Blackhawks News And A BriefcaseFull Of Blues

Halfway through the month of December and the Blackhawks are still holding onto the #3 spot in the entire NHL. Even with all of the issues they have been having, they are able to pretty much stay there. Granted, there are 6 teams within 2 points of the Hawks (including Blackhawks south, The Panthers), but Hawks fan's have things to be happy about. The Blackhawks are also second in the league as far as Goals For. As with every good, there are plenty of things I would call "concerning", rather than bad. Lets go over a few:

• Razor's Edge. How could the goaltending quandary not be the first item on the list? Corey Crawford has come out "sub-par" and Razor Emery has actually over-achieved. This play has gotten Razor 3 starts in a row, when he takes the net tonight in Minny. I keep saying it, but this is not yet a controversy. Quenneville is going with the hotter hand, while he has the luxury of letting Crawford work the kinks out. This may very well turn into the same scenario as the last two years, but we mustn't drink the Razor Kool-Aid just yet. Crawford is not a fragile ego'd Huet, or an over the hill Turco. He's still young and impressionable. If Stephane Waite can't fix Corey's foggy head, then I will fully endorse panic mode, because the Hawks goaltending in Rockford isn't exactly comforting. Salak, and Richards haven't done anything notable, which is hugely disappointing, and Carter Hutton is small and not NHL ready, either.
• Bickell, Smith, Bickell, and so on. After last season's shocking 17 goal output, One Trick Bick opened some eyes in the NHL circles, if only to make league scouts say, "Don't give him 3 days to get his shot off". This also gave him a false sense of his place, as an NHL forward. He's a big ass that can cause traffic in front of the net, and if you give him time, can rip off a nasty wrist shot. Unfortunately, Mr. Bickell began to drink his own Kool-Aid (Yuck, I know), and lost his true identity. He began to think he was some kind of established sniper, and forgot to go to the net. Right to Q's Doghouse with you, Son. In steps every beat writers wet dream, the sandy haired Ben Smith. EVERYONE had been clamoring for the kid to step in. He was going to do great things because he had a handful of good, not great, games 8 months ago, right? Despite only scoring more than 20 goals once, in his Sophomore year at BC, he's a top six guy. Well, If you ask the Blackhawks Meat Beat Crew, they'll feed you that bologna. I've stated all along that Smith is, at best, a solid 3rd liner, who could fill in from time to time in other spots. Anyway, Smith was called up and, coincidence or not, laid a big steaming pile of poop in two of the Hawks worst games Hawks fans have seen in quite a long time. Now, by no means was this solely on Smith's shoulders, but he was absolutely invisible. Q had seen enough, and gave him the old "Healthy Scratch" treatment for 4 games. Bickell, who had been dropped to the fourth line, proceeded to swim in a sea of suck for those 4 games, and was scratched in favor of the kid. The Meat Beat threw fits of joy and spewed delusions of grandeur, when Smith scored in his first game back, but he then returned to earth so fast that he landed about 75 miles west of the UC, in Rockford. Now, we're back to the very affordable Bryan Bickell, who may or may not be angry enough to use that big ass to throw people around. At a dollar to pound ratio, the Blackhawks have to be winning on this one, right? Wednesday night's game will hopefully show us what One Trick Bick has learned, if anything. If not, he's cheap enough to sit in the press box, or even dangle as trade meat. Suck can be easily replaced.
• Hammer Time. All of us bloggers have been taking notice of Hammer's play lately, because that is what we do. If we point out the good, that's only restating the obvious. In this case, we can really blame Doug Wilson. As revenge for sending them packing in '10, he pulled a dick move on his former team and ran the price up on Hammer, like some kind of bidding war between the knuckleheads on Storage Wars. For those of you who are familiar, liken Wilson to the Dave Hester, yelling "yeeeeeeeeeep". Anyhow, Bowman had to keep him, at the time, and overpaid by at least a million for him. A young, good sized, Swedish defensive defender with a lot of potential could really be a steal a few years down the road. The problem, here, is that Hammer has not progressed, and, in fact, he's REgressed. He refuses to use his size to punish opponents, he really offers zero offense, and he absorbs huge hits. He has a constant look of extreme pain glued to his face, and he's only 24 years old! No player can take this abuse for long, and it's showing in his development. Yes, we all know he blocks shots, but that doesn't take a masters degree to accomplish, in fact, it's probably the easiest of all talents to master. You know where the net is, and where the defender is, just figure out the angle and cover your nuts. The bottom line is that time is running out. Nick Leddy has all but jumped Hammer to become the #3 guy. Hammer was never going to be a 40 point defender, but 20 would be a reasonable goal, and the even bigger issue is his physical play. He CAN punish people, like he did against the Islanders, but he's just too tentative. The clock is ticking, Nik.
• The latest of the entertaining shenanigans is today's article by NHL Blogger Extraordinaire Puck Daddy, aka Greg Wyshynski. Apparently, in a recent WGN radio interview, the host asked a question regarding the tired joke of the Sedin Sisters. Hardy, Har-Har, right? Bolly played to the audience and threw out a few jokes. Weeeeeeell, the Intarweb, mostly Vancouver Canucks fans, is up in arms over this, thanks to Wysh. Like this is the first time they've heard this shot. Really, it's like shooting fish in a barrel with Canucks fans, and this joke has been beaten to death. If you're going to get the idiots of the Intarweb up in a huff, find someone who is making a more recent stab, like their $10 Million backup goalie with the weepy face and greasy hair. I prefer the Tomax and Xamot Crimson Twins reference for the Sedin's, myself.

All-Starpalooza Snubs and Flubs

"Patty Cake, Patty Cake"

Yesterday it was announced that Tomax and Xamot (Patricks Kane and Sharp for those that aren't up on their 80's G.I. Joe characters) were selected to the All-Star Extravaganza and Pig Roast. Sharp CERTAINLY deserves to be there, but I could go either way with Kane. He's been hurt and not necessarily All-Star worthy. I'm a hometown guy, but I can assure you there are at least half a dozen guys that have played more consistent hockey that should be out there, and if I wanted to be a real Debbie Downer I would further point out how Duncan Keith should be watching it home on TV too, but he was actually voted in by the fans. I guess if it keeps the axis of evil, Datsyuk and Zetterberg, out I'm copacetic.

Whenever something like this comes about there will always be debate about selections and snubs. This is no different. I have one major gripe, and two snubs.

Now, you could make cases for Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Stastny, Suter, and a few others, but really, the list could go on forever. My major gripe is with the selection of Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pens, and I'll tell you why. For at least the first quarter of the season, Fleury wasn't even the starting Goalie on his own team. Veteran Brent Johnson would have been listed as the #1 netminder, and Fleury couldn't stop a beach ball rolled at him. Tomas Vokoun, of the Florida Panthers, should have easily beat him out. Fleury's stats aren't even all that spectacular either, but I guess the small market teams have to suffer somehow. Apparently, once you get your Stanley Cup gold jacket you're given all the special considerations.

The snub really isn't on the radar, but it has to do with the rookie selections, for whatever silly horseshoe throwing competition they have planned. There are two Blackhawks rookies that deserve a look; One-Trick-Bick, and CrawDaddy. Bickell has fairly quietly put together a very impressive first half. He's 4th in the league overall, 5th in goals, 5th in assists, and 1st in shooting percentage. If that doesn't warrant a rookie selection, I don't know what does. CrawDaddy is in the same boat. He's right behind Philly's Sergei Bobrovsky in just about every rookie goaltender category and first overall in GAA. Unfortunately, the fab 4 took up the quota of All-Star slots for the Hawks, and I don't think goaltenders can be included in this complicated rookie jarts tossing competition.

Blackhawks News and Deja Vu's

For about 5 days, I’ve been basically out of the realm of technology, and out of the realm of catastrophic Chicago floods, apparently. I used my phone to skim through the news, but I let the electronic leashes go, and it was pretty damn refreshing. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end, and here I am. I purposely let some news back up, so I could lend my insight and opinions on the events. Of course, I’m never short on opinions, so let’s dive right into the thick of some Blackhawks news.


Bryan Bickell, Jake Dowell, and Jack Skille
The first news was that the Hawks resigned Bryan Bickell, and former University of Wisconsin teammates Jake Dowell, and Jack Skille. Hardly groundbreaking news but these are important people to fill out the roster. Bickell, a 2nd round pick (41st overall) in 2002, signed for 3 years for about $540,000 a year. Jake Dowell, a 5th round pick (140th overall) in 2004, is in roughly the same situation with a 2 year contract with an annual cap hit of $525,000. Both these guys are going to be 3rd liners at best, and probably 4th line role players, but they are cheap, young and hungry. I hope to see some solid numbers out of them. Now, Jack Skille’s deal is a tad on the amusing side, and I might classify it as a "mercy signing". He took a 50% pay cut to stay and took the “defending champs” discount. Personally, I think this shows a total lack of confidence in him, and it’s not unwarranted. He was drafted 7th overall in the first round of ’05; previous to some kids named Toews and Kane in ’06 and ’07. Granted, Toews and Kane were 3rd and 1st overall respectively, but 7th selections are generally no slouches. Some names that have been picked, recently, in that position are Kyle Okposo, Ryan Suter, Mike Komisarek, Jason Arnott, and Shane Doan. So, to say he’s underachieved is a bit of an understatement. Disappointment is a word I’d throw over Jack Skille’s mug shot, and he probably wouldn’t be able to one time that into the net either. For his sake, I hope he shows a little fight, and some knack for putting the puck in the back of the net this training camp, because if this isn’t a chance to shine and play for the defending Stanley Cup champs, I don’t know what is. It’s pretty safe to say he has his last shot right now. So, here’s to pulling your head out of your ass and putting the puck in the net, Jack. We all hope you’re just a late bloomer.


Nick Leddy
The next news is the signing of young Defenseman Nick Leddy, the 16th overall pick by Minnesota on ‘09. The Hawks signed him to a 3 year, $2.7 million contract. For those of you who were a little preoccupied by the little Stanley Cup run last year; Leddy was acquired with, the possibly whacked by the Swedish mob and currently appearing on milk cartons everywhere, Kim Johnsson for the overpriced Cam Barker. The key to that trade was Leddy, and not Johnsson, so this is good news that the scouting staff thinks he’s progressed enough to play in Rockford, at the very least. Some reports have him looking like(and by looking I don't mean the carrot-top afro) a young Brian Campbell, hopefully minus the pointless spin-o-ramas, and current Penguins free agent signee/breakout player, Paul Martin. I’m really excited to see what this kid can do, and I’m pulling for him to pan out. I like what the Hawks staff has done with their young talent, and I think this kid will benefit from their experience. The key to a deep organization is their development of kids, rather than the signing of established free agents, and the Hawks are doing just that pretty well.


Borrowed from www.hockeybroads.com, but accurate.
Now to the real ranting, and hold on to your seats. Last night, a report was floated that the Blackhawks are in negotiations/talks with Jose Theodore, in case this Niemi arbitration goes bad. I almost slit my wrists, throat, and then doused myself in kerosene while holding a lit match, as I read this. Mind you, the name HAS been mentioned as a replacement should Niemi have to be let go. Those of you who just look at stats and awards might think a 33 year old, former Vezina, Hart, and Masterton trophy winner would be a great plan "B", and on paper it sounds like a potpourri of flowers, kittens, rainbows, and peace in the middle east. This couldn’t be further from the truth and I REALLY loathe the idea of him wearing the Indianhead with the number 60 on the back. If you disregard that one year, which I fully believe was a fluke, you have a player that has been slightly above average for a majority of his career, has lost his starting job multiple times, in the last few seasons, to a guy who has yet to keep a steady job in the NHL (Semyon Varlamov), and has even lost his job to the very french skid-mark I can’t mention without dry-heaving for a good half hour, back in Montreal. The very same former Canadians/Capitals skid-mark that has lost HIS starting position multiple times in the last few seasons, which Hawks are currently trying to whack, banish to Siberia, send on a one way flight to the Pacific Ocean, or send on a mission to Mars thanks to Dale Tallon. I certainly hope I’m not the only person that see’s that this is déjà vu, all over again. Stan Bowman now wants to consider handing him the keys to our Stanley Cup defense bus? At that rate, we should KEEP Huet and we could have two flim-flam, dopey, fragile ego’d sieves. If you haven’t read my tone yet, I disagree with this vehemently. Marty Turco is still a MUCH better and consistent option. I hated the Huet signing the day it happened, and I’d feel the same with Theodore. Don’t put me, or any of my Facebook friends, through any more of this torture, please. I doubt they could tolerate my hatred laced Facebook rants for another entire season. Just when I thought I’d never have to see Huet give up another "soft as baby shit" goal, they ring up his alter-ego. Honestly, I’d rather fail with my hopes on Corey Crawford. That’s how little confidence I have in Theodore. I’m hoping the Hockey gods shine a little ray of light down on the Blackhawk nation, because we’ve already endured an emotional summer thus far.