Campoli Racetrack's 5 Miles Long, Oh Do Dah Day

The off-season can never be without drama in good old Chi-town, for the Blackhawks. Last year it was Antti Niemi and Nik Hjalmarsson, and this year it's Viktor Stalberg, Michael Frolik, and Chris Campoli.

All are RESTRICTED Free Agents and all were extended qualifying offers, on time, by the Hawks. This means that the Blackhawks can match any offer they sign with another team, or let them walk away.



In Campoli's case, he was eligible for salary arbitration and chose to go that route, which the Hawks can ALSO walk away from, once a decision is made. I can't say I'm surprised at Campoli's decision, based on the insane contracts Defensemen have been signing this summer. He just wants his piece of that pie. Most of you know how hard I was on Antti Niemi and his agent last year, and might look at this as a hypocrisy this year, but I assure you these are different. Last year, the market for goalies was the worst in recent memory. Goalies were virtually giving their services away for free, and some were just left to rot, like Evgeni Nabokov. This being the case, Niemi and his agent rolled the dice and tried to gouge the market, and the Blackhawks. Kind of a "dick move", if you ask me, and whether did or not, I'm telling you. The gamble worked out for both teams and Niemi, in the long run, because he was able to command a healthy extension in San Jose, and the Hawks found their new hero, in Corey Crawford. Even though the Marty Turco experience was a failure, his contract was hardly a sore thumb. Now the Campoli situation is the complete opposite because teams are paying enormously inflated numbers for marginal players. A player of Campoli's "supposed" skill would have a gripe. Just look, for example, at former Blackhawk and more recent cheapshot artist, James Wisniewski. He was able to hornswoggle Columbus into paying for his services to the tune of $5.5 Million for six excruciating years. The guy is a good player, but not $5 million good. If that is the market value on a puck moving defenseman, then the $3 million Campoli is looking for isn't all that crazy. I'm by no means defending him, but I can see the angle he is playing. This would still be OVER double last year's salary, and the Hawks have enough on the roster to replace him. You didn't have THAT good a year, Chris, and we'll always have THIS:



I'm not sayin, but I'm just sayin...



On to the rest of the clowns in the circus. Viktor Stalberg can pretty much walk, if he doesn't like what the Hawks will give him. He is of a limited skillset, and that does not including his extensive panty dropping and boyish good looks. He's a very fast player, but really had no defined role, which someone like Jeremy Morin or Ben Smith can fill, younger and cheaper. The puck bunnies would love to stare into his eyes for another season, but there is no premium on that. We're talking about a player that had 24 points in 77 games, so it would be nice to have a player back with the experience of playing under Quenneville for a year, but not necessary. Tread lightly, Pick-to-Click Vik, because you're replaceable.



Michael Frolik, is another situation altogether. He's young, and not arbitration eligible, so he can test the market all he likes, but the Hawks can always reel him back in. Reports claim that he is looking for $2.5 million a year, which is almost exactly double his salary last year. This is STILL half a million less than the Hawks/Leafs/Flyers/Panthers got stuck paying Kris Versteeg two years ago. Versteeg is good for about 10 more points per year, but Frolik actually pitches in on his own end of the rink, is two years younger, and doesn't try to rap (which is PRICELESS, in and of itself). I'll take him over Stalberg, in a heartbeat, especially since I don't have a vagina to factor into the mix.

Slave to the Grind

I apologize for getting to all this stuff a little late, but I was in Jolly 'Ol England for a couple of weeks, and it's hard to accomplish anything NHL related when there is a 7 hour time difference and no TV coverage. On to the subjects at hand:

• First of all, Just days after his 71st birthday, it was announced that Stan Mikita has stage 1 oral cancer. The prognosis is great, according to doctors, but my thoughts and wishes are with him and his family. Good Luck, Stoshly!
  
  
  
• Corey Crawford. This was a "slam dunk", and a "must have". Whatever cliche you would like to use; this was it. There was no doubt that the Hawks needed to go into next season with 26 year old Corey Crawford in net. This year was no time to jerk around with arbitration and offer sheets, and thank god, Stan Bowman made it a priority to re-sign his netminder, before this season was even over. That's one less thing we have to curse him over, come training camp. The preliminary numbers have the annual cap hit at a modest $2,666,667 for three years, which is more than reasonable. If you compare the mere facts of Crow vs. Niemi, the Hawks grabbed a guy that is a year younger, the same physical stature, with more North American hockey experience, for $1.2 million less a season. Crow had much better playoff numbers and an almost identical regular season, with a team that was in transition most of the year. This is a Charlie Sheen style WINNING, in every sense of the word.
  
  I've made no bones about the fact that I've been a Crawford supporter since '08-'09, when I felt he should have been given the backup spot behind Khabby. I can't say I ever imagined that his journey would ever turn out like this, but he is here, and the Blackhawks starting goalie for next season. I have cursed Dale Tallon more than enough for the "Huet instead of Crawford" ordeal. He has his own problems to deal with, in south F-L-A.
  
  All the numbers aside, Corey's style and demeanor work well with the Hawks style of play. He is calm, and virtually unflappable. I can't recall a time where he looked visibly shaken, in a game. Niemi, and Turco for that matter, are more physical goalies that sometimes confuse the Hawks D-men with their aggressive and theatrical style. This has shown to sometimes cause chaos, and lead to some pretty unusual goals against. Nothing against Niemi's talent, because he has proven to be a talents netminder, but Crow is a better fit.
  
  
  
• Alexander Salak. On May 20th, reports were floated by Jesse Rodgers of ESPNChicago.com and later by Chris Kuc of the Tribune and Adam Jahns of the Sun Times, that the Hawks had re-signed the 24 year old Alexander Salak to a two year $600K agreement, which if true, is a deal. Considering that Salak was hitting the cap to the tune of $1.3 million a year, previous. Strangely, nothing has been said since, which would lead one to believe that the information was incorrect. The information had to have come from a credible source, but Rodgers may have jumped the gun.
  
  At any rate, this would be another important signing, because they need to lock up a legit backup for next season, so they can attend to other issues. Salak is another player I have been crowing about, since the Hawks acquired him with Frodo. I'll be watching to see how this plays out. Nothing has been updated on CapGeek.com, so it is not official with the league, yet.
  
  
  
• David Gilbert. The Committed Indians reported late yesterday that the Hawks had reached an entry level agreement with 6'2", 20 year old center David Gilbert. Just another big young kid to bolster Rockford. don't expect too much of him, right away, but stranger things have happened, lately.
  
  Not too much is known about him, other than his size. He played this season in Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL, and had 51 points in 52 games. The Hawks brought him up to Rockford late in the year, where he had 3 points in 5 games, and plus 3. His draft profile, in 2009, said the following:
  

  "Still growing into his body at 6'1 and 184 pounds, Gilbert's main assets are his vision and his hands. Able to skate up the ice with the puck on a string, he's equally adept at making a play as he is at scoring the goal himself. Gilbert still needs plenty of time to round out the rest of his game and would benefit greatly from becoming both stronger and faster. Questions abound about his work ethic as well."

  
  Take from that what you will, because it really says a whole bunch of nothing...
  
  
  
• From the Hospital ward, Troy Brouwer and Chris Campoli both had minor surgeries to repair injured appendages. Brouwer had his bum shoulder fixed, and Stromboli had his knee fixed. Brouwer's injury was no surprise, but Stromboli's was slightly surprising. Neither injury is serious, but this could help the Hawks bargaining position, as both players are RFA's when the season ends. Both could very well be back in a Blackhawks sweater, for next season at relatively bargain prices. A healthy Stromboli could really be a breath of fresh air for Hawks fans, that didn't even know he had a very uncomfortable knee ache. Unfortunately, this knee ache had nothing to do with the poor turnover that send the Vancouver Canucks into the second round, and the Blackhawks to the golf course.
  
  
• This was under the radar, but Mathis Olimb decided against staying in Rockford and signed a 2 year deal with Frölunda HC in the Swedish elite league. Maybe the maiming he took in camp from Kyle Beach had something to do with it. Who really knows, but at 25, he looked to be a little short and frail for the grind of the NHL. Not that Marcus Kruger isn't, but they obviously saw something in Kruger that they didn't in Olimb.
  
  Reports have also been floating around that defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy, who came over from Atlanta in the Andrew Ladd Trade, has left North America to sign with the Atlant (not a typo, try and keep up) of the KHL. Really, good riddance, because he had obviously fallen out of favor in the Hawks eyes. You don't burn up the first year of a 19 year old's entry level contract, if you have a "ready for action" Ivan the Terrible waiting for ice time. The Hawks probably weren't interested in re-signing him anyway.
  

Campoli with Meatballs

As reported all over this glorious tool I like to call the interweb, meet your newest Blackhawk:

Nick Leddy? Is that you?


Rumors are flying around about this trade the Hawks made with the Ottawa Senators this afternoon for 6'0" 190lb Chris Campoli. The Hawks sent Ryan Potulny and a conditional 2011 2nd-round pick, to Ottawa for Campoli and a conditional 7th-round pick. I can't say I know much about Campoli, or that I even SHOULD know much about him. Campoli was a New York Islanders draft pick in 2004 (7th round). He is currently riding out a one year deal worth $1.4 million. He had a promising rookie season with 34 points in 05-06, but has yet to eclipse 18 points, since. His scouting report reads as follows:

• Assets - Is extremely mobile and very polished when in possession of the puck. Can make up for his mistakes with his speed. Has some offensive ability.
  
• Flaws - Needs to work on his defensive-zone coverage, which is spotty at best. Struggles when he has to lay on the body, and can get manhandled in front of his own net.
  
• Career Potential - Mobile defenseman with consistency issues.
  
• Awards - 2004 AHL All-Rookie Team, 2003 Canadian Major Junior Humanitarian Player of the Year, 2003 OHL Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy (Humanitarian Player of the Year), 2003 OHL Third All-Star Team.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this, but I know for a fact that I'm more heartbroken about the second round pick than I am the loss of Ryan Potulny. He sounds like a flaky, less talented Brian Campbell to me. I was hoping for more of a big physical defenseman, and I haven't gotten my wish yet. This guy may be an upgrade over Jordan Hendry, but he adds to the laundry list of guys that aren't going to be able to push people around, in front of Crow. I'm not sure I get it.

Sea-Biscuit, and Insider Trading

"So, I guess it's time for the pre-nup, sexy pants"


Saturday, it was announced that the Hawks and Brent Seabrook had agreed in principle to a 5 year extension, and yesterday it was made official. The contract is a 5 year, $29 million deal, with an annual cap hit will be $5.8 million. Yes, this is a high number, but if the Hawks didn't have to deal with almost 7.2 million Brian Campbell dollars and 3.5 million Niklas Hjalmarsson dollars annually, this wouldn't be an issue. Seabrook is a must have, plain and simple. Anyone who thinks they could afford to let him go needs to have some sense smacked into them. He is the sole physical defenseman on this team, and there is NOONE in the system that can take his spot. Seabrook is solid on defense when his partner seems to have the attention span of a young Retriever on hunting day, and he has been the co-quarterback of the top powerplay in the league, and all this at 26 years old. If they would have kept Hammer and let Seabrook go, I would have burned every Hawks piece of clothing I own, in my front yard, wearing a Redwings jersey while wearing an octopus on my head.

On the flip side, if Stan needed to unload that obnoxious albatross named Brian Campbell, there are young variations of Soupie in the lower levels like Connolly, Lalonde, Olsen, Vishnevskiy, youngster Nick Mattson, and lets not forget Nick Leddy's potential. I would not want to see Soup go, because he has shown his value, but with that contract, he might be up against the firing squad. By no means, am I saying any of those guys are Campbell's equal, but they have the potential and skillset to some day resemble his style.

Before deferring to the madness that is the NHL trade deadline, I have to add a late development that came about last night, which is the Jordan Hendry injury. Hendry had to be helped off the ice last night, and it didn't look good. The Hawks are being very closed mouthed about it, as they should, because it could affect any trade bargaining position they have. The fact of the matter is that if Hendry is out, they NEED to make a move. Cullisnore is not the answer, and if they think he is, I do not want to know the question. There is no one else in Rockford that can fill the spot either. This could send the Hawks into the abyss if not handled correctly, so StanBo needs to lay his sack out on the table and make something happen. If we end up with another Sammy Paulsson or Nick Boynton, I'm closing up shop until July, because I don't have the stomach for this.

Trade Deadline Updates
I will be commenting on any Blackhawks moves that might go on today...Stay tuned.

• At about 1:00, it was leaked that the Hawks sent Ryan Potulny and a second round draft pick, to Ottawa, for Chris Campoli and possibly a conditional seventh round pick. More to come.