It took the coming out of Kyle Beach as John Doe in one of the biggest sexual scandal stories in hockey, to remove the Blackhawks General Manager, Stan Bowman. Bowman should have been shown the doors years ago. Kyle Davidson took over as the acting GM of the Blackhawks and he fired a mistake hire by Stan Bowman in removing Jeremy Colliton as the head coach of the Blackhawks. Colliton should have never been hired in the first place. With the avalanche of all the negative news that came flooding into the Blackhawks organization because of covering up what Brad Aldrich did to Kyle Beach and others. Colliton and the Blackhawks started off 1-9-2 for the season. Derek King took over the duties as head coach and things got better quickly for the Blackhawks on the ice. King’s record now is 11-15 since taking over as leader of the Blackhawks. The team is playing better than when they started and the GM and manager are on the same page. It’s good to be King, when you need something the GM goes out and gets you that piece to make the team better. King wanted an enforcer and Davidson delivered. Blackhawks land 28-year-old forward Kurtis Gabriel from the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Chad Krys.

This is not a major deal between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks. Both players in this deal were playing in the AHL, the American Hockey League. Both players had spent more time in the minors than in the NHL. Chad Krys is a 23 year defenseman drafted by the Blackhawks in 2016. In eight games for the Rockford Ice dogs of the AHL, Krys had registered 1 assist. Krys has played in 64 NHL games in parts of 4 different seasons for the Blackhawks. Krys has 2 goals & 13 assists for 15 points at the NHL level. Krys is still a young guy but needs a little seasoning to his game. Blackhawks need physical presence since the loss of Jujar Khaira getting hit in the head from a hit by Jacob Trouba of the New York Rangers.

Jujar Khaira was the Blackhawks physical game on the ice this season.

The Blackhawks get a goon in Kurtis Gabriel who brings his 6’6″ 215 lbs presence to the ice. Gabriel has played in 49 NHL games and tallied 2 goals & 3 assists with the Wild, Devils, and Sharks. This season Gabriel was playing in the AHL for the Toronto Marlies and in 13 games he had 1 goal with 1 assist. Gabriel’s game is not scoring goals or dishing out the puck. In the NHL Gabriel has tallied 5 points total in the NHL and 68 in the AHL. Gabriel brings a serious physical edge to the ice every night. Gabriel, a former third round pick, has 54 total fights in professional hockey during 8 seasons. Gabriel has dropped the gloves for 15 fights total in the NHL. Gabriel has accumulated 153 penalty minutes in those 49 NHL games.

I don’t know if Derek King will be the guy for the Blackhawks for years to come. Not sure the Blackhawks will even make it to the playoffs getting off to such a bad start like they did. King helped this organization when it was sinking from all the negative news and the poor play on the ice. The team started playing better. In sports you can make a change in leadership and the team responds right away to a different voice. For how long? Blackhawks came into the season with high hopes as Stan Bowman made multiple moves trying to get this team better and build something around Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. It was one last hope of salvaging something out of the core that helped bring three cups to Chicago. The hockey season is long especially the full slate of games on the docket this year. I love just the fact that Derek King needs something to help the team & now the new GM Kyle Davidson makes it happen. Unlike with Stan Bowman with his hand up Jeremy Colliton’s rear like a puppet in that relationship. For years the Blackhawks have lacked that physical presence on the ice. If you’re the King and you want to slay the dragon, you bring in the Goon.