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Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno is never afraid to be blunt, and with a bad hockey team, sometimes that\u2019s a necessity. Once again, the Blackhawks are a hopeless bunch, with just 51 points and a 21-41-9 record to show for it.<\/p>\n
While everyone expected growth, the Hawks, at best, stagnated. Even if they will theoretically pass their dismal 52-point total from last season. While teams with 51 points after 71 games have more than a few issues, Foligno once again pointed to one issue that may have since evaporated.<\/p>\n
In a piece from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, Foligno made yet another statement that could\u2019ve pointed to a former player. And a vocal former player at that.<\/p>\n
When talking about ways to keep this team motivated, Foligno said, \u2018\u2018That\u2019s where you separate yourself as a guy who really cares or a guy that\u2019s just [motivated] when it\u2019s convenient, right? We\u2019re weeding out some of those things in here. We need guys who want to be a part of this. It\u2019s not easy. It\u2019s not for the faint of heart. It\u2019s hard. It\u2019s an emotional roller coaster a lot of days. But we\u2019re hoping we can start to solidify ourselves.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know how many of you have played or followed high school sports, but it\u2019s a place I can relate to in this situation. Not in hockey, but in football, in which my school\u2019s team finished a whopping 4-26 between 2004 and 2006.<\/p>\n
Clearly, it took a special group of athletes to navigate that mess. I even remember watching them and thinking to myself, \u201cWhy is anyone even out there on the field?\u201d But, when you fast forward to what the Hawks are going through, it\u2019s something I\u2019ve thought regarding many of these veterans: Why would anyone want to play for this team?<\/p>\n
In both cases, Foligno was correct when he said \u201cIt\u2019s not for the faint of heart.\u201d No, it takes a special group of people to be willing to navigate what has become one of the least-desirable franchises for anyone in their prime to suit up for in recent years.<\/p>\n
And for some players, it\u2019s too much. And once again, it leads me to believe whether Seth Jones was the subject of Foligno\u2019s quip. Foligno said something earlier this month that could\u2019ve easily referenced Jones, and if he\u2019s doing it again here, it again makes us wonder just to what extent Jones was going.<\/p>\n
With Jones no longer in town and likely en route to a deep playoff run with the Florida Panthers, one also has to ask whether the Hawks have gotten any better with him out of the equation. The short answer is no, that hasn\u2019t been the case, as they\u2019re coming off of a seven-game losing streak.<\/p>\n
But just because the Hawks haven\u2019t given us a better product on the ice doesn\u2019t mean the team hasn\u2019t improved elsewhere. Players like Nick Foligno are around this team during their practices, in the locker room, and even outside of the arena. And as the captain, he would have far greater insights than those of us on the outside and looking in.<\/p>\n
That said, if Foligno was once again talking about Jones and the Hawks having become a more focused group despite the constant losing, then Jones was someone who may have needed to go even earlier in the year. Chemistry can brew on the ice later, so if the Hawks are more clear-headed without Jones as a team, then once again, it\u2019s time to applaud Nick Foligno for speaking his mind.<\/p>\n We all know that Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno isn\u2019t shy about saying what\u2019s on his mind, and another bold statement drives that point home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n