Fans can blame Joel Quenneville all they want for skid, but it’s Hawks stars’ fault

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Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville tries to get the attention of the officials in the first period of the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings Sunday January 8, 2012 at the United Center. | Tom Cruze~Sun-Times

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Updated: March 14, 2012 8:13AM

I’m not ready to accept responsibility for the Blackhawks’ eight-game losing streak, but I am willing to acknowledge I might — might — have had a hand in this crime against hockey.

On Jan. 20, I wrote a column for the Sunday paper saying the Hawks had a better chance of winning a championship in 2012 than the Bulls did. The Hawks owned the more recent title, they had a better core of players and they didn’t have LeBron James and Dwyane Wade blocking their path.

The crystal clarity of my reasoning! The certainty with which I presented my argument!

On Jan. 21, the Hawks, coming off a three-game winning streak, hit some black ice in a 5-2 loss to Nashville. They have been spinning out of control ever since.

The Bulls? They’ve won 10 of 14 games since my fingers met the keyboard for that column.

If coach Joel Quenneville wants to blame me for the wolves howling at his door, that’s fine. But a better target would be his best players, the ones who aren’t playing their best. That includes Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and even Jonathan Toews, who’d be the all-American boy if he weren’t Canadian.

Now, how should the organization deal with this complete engine failure? Predictably, the anonymous posters on Hawks message boards are calling for coach Joel Quenneville to be relieved of his duties, if not his mustache.

Give Q a break

I will never understand that line of thinking. This isn’t Lovie Smith failing to make the playoffs four of the last five seasons. This is a coach who won a Stanley Cup in 2009-10. Has Quenneville suddenly become a bad coach? No. Has he lost his team? No.

You know where this is heading. Some enterprising reporter will ask general manager Stan Bowman whether the coach’s job is safe. Bowman will say, “Joel is our coach,’’ which will be analyzed for all its possible meanings. The consensus will be that Quenneville’s days are numbered.

It’s all nonsense. The players have to start holding up their end of the bargain, the one that gives them millions of dollars to play hockey. Quenneville can give all the inspirational speeches in the world, but it’s up to the players to play harder and better.

When hockey teams are struggling, coaches and goalies get the blame. That’s life. Goalies are Apart. They are Different. They’re like NFL kickers, except they don’t spend most of a three-hour game practicing on the sideline and looking busy.

Hawks goalies Corey Crawford and Ray Emery have been on the receiving end of criticism, but they haven’t had enough help in front of them. The Hawks have been shopping for a defenseman. Good. Maybe an addition would help stabilize the inconsistent Keith.

Quenneville is the easiest target there is. He has taken responsibility for the defensive woes, saying he let his players get preoccupied with outscoring opponents rather than stopping goals.

That magical Stanley Cup season should count for something. At a minimum, it should cut the coach some slack. Getting rid of Quenneville would be making a move for the sake of making a move. That’s almost never a good-enough reason.

The team record for consecutive losses is 12, set by the 1950-51 Hawks, who were coached by Ebbie “Poker Face” Goodfellow, which is one of the all-time names. That team finished 13-47-10. This season’s model is much, much better than that one, but the current streak is casting darkness over everything, making it difficult to see the truth. The truth is that this is a good team going through a hard time. You can see the pain of it just by looking at Quenneville, who usually has a pretty good poker face himself.

Wake-up call

Here’s a question for angry Hawks fans who forgot to get their rabies shot: Do you believe in the team’s core or not? Do you believe that teams sometimes go through tough patches and that they can come out on the other side whole? If so, then ease up on Quenneville and have a little faith.

In the meantime, it sure would help if Hossa found his way out of the hole he has been in during the losing streak. Same with Kane and Keith.

The Hawks aren’t as bad as the streak suggests. Perhaps they’re not as good as I made them out to be before the streak began. But don’t blame the coach. Come to think of it, don’t blame me, either. Blame the players.