Quoting: Kyle_Davidson
Being a Blackhawks fan these past couple of years has been rough, and we don't even have our first-rounder this year. The fanbase is already showing our discontent via attendance at the UC and I think this is just the beginning of it. I think firing the people responsible (around the league needs to come next) is a good start, but I'm not sure where it should go from there. I heard a lot of things, Stripping players of a Stanley Cup, taking away draft capital, IMO those types of things only punish the fans as the Blackhawks already made their money for the 2010 cup.
I get that, and it's not the fans fault, but unless/until the NHL does a lot more, no one is going to feel satisfied.
AZ lost a 2nd and a 1st for running off-book workouts with prospects, and that is a franchise that has only known suffering and failure. NJ got fined $3M and lost a 1st and 3rd for trying to skirt the cap with Illya Kovalchuk's contract, albeit it was right when they were a perpetual playoff team. In both of these situations, you could fairly say "don't punish the players/ fans," but the NHL still did.
CHI, the 4th most valuable team in the NHL, got fined $2m...and nothing else. Bowman was not only still with the team, but had gotten promoted. He should have been fired, but he was given the chance to resign. It's likely only a matter of time until some organization brings him on in another role. Quenneville and KC will likely get nothing more than a stern talking to, and be forced to sign off on some pre-written PR apology, "we must do better" yadda yadda, because why would FLA and WPG fire or meaningfully suspend them now?
I know the way CHI has been jerked around these past few years, but they also have three Cups to show for it, and the execs and coaches who rode that wave the longest were also the ones at the heart of everything that happened.
Honestly not trying to stir something...I think everyone is disappointed in how this has been handled. To say the goddamn least.
But man...this was really, really poorly handled. By CHI, and now by the NHL.
P.S. Dig the name change, and the photo rules.