Brandon Saad is wearing the white jersey of death for the Blackhawks.
No, I’m not talking about simply wearing a Hawks away jersey – that sweater isn’t cursed. I’m talking about the white practice jersey he’s wearing in the photo.
In case you don’t know, wearing a white jersey at Hawks practice as a player means you’re a potential healthy scratch for the upcoming game.
We’ll see if Saad suits up on Thursday against the Coyotes at the United Center…but things aren’t looking good for the former star.
After being traded back to the Hawks from the Columbus Blue Jackets for star winger and Patrick Kane BFF Artemi Panarin, Saad has played…well…bad.
Fans were excited to see the young speedster who won two cups with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015 before being shipped to Columbus, but he’s only been disappointing and made everyone miss The Bread Man Panarin even more.
Saad put up 35 points in 2017 with 18 goals, 17 assists and a -10 rating. This year, he’s put up a measly 2 assists with 0 goals and a +1 rating. While those 2017 numbers aren’t terrible, they’re not $6 million-per-year numbers.
Artemi Panarin? He put up 82 points last year with 27 goals, 55 assists and a crisp +23 rating. So far this season, he has 7 points with 3 goals, 4 assists and a +1 rating.
See the difference? Everyone wishes the Hawks kept The Bread.
Whether it’s because he got paid with a huge contract, the pressure or the hockey yips, nobody really knows why Saad has been so bad.
All we know is, the clock for Saad’s time with the Hawks is ticking pretty damn fast. When Joel Quenneville doesn’t like you, he doesn’t like you. And step one to being shipped out is wearing a white jersey at practice. Just ask Bryan Bickell or Viktor Stalberg. Q slapped that white jersey on them at practice and Stan Bowman got their asses out of town.
For Saad’s sake, hopefully he takes this as a chance to turn the jets on and get back to his old self, an ol’ kick-in-the-ass, if you will. I want to see him do well and I think he can, but he’s gotta pull his shit together.
Otherwise, he will be making his way to the Joel Quenneville gallows and onto another team…
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Featured Image: NBC Sports Chicago