Wirtz family did to Bobby Hull! Savvy, YOU ARE one of the BEST HAWKS EVER! True fans will miss you!

Although I'm a Red Wing fan, I feel two things about this situation.

1. I feel awful for Denis Savard. He seemed to be a class act as a player and coach, and his responses after he was very surprisingly fired more than confirms that he is indeed a very classy person.

2. I believe Scotty Bowman is the driving force behind this. He is generally regarded by many as perhaps the smartest man in hockey. And one thing I know from his days mostly as coach in Detroit is that he plays hardball when he feels a certain way. And usually he's right. When he first became the coach of the Red Wings, he almost immediately threatened to trade and was very close to trading Yzerman until Yzerman bought into his system of becoming a two-way player. And we all know of how after Yzerman bought in, the Wings were able to become the franchise they are today. Bowman doesn't care about public (un)popularity, and I recall he wasn't very popular in Detroit after word came out that he wanted to trade their most popular player. But Detroit came around when fans realized that everything he did was in the name of winning, and most of the things he implemented worked. So, although I really do feel bad (even as a Red Wing fan) for Denis Savard, I believe that if Quenneville really improves the play of the Hawks as Bowman probably believes, then I think Chicago fans will eventually come around and maybe still not like the way this situation was handled, but at least they'll understand.

Dennis Savard was an amazing player, who also happens to be a great guy. Great guys get fired all the time, but so do jerks, cause it's all about winning.

The Blackhawks publicly set very high expectations for this year. (Reminds me of another Chicago team.) The hiring of Bowman and firing of Savvy is no coincidence. I agree with the bloggers who say Tallon's seat his hot and he might be next.

In the end I don't think changing coaches will make a difference. Hawks have a good team, but not Red-Wing caliber, not yet.

I heard Savvy on Mac-Jurko-Harry last night and he refused to be baited into criticizing the team. He's a class act. He also has great hair. I hope some college picks him up and he enjoys a long career as a D1 college hockey coach. That's what happened to Red Berenson after the Blues fired him in the 80's.

JK is right on here. I love Savard as a player and a person, but he never showed much as a coach. Let's remember he was running the Power Plate for several years before he became the head guy, and it was awful. He also changes up lines way too much, and played favorites as well.
Also, look at the guys we have shipped off that have turned it around once they left Chicago..samsanov, ruutu, bourque.
It had to be done, and hopefully once the wins come this will calm down.
It is always hard to get rid of an icon, but wouod anyone be saying anything if this was Trent Yawney?
go hawks!

My comments to the Hawks Management. You made a horrible decision in getting rid of Dennis Savard a former great player whom was dynamic on the Ice as well as a person. Whom better to teach this young upcoming talent like the Kane & Towes and many more young players in the Hawks farm system. I remember when this organization didn't want to paid the former great Bobby Hull the money he deserve and it took many many years to repair the relationship.Don't ruin positive Marketing in trying to reach the Cup. Remember John the Cubs are going on the second hundred years in trying to win the World Series!Cub nation still loves this team. They also said on the Southside that Ozzie will never win the World Series but he is a proven winner as well as a positive leader to his team. Dennis should had given this opportinuty as well! GOOD LUCK DENNIS

Fire Dale! This guy is clueless. Trade Lang for garbage. Sign Sopel who is brutual. Jordon Henry give up. Sign Huet. Did not resign Jason Williams. The list goes on and on.

Anyone still miss Savvy? Interesting how winning can make you forget.