Several Blackhawks break their silence following Corey Perry's departure
The Chicago Blackhawks have played ten games since having veteran Corey Perry dismissed from the team for violating a team code. The tenacious winger brought lots to the table for the Hawks, so it's understandable that the team isn't firing on all cylinders since his dismissal.
Veteran Nick Foligno admitted there was a drop in the team's energy since Perry's absence. The former Maple Leaf stressed that others on the team will need to step up to fill the void.
"There was a little bit of a lull on that road trip when the dust settled, and you realized [Corey is] really not coming back. You could tell the energy he brings... was missing. You mourn that loss, and then you realize, 'Alright, it's not changing, so what are we going to do to get the energy back?' We realized other guys have to step up.
A younger guy is more willing to speak up and more comfortable in a home environment. You get to chat with them more about their lives. Little things come out of those dinners that help the bonding experience.
Sometimes on teams that have had rough years, you get some guys that are a little selfish or caught in that losing mentality. In here, there's a lot of guys that just want to get better.
Yeah, there's going to be growing pains. Our record is what it is. But it's a group that cares. When you come in here in this environment, you know at least there's a process in place." - Foligno in the wake of Corey Perry's dismissal
A younger guy is more willing to speak up and more comfortable in a home environment. You get to chat with them more about their lives. Little things come out of those dinners that help the bonding experience.
Sometimes on teams that have had rough years, you get some guys that are a little selfish or caught in that losing mentality. In here, there's a lot of guys that just want to get better.
Yeah, there's going to be growing pains. Our record is what it is. But it's a group that cares. When you come in here in this environment, you know at least there's a process in place." - Foligno in the wake of Corey Perry's dismissal
Chicago's highest paid player, Seth Jones, who makes $9.5M a year, recognizes the energy and tempo needs to be kept up with everyone staying dialed in to limit the mistakes.
"We want to make sure everyone's doing the little things. We've been hit-or-miss... when it comes to little shot blocks, little backchecks and things like that. Once you get those little things dialed in, the game becomes a lot easier.
We've had a lot of young [defensemen] and young forwards in our lineup that are still learning the game. When you're young, it's hard to find that consistency every night... We all knew that was going to happen coming into this year, and we're just trying to find a way to battle through it." - Jones on feeling the absence of Perry's veteran leadership
We've had a lot of young [defensemen] and young forwards in our lineup that are still learning the game. When you're young, it's hard to find that consistency every night... We all knew that was going to happen coming into this year, and we're just trying to find a way to battle through it." - Jones on feeling the absence of Perry's veteran leadership
There is no doubt the Perry and his 18 seasons worth of experience in the NHL would have rubbed off on the younger Hawks players.
As Chicago navigates the rest of the rebuild, players will need to adjust and be forced out of their comfort zones, and they'll have to do a better job of holding each other accountable and other guys will have to fill the void in terms of leadership in Perry's absence.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 11 | 999 ANSWERS Several Blackhawks break their silence following Corey Perry's departure Which team is going to finish in the bottom of the league? | ||
| San Jose Sharks | 418 | 41.8 % |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 336 | 33.6 % |
| Montreal Canadiens | 141 | 14.1 % |
| Other | 104 | 10.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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