The Chicago Blackhawks have hit rock bottom. Monday night against the league bottom-feeding Coyotes, the once mighty Blackhawks fell 6-1 in Arizona. The thousands of Chicago supporters who always come out to Glendale when the team is in town booed them off the ice. That's right, the Blackhawks got booed off the ice on the road. This turned this already ugly season even more ugly.

That loss puts Chicago at 24-24-8 and 10 points out of the second wild-card spot. Currently, their playoff odds according to sportsclubstats.com is down to 0.9%. They have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs.

In other words, this season is over. Team goalie and MVP Corey Crawford is missed terribly as he has been out for weeks, and at this point may not even see the ice again this season the way things are going. What about others? A lot of attention is being pointed to GM Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville. One has to ask if they are on the hot seat or not.

Bowman and Q feeling some heat

A lot has been talked about regarding Bowman's work the past few years. He took over in 2009 to finish the work of former GM Dale Tallon. They won the cup in 2010 and Bowman had made some moves around that Tallon core to keep them among the league's best as they won two more cups in 2013 and 2015.

However, some controversial moves have been made by him in recent years which may have hurt the future.

This includes a huge eight-year contract to Brent Seabrook, who was a defenseman star for many years but is over 30 and slowing down after so much hard work over the years. Same said for two-time Norris winner Duncan Keith.

Bowman has also made a number of trades for aging veteran rentals giving up draft picks and young prospects.

The farm does not have as much to offer and any recent picks are a ways away from the NHL. It won't be an easy fix with unmovable contracts and salary cap issues.

As for Quenneville, it seems a bit less black and white. It is hard to know what exactly happens in the locker room and he has not been one to show a whole lot of emotion in interviews with the press.

Fans have criticized the "line blending" where the pairs on different lines changes night in and night out.

It seems fair to question what it does to team chemistry. The Blackhawks had amazing chemistry from 2009-2016 until it all seemed to fall apart in last year's playoffs. This year it had not worked at all. A team has to have everything working in order to win, it is clearly not all on the coach, but some responsibility has to always fall on the coach when things go this bad.

Is it likely or right to move on from them?

There are so many things to evaluate in this situation. Just going in and firing a GM and coach means there has to be at least some plan for the future. That does not mean it cannot happen.

When things in sports don't work, changes are made. What makes this so difficult is the fact that just a year ago, the Blackhawks were considered the creme of the crop in the NHL. Imagining the day people wanted the franchise's most successful coach fired is not something foreseen by many this soon. Overall there are a few things to keep in mind.

The NHL is very performance based. Over the years Quenneville and Bowman have been at the helm while all teams around them constantly changed coaches and GMs. Sometimes for a lot less than what is happening to the Blackhawks in 2018. They have both held their positions for nine years, which is a long time in modern NHL terms.

An argument can be made that things simply do not last forever and changes need to be made.

This can apply more to a coach than GM at times. But can you blame both of them equally? That is another question. Bowman gave the coach this roster and the mix of aging veterans, prime stars like Patrick Kane and inexperienced youngsters is not easy to manage. Pinpointing everything is not always easy.

It seems that if there is indeed a change at coach, GM or both that it will not happen until the season is over. An in-season firing just does not seem likely with this franchise the way they have run it. Owner Rocky Wirtz and president John McDonough are really facing this issue for the first time during their reign. This is why this actual chances of mass firings are so uncertain. Only time will tell for sure, but there has to at least be some pressure on the management and coaching after this season.
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