Because, in this day and age, the Chicago Blackhawks can't find a better way to report the action of their future players other than their Twitter feed, this is a vague wrap up of the action yesterday:
-Ben Smith opens the scoring five minutes into the first. Assists to Connelly and DiDomenico. Pittsburgh ties it up less than a minute later. -Igor Makarov snipes top shelf from the top of the right circle. Assists to Gilbert and Lalonde. 2-1 CHI halfway through the first -Brandon Bollig and Rob Flick have both logged fights already, and we're only mid-way through the 1st. -Kyle Beach with a nice redirection of a Jeremy Morin centering pass and CHI now leads 3-1 with 2:30 left in the first. -3-1 Hawks rookies after one. Shots favor the Blackhawks 12-8. The ice definitely tilted towards the Pittsburgh net most of the period. -Brandon Pirri and Igor Makarov both dent the net in the first two minutes of period number 2. 5-1 Hawks rookies. -The Penguins rookies get one back shorthanded. 5-2 with 14 minutes left in second. -Brian Connelly buries a one-time feed from Chris DiDomenico from the top of the right circle on the PP. 6-2 Chicago. -Makarov gets his hat trick as he cuts across the slot and rips another shot top shelf, ringing the crossbar. 7-2 with 11 left in 2nd. -DiDomenico feeds Kyle Beach from behind the net and he makes it 8-2 from the bottom of the circle. 4 minutes left in second. -Pittsburgh gets one late, but Chicago leads 8-3 after two. Shots 27-17 CHI. -Morin patiently finishes the rebound of a Nick Leddy point shot on the power play. 9-3 Chicago rookies with 15 left. -PIT benefits from two Chicago defensemen crashing into boards behind net and cuts it to 9-5. Five minutes left. -The Blackhawks rookies win 9-5. Igor Makarov takes over the tournament goal scoring lead with four.
As I said the other day, this really doesn't tell us much, other than the fact that it was a defenseless weekend shootout. Nonetheless, I like seeing something related to the Blackhawks on the ice, actually playing.
After that pitiful embarrassment of a Bears game, yesterday, I'm so glad to see people wearing the Indian Head sweaters,and playing some puck. For those of you that aren't aware, the Hawks sent a team to the NHL Young Stars tournament in Toronto. This team is basically a tournament of draft picks and promising minor league players, that allows them to showcase their skills. It's really not much, but it's Hockey, and it involves Blackhawks, in some form or another.
The roster has the following players, with their 2009-10 teams: Forwards Steele Boomer(Kootenay), Kyle Beach(Spokane), Brandon Bollig(St. Lawrence), Chris DiDomenico(Drummondville), Rob Flick(Mississauga), Byron Froese(Everett), David Gilbert(Quebec/Acadie-Bathurst), Mirko Hoefflin(Heilbronn), Igor Makarov(St. Petersburg/Dynamo), Jeremy Morin(Kitchener), Philippe Paradis(Shawinigan), Brandon Pirri(RPI), Ludvig Rensfeldt(Brynas), Ben Smith(Boston College) Defense Jonathan Carlsson(Toledo), Brian Connelly(Rockford), Simon Danis-Papin(Rockford), Scott Fletcher(Reading), Shawn Lalonde(Belleville),Nick Leddy(U. of Minn), Ryan Stanton(Moose Jaw) Goaltenders Joe Palmer(Texas), Alec Richards(Toledo), Kent Simpson(Everett)
It's hard to critique something you can only see select portions of, but from the highlight clips I have posted below, the kids looked a little over-matched by the Toronto team. There were a few observations that I had, while watching the clip, though. Alec Richards looked pretty soft in net, but he didn't seem to have a lot of help either. Maybe he had some focus issues because the number 38 has been forever tarnished by the legendary Cristobal Huet, in 08-09. Kyle Beach, David Gilbert, and Jeremy Morin all scored, but the young Hawks never looked to be in the game. Gilbert's goal was a rebound laying in the crease, Beach's goal was a nice snap shot from the slot, and Morin's was an awful goal from an area that should never result in a "throw it at the net" tally. I don't know much about this Gilbert kid, but he seems to be involved in most of the positive action, so let's hope we see more of him in the near future. It's also odd to see someone (Morin) with some skill, wearing the #27, again (Yes, Pascal Pelletier, you suck). I can't really comment on the rest of the action, other than the fact that the defense looked like a Chinese fire drill, and got caught WAY too much. Honestly, what can you expect from a bunch of kids that have had played together for all of one practice? Have a look for yourself.
I'm having a hard time finding more detailed information on the Sunday game against the Sens rookies, but it looks like they lost 7-3, after going up 3-1 in the first. Goals were from Gilbert, Rob Flick and Igor Makarov. No one seems to care who was in net for the great choke job, but my best guess is Huet. Great job by the Hawks website people to bring us such great coverage from the Sens beat writer(note sarcasm). Whatever, they blew a nice first period lead, and no one on the Hawks end seems to give a rat's ass. Don't bother dragging yourself out of your champagne hangovers just yet, fellas. This commotion below is much more important than reporting on your young talent and the future of your organization:
Some Devin Aromashodu fan, with some shiny garbage can looking thing
The Hawks kids wrap up Tuesday, with a game against the mini Penguins at 1pm (central).
The Blackhawks made two pretty tame signings in the last two weeks, inking prospect Brandon Pirri and former Edmonton center Ryan Potulny to contracts. Normally, these signings aren’t really blips on the radar, but it’s slow in the Hockey world and there isn’t much more to follow in Chicago.
Pirri is a 19 year old, 6’0” 160 lb, center from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and former second round draft pick, from 2009. The Hawks signed him to a 3 year entry level deal, last weekend, worth an anual cap hit of $648,333, according to Red Rising Blog. Not a great deal is known about him, but his scouting report says the following:
"His puck handling and play making skills are by far his strongest attributes as he combines both of them with excellent decision making. He is a good skater and can beat a defender one on one at either full speed of half speed."
Sounds to me like a Steve Sullivan type of player, which worked well here in Chicago. Sullivan was shorter in stature, but also weighs in about 12 lbs heavier. Pirri has been a very successful goal scorer at every level, which is promising. I would expect to see him playing in Rockford, but if things don’t pan out right away, he could end up in the CHL with the Saginaw Spirits. The past two training camps he has been pointed out as a bright spot, so I’m hoping he’ll be playing in "The A" this winter. My gut feeling is that he’ll be an NHL player in a year or two, after he bulks up, a little.
Potulny was a bit of a surprise, but not really what I'd call shocking. I guess Bowman saw something in that Oiler team that he wanted to bring to Chicago, although it wasn't wins. He signed a cheap 2-way deal that really isn't any risk to the Hawks. If he works out, he'll be a bargain 3rd or 4th line center, and if he doesn't, he'll be a productive character player in Rockford. Potulny is a 26 year old, former third round pick of the Flyers in 2003. The guy has been a standout at all the lower levels, and scored 38 goals in his last full AHL season. Last season, with Edmonton, he had 15 goals and 32 points for an injury ravaged and talent depleted Oiler team. Of course, someone had to eventually score for that team, and Potulny did a time or two. Even though he's a center, he's roughly the same size, and his numbers look slightly better than the numbers Patrick Sharp put up in the Philly system, before he came to Chicago. I'm by no means calling him the next Sharpie, but he has a knack for the net, and some penalty killing speed. Ladd, and Sharpie were once unknown players who broke through here, so lets hope Mr. Potulny can, too.
Here is a little spin-o-rama goal from a shootout in the AHL, last year
As the first day of September came and went, the Chronicles of the Forehead quickly got a whole lot more interesting. Several sources reported that Niemi would be signing a 1 year, $2 million contract as early as today. I literally laughed out loud, in my cubical, as I read this. First of all, because I was right once again, and secondly because Niemi and his agent, Bill (Don't call me Barry) Zito, look like a couple of Class A douche bags. Few things make me as happy as seeing an asshole agent and his naive/stupid client get completely embarrassed on a grand scale. I'll explain this pride swallowing move in a bit, but first, I'd like to clear up some misconceptions and incorrect information floating around in people's heads and throughout this wonderful place I like to call the interweb.
The Correct Antti Niemi information:
-Niemi made $826,875 last season. Previous to last season, he was an unknown minor league goalie, that couldn't win the starting job on the Rockford Icehogs, and had only one year of North American hockey experience.
-Niemi "won" the backup job because he had a shutout in his preseason game against Florida, in Finland, and Corey Crawford really didn't impress anyone.
-Niemi never "won" the starting job, outright. He was given it by default, when Huet simply crapped his jockstrap at the most important part of the regular season. Niemi was given several chaces to take the starting job and couldn't play consistent enough to force Quenneville to give it to him.
-Niemi has a grand total of 64 NHL games under his belt. His career in the NHL looks like the following:
The Contract Saga: -Niemi was a restricted free agent, which means the Blackhawks have the right to match any offer he signs with another team, given that they extend a qualifying offer to him before the deadline on June 28th. The qualifying offer must be at least 105% of the previous season’s salary, which would be $868,219. Niemi had two choices; go to a salary arbitration hearing, or sign a contract with a team. If he signed with any other team, the Hawks had the option of matching or getting compensation in return. In this case, the compensation would have been the other team’s second round pick, unless the offer was over $3,091,963, whereas the compensation would have been the other team’s 1st and 3rd round draft picks. Niemi's agent chose to go to arbitration.
-The Blackhawks extended a qualifying offer, worth a reported $1.5 million, to Niemi on June 27th. This was the debacle last year when Dale Tallon didn’t file the qualifying offers in time. As a result, Cam Barker, Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Aaron Johnson and Kris Versteeg all became unrestricted free agents. The team was then forced to overpay for Versteeg and Barker, which ultimately lead to their contracts being unloaded.
-The Hawks and Niemi could now negotiate the actual contract, or Niemi files for arbitration. His agent files by the deadline of July 5th. Both sides can still negotiate until the arbitration hearing, which was scheduled for July 31st, and if a contract is agreed upon, the hearing would be cancelled.
-The best reported offer that the Hawks made was a short term deal worth roughly $2 million a year. Niemi’s agent was reportedly looking for a reported 5 year deal, worth somewhere in the area of $3.5 million a year.
-The arbitrator awarded Niemi $2.75 million a year, which the Hawks had 48 hours to offer, or allow him to become unrestricted. The Hawks decided not to offer that contract and he became a free agent on August 2nd.
-Niemi reportedly agreed to a shockingly familiar short term $2 million offer with the Sharks on September 2nd.
Now these are all fun, but true facts. The qualifying offer was NOT the final offer the Hawks presented to Niemi. His agent turned down the same offer to come back, be the starting goalie and defend the Stanley Cup in Chicago, only to agree to the same offer a month later. In San Jose, he will have to fight for a starting job on a team that has already committed $2 million to Antero Niittymäki, and has young Tomas Greiss waiting for his time. Not to mention, San Jose consistently chokes every year in the playoffs, and has a far less talented defense than the Blackhawks. Niemi, Niittymäki, and Greiss are not an upgrade over Evgeni Nabakov. Nabakov is a solid veteran starting goalie, and they dumped him for 3 question marks. All this aside, a $2 million Niemi contract puts them over the cap by $912,501 without Greiss on the roster and still needing another defenseman. Welcome to Cap Hell, Doug Wilson, we’ve saved you a seat at the head of the table.
The last part I want to address is Forehead’s agent, Bill Zito. When all is said and done, Niemi got bad advice from his agent. Zito completely misread the market for goaltenders, and arrogantly turned down virtually the same offer to stay in Chicago where fan’s loved him. He must have also been intoxicated when he assumed his client could get almost $4 Million a year. Bill Zito, you sir, are an idiot and I hope you end up with less clients because of it.
Yesterday, I noticed an article posted on a friend's Facebook page about the great Antti Niemi and chose to take a casual poke at his "wise" decision. Shortly thereafter things got interesting as a "fan", chimed in with some "facts". This is some grade A ownage and word for word:
My Friend: Yup lmao Coulda had both security and be on a contender if he wasn't greedy.
Casual Fan: Don't be haters just because he exercised the options that were given him. He did a terrific job for the Blackhawks last season and that shouldn't be forgotten. He stepped up when Huet wasn't doing all that well.
Me: Exercised the option to be someone elses backup plan. Sure, sounds like a great career move.
Casual Fan: He exercised the option of going to arbitration in a contract year just like any other NHL player would. This has nothing to do with greed. Name me any other starting goalie in the NHL that's making $400,000. The Hawks chose not to pick up what the arbitrator awarded him. It was the team's choice, not Niemi's
My Friend: Hawks didn't have the cap room, , their choice was to sign him but they couldn't. Because he was awarded in arbitration 3.4 or whatever. They looked at just the playoffs. With another team in front of him, lessor talented, he may not far...
Me: First of all the league minimum is higher than $400k. A real team player would have at least signed a one year deal for a reasonable amount. His stupid agent made him believe he could get more than he could from the Hawks. No goalie with 60 career games, that couldn't win the starting job until the other dope shit the bed, deserves that money. Turco turned down a much bigger payday for the honor of playing for the hawks. That deserves respect and support.
Casual Fan: Check your sources Jeff. He was making $400,000 (WRONG) last year. I write for a newspaper and that is what my sports department tells me, so I trust them. If you want more proof, I'll get it for you. As for the "team players" you cite, they are a rarity. So he is supposed to turn down almost ten times (WRONG) what he made last year for the sake of being a team player? I'm not sure anyone would do that. Turco has the luxury because he's had a long career. And Niemi's stupid agent was right for telling him to go to arbitration. Tell me anyone who is going to turn down a $3.4 million payday (WRONG) to play again for a fraction of that and that person is business stupid.
Casual Fan: Any sane person is going to take the money because there is no guarantee that something like that is ever going to come along again, especially with the threat of career ending injuries.
And because I LOVE being right, I must step in.
Me: OK, because we all know newspapers have the facts right. Sources you say?
According to the CBA on the OFFICIAL NHL WEBSITE the minimum salary for a rostered NHL player last season is $500K. So, I find your sources wrong, because you cannot pay a player UNDER the league minimum. I checked my source, feel free: http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26366
And no not everyone is a money hungry douche bag. Marty Turco turned down at least triple the money with Philly for a chance to play in Chicago. Niemi's agent advised him wrong. It was a terribly WEAK goalie market and he thought he could BS the Hawks into overpaying. He bluffed and now he will suffer. He would have gotten a HANDSOME raise from the past year, but he wanted to squeeze that extra dollar out.
Me: I suppose CBS,ESPN, FOX, and the national post are wrong as well:
Casual Fan: Did you break down the salary into base plus incentives? Regardless of whether my sources are wrong, the guy has a chance to make far more than he made last year. And you're going to fault him for that? So if you're in the same situation, you'll turn down the money for the sake of being a team player, not knowing how long your career is going to last?
Me: He had standard player contract with no player incentives. He was a minor league goalie (that couldn't win the outright starting job on his minor league team) with one year of North American hockey experience when that contract was negotiated. He could have accepted nearly triple his previous salary with a manageable cap number, knowing full well the team could not afford to overpay for anyone. There was no reason to go to arbitration because the team was offering around $2 million a year. He's still jobless for a reason, and it's not because there is a fierce bidding war for him.
And for the record, I've never knocked his contribution to the team. He was a PART of the team, but nothing close to the major reason they won. Clearly, Huet would have handed that starting job to anyone, because not once did Niemi "win" the job. He was given it by default.
First and foremost, I’d like to wish you all a Happy Friday, and, more importantly, I’d like to wish my beautiful daughter a Happy 2nd Birthday.
Now, getting back to Blackhawks business, it’s been quite "slow" to put it mildly. We’re all just waiting for training camp to start because there isn’t anything else in the Chicago sports world worth defecating on. From any reports and speculation I have read, Marty Turco will wear #30. This is fine with me, as long as he didn’t turn that #35 around, like Khabby originally did, and make it #53. That’s a lame number, and even worse than the #48 that I wear. Some people have speculated that #30 hasn’t been worn since the great Ed Belfour, but this is untrue. Mark Fitzpatrick wore it briefly in 98/99, the infamous Mike Leighton wore it in 02/03, Adam Munro wore it briefly in 03/04 and 04/05, and so did Sébastien Caron for one game in 05/06 according to HockeyDB.com. Interesting, and ironic, fact about Caron is that he is the goalie Christobal Huet will be taking the starting job from on Fribourg-Gotteron in the Swiss League, once the deal is finalized. Back to the subject at hand, a story was released about the masks Turco will wear for the Hawks, along with a photo. I, personally, think they are great, but you can decide for yourself. If we take those masks with the very slick one Crawford wore last year, the Hawks have the best LOOKING netminders in the league. Have a "look-see":
This guy looks excited, with a capital “e”
The Turco masks were created in Port Huron Michigan at Warwick Mask, and painted by Dave Gunnarsson, who painted many NHL mask in the past from his Swedish studio called DaveART (www.DaveART.com).
A good friend of mine, and person I have great respect for, gave me a great idea for both the bandwagon fans, that had no idea who Martin Havlat, or Nikolai Khabibulin were (much less Steve Larmer, Al Secord, and Denis Savard), and the casual fans, that insist that the team just picked names randomly out of a hat to trade away to annoy the fans. His suggestion was a comparison of the players from the Stanley Cup winning team, and the team that’s going to go to war in mid September. Now, I know full well that of the 2 million Hawks fans at that celebration parade, about 80,000 could name half the players without a lineup card in front of them. That’s part of being successful, and I don’t knock that; if you don’t try arguing hockey with me. If you do want to argue Hawks history or hockey in general, you’re going to get a verbal enema. Please, as the Rock would say, “know your role and shut your mouth”. Use the writings of the hardcore players/fans/critics to educate yourself. There isn’t much that looks more idiotic than someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about at a sporting event or when trying to debate sports topics. Kind of like parents who argue why their child needs to play ahead of everyone else, and I witnessed over 10 years of this. Your kid sucks; if they were that good, they would be playing already, and if you knew so much you’d be coaching instead of cheerleading from the sideline between cell phone calls, Johnny Superdad.
Moving along, My point here all along has been that anyone who has been paying attention knew for well over a year that poor Stan Bowman was going to need to unload some salaries after this season. Again, this was not some grand scheme to piss you off because you bought a Byfuglien jersey for Easter, or any other distorted variation. If you bought a Byfuglien jersey you’re a fool in the first place, because he was one of the first people that were thought to be unloaded. This is something I predicted after the 08-09 season! He wasn’t staying for $3 million a year, and if you think Bowman could have jackhammered $3 million somewhere into this salary cap, you are quite dense. Maybe you should have asked a knowledgeable hockey fan before plunking down damn near $200 for a jersey. I’m not going to rehash my past rants about the situation, but please feel free to read them at your own leisure. You’ll be a more educated Hawks fan after reading them. The most logical way to lay this out is by position, so let us begin:
Centers
2009-10 - Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp, John Madden, Colin Fraser, and Jake Dowell
This was actually a position you could call “questionable” after Toews, last season. Everyone knows Toews is the number one guy and deserves every cent of his salary. I will be upset if he doesn’t finish his career in Chicago and if #19 isn’t hanging in the rafters when his career is said and done. Bolland was hurt a majority of the season, and the other guys really didn’t light the world on fire with their play on the second line in his place. Coach Q was forced to moved Sharp, who is naturally a winger, to Center for a good portion of the season. Sharp did an admirable job, which is why he could be a Center again this year, and one of the many reasons that he was not traded to clear up cap room. Flexibility is a very important asset in sports, and Sharp is as flexible as a player comes. Back to Bolland, he never really struck me as a second line center. His skillset and play is perfect as a third line center and shutdown player. Just look at the way he shut down Jumbo Joe Thornton in the Shark series last year. Bolland gave up 4” and close to 65 lbs to Thornton, and completely shut the man down, and that’s a VERY hard thing to do. As with most positions, last season, they were overloaded with talent. John Madden played very well, as did Colin Fraser, but they were pushed down the roster because of all the talent at the top. I LOVE everything about John Madden and really wished there was a way to bring him back, but it was not reasonable. Chuck Norris should wear John Madden pajamas to bed, because he’s blue collar, bad ass, son of a bitch. He did exactly what he was brought here for, and was rewarded with another Stanley Cup. The forth line was centered by Fraser, who could blossom into a Bolland type third line player with Edmonton, and Adam Burish. They did an excellent job all season, and would have gotten much more playing time on other teams, but were kind of wasted when the playoffs rolled around.
Projected 2010-11 - Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp, Jake Dowell, Jeff Taffe, Mathis Olimb, Marcus Kruger, Nathan Davis, Evan Brophey
This season, the Center position will be pretty close to last year’s group. Sharp should center the second line and Bolland on the shutdown line, which is virtually no change. You lose Madden, but you’d gain more Sharp’s playmaking ability and some youth. The forth line is where you’ll see the biggest change. The most likely scenario would be Jake Dowell or Jeff Taffe playing there and there are a gaggle of young guys that would love to answer a midseason call-up to head to the UC. One player that might have seen some serious looks was Mathis Olimb, but he was setback in the prospects camp, when Kyle Beach maimed him and busted up his shoulder pretty good (if Beach is like that to teammates, makes you wonder how insane he’ll be to opponents. ::cough:: Dan Carcillo ::cough::). If the young players do just a solid job, this will be a wash. A full season of Dave Bolland with a Sharpie getting the hang of being a second line center sits just fine with me.
Kyle Beach tearing Olimb's shoulder up
Wings
2009-10 - Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Kris Versteeg , Troy Brouwer, Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Tomas Kopecky, Adam Burish, Ben Eager, Bryan Bickell, and Jack Skille
Here is where they had a “logjam” of players. There just simply wasn’t enough playing time for all of these talented guys. This is a great problem to have, but it wastes a great deal of potential and probably costs quite a bit of money. Kane was a stud all year, Hossa missed 4 months and still had 51 points, Versteeg was solid with his usual mental lapses, Ladd was his usual quiet yet solid self, Eager was serviceable for his skillset, and Brouwer had a decent 40 point regular season. After that, Kopecky struggled to find a place, Buff was all over the map and only had 34 points in 82 regular season games, Burish was hurt 90% of the season, and the combo of Bickell/Skille racked up more miles on I-90 than they did noticeable playing time. The playoffs were a different story, as Kopecky finally looked like the player that Bowman was looking for, and Buff gained notoriety for parking his gimongous ass in front of Roberto Luongo and Evgeni Nabakov. I’ve made my opinions about Buff well known, but I’ll give a slight refresher for those too lazy to read past blogs. Buff is a one trick pony; he’s big. He’s not fast, he’s not overly agile, he’s not real smart, and he’s probably below average handling the puck. He’s a bowling ball that can run people over and can plant his butt in front of the net, and he can be very good at that. But, to keep a guy around that is really only useful as a screen in the playoffs for $3 million a year, isn’t smart. You can’t teach size, but you CAN find it cheaper somewhere else.
Projected 2010-2011 - Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Troy Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky, Viktor Stalberg, Fernando Pisani, Bryan Bickell, Jack Skille, Kyle Beach, Hugh Jessiman, Rob Klinkhammer, and a cast of thousands.
Offensively, this is where you’re going to see the biggest changes. Kane is tethered to Toews for life, and we might see big Troy Brouwer have a breakthrough year with them. Quenneville has put them all together quite a few times before. Brouwer, of course, isn’t as big as Buff, but he has better hands. My wild card, and you read it here first, is Viktor Stalberg. He’s a big, 24 year old winger with some great hands, that wouldn’t be out of place playing with two world class players like Batman and the Boy Wonder. He was lost in that abyss of a team called the Maple Leafs, last year. Even Phil Kessel was pretty transparent there, and who else did Stalberg have to play with there? Absolutely, no one. He had 14 points in 40 games, but this was as a rookie, with an atrocious team. He’s the same age, 4” taller, and 30 lbs heavier than the player he was traded for, Kris Versteeg. Of course, he probably doesn’t have the dangling skills Steeger has, but he has that thing you can’t teach, size. Toronto will be better this year, but Versteeg will get knocked around quite a bit with only Kessel to help in the scoring department. I can’t wait to see how many of Versteeg’s neutral zone turnovers end up in the back of his own net. If Brouwer doesn’t produce how "Q" would like, watch for Stalberg to find himself playing with Toews and Kane. Like I said, this is purely a hunch, but a good one.
Mr. Stalberg's College Highlight reel
The second line will most likely find the Czech connection, Hossa and Kopecky, between Sharpie. I was one of Kopecky’s most harsh critics, last season, until he finally found dug down in his chones and found some balls. It looked like something just finally “clicked” with him, once Hossa was back and comfortable. A full season of the Czech mob together, and I think we’ll have more appreciation for TomoKop.
The third line is anybody’s guess. You’ll either have Brouwer or Stalberg, with Bolland, and possibly Bickell or Skille. A late entry into the third line bonanza is Mr. Ulcerive Colitis himself, Fernando Pisani. I don’t really see a place for him on this team, but at $500K, I guess Bowman wanted to give it a shot. I’m not sold on anyone, just yet, so we’ll have to see how camp plays out. One thing is for certain, though, someone needs to break through for this group. Boruwer, Stahlberg, or Bickell could have a hell of a camp and get paired with Toews and Kane, which would leave the remaining two on the third line. That’s really not too shabby, any way you slice it. I’m really not a Jack Skille fan, but the kid had to have some talent to be a first round pick in ’05 ahead of players like: Devin Setoguchi, Anze Kopitar, Marc Staal, Martin Hanzal, Ryan Parent, Tuukka Rask, T.J. Oshie, and Steve Downie. I’d like nothing more than to see him be the breakout star of this year’s camp, a la Kris Versteeg two years ago. I know this is purely a pipe dream, but “first round” first line of Toews, Kane and Skille would make for a nice story. I wouldn't count on that ever happening, but you never know how things will play out. Look for, Stalberg-Bolland-Pisani, or Stalberg-Bolland-Skille/Bickell.
The checking line is even more of a crapshoot. Jake Dowell will, most likely, center any combination of Bryan Bickell, Jack Skille, Fernando Pisani, Kyle Beach, Hugh Jessiman, or Rob Klinkhammer. The thing holding Beach back will be his salary. The Hawks don’t want to flirt with the salary cap ceiling any more then they have to, so Beach’s paycheck may land him in Rockford for a full season, barring catastrophic injuries. Honestly, every single report I’ve heard is that he’s a more talented Dan Carcillo. THAT would be fun to watch, now wouldn’t it? Jessiman is a mountain of a man, but has been a HUGE first round bust from ’03. He’s only 26, so maybe he’s just a late bloomer; or the Rangers just suck at drafting players, and I highly suspect the latter. I love to pull for the underdog, but I can’t see much promise in a player that can barely hack it in the AHL. For all you trivia hounds, here is a fun fact: Hugh Jessiman is currently the only first round pick from 2003 to not play in an NHL game. By comparison, the two players drafted after him are Brent Seabrook, and Dustin Brown. You can now pause for a chuckle and a drumroll. Rob Klinkhammer is a tough kid that made it to some of the final cuts last season, and could see some time as a digger, as well. From what I saw, he looks like a tough kid that’s willing to get his nose dirty. We may even see some of the 6’8” and 258 lb John Scott at wing, who at makes Jessiman look like an anorexic midget, but I’ll cover him more later.
Defense
2009-2010 – Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brent Sopel, Jordan Hendry, Nick Boynton, and Kim Johnsson
Most of you know the story of the Defense, last season. Duncan Keith was the best defender in the league and his partner, Brent Seabrook, could be the top defenseman on quite a number of teams. Brian Campbell showed that he is more valuable than originally thought when the “D” struggled while he was hurt at the end of the regular season, and beginning of the playoffs. Campbell does really dumb things, sometimes, but he is a talented guy that can take the spotlight off some of the forwards, which can allow them to find open ice or sneak in behind the defenders. The Hjalmarsson saga was an interesting soap opera that we’re all familiar with, but he’s a solid top 4 guy that needed to be kept. Things were rounded out with Sopel, Hendry, and later in the year, Boynton and Johnsson (who played 8 games and was abducted by aliens, never to be heard from again). Here is where I’d like to address the curious case of Brent Sopel. He missed all but 23 games two years ago, and the Hawks did just fine. Last year everyone fell in love with him for blocking shots, but I have to straighten one misconception out. Blocking shots has less to do with skill, than it does DESIRE and POSITIONING. If you’re going to fall in love with a player for throwing his body in front of opponent’s shots, there are much cheaper, faster, and more talented players. In fact, I’d be willing to bet the 34 year old Jassen Cullimore would be glad to get walked around 2 or 3 times a game and block 4 shots with his mug for his league minimum $500K, as opposed to Sopel doing the same job last year for $2.5 Million. I firmly believe that the Hunchback of Sopel Dame blocked so many shots because he was too slow to get out of the way. What do you think of that?
Projected 2020-2011 - Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jordan Hendry, Nick Boynton, John Scott, Jassen Cullimore
Top 4 are intact from last year, and technically, the top 6 are back. Boynton and Hendry count, because they both played in the Cup Finals. The Hawks lost a whopping one “D” player, a third liner to boot, from the team that last year was one of the top in the league. Scared? Was Brent Sopel the “X Factor” in the 2010 Stanley Cup? No, he wasn’t. The interesting signing of the year was John Scott. He’s a Jolly Green Giant that I’ve nicknamed Big Bad John, after a 1961 country song of the same name. As I pointed out earlier, he’s 6’8” and almost 260 lbs. If you check out any of his fights at HockeyFights.com you’ll see that he’s a real bruiser. I’m not really sure where he fits in the mix, but even Stu Grimson was an unknown cementhead at one time, when he was acquired from Calgary. He plays wing and defense, so he’s flexible.
The only real question marks are the young kids that they have acquired. These are all names you should watch out for in the coming years: Ivan Vishnevskiy, Nick Leddy, Brian Connolly, Shawn Lalonde, Simon Danis-Pepin, and Dylan Olsen. Any of them could see a little duty if there are any injuries or trades at any point in the season, but don’t be too surprised if you hear Vishnevskiy or Lalonde’s names first. It’s a bright future with the defensive core of the Hawks system.
Goaltending
2009-2010 – Antti Niemi, Cristobal Huet, and Corey Crawford
I’m a person that is glad to point out when I’m right. Shocking, I know, but before last season and even as far back as July 1st 2008, I was what you would call a “Huet Hater”. Anyone who knows me might chuckle at that, because it’s a bit of an understatement. I never understood it, and on top of that, I never felt Huet was even a decent goalie. So, yadda yadda yadda, I was right again, and Antti Niemi fell ass first into a goaltending job that Huet was trying his hardest to give to anyone that would take it. Fast forward, and Antti Niemi is the Stanley Cup winning goaltender. I remember a line that was once on the Second City Hockey blog, where the subject of the goalie battle was brought up for the umpteenth time and one of the guys said something to the effect of, “Huet is what we have, would you rather be right (regarding him being a wet noodle) or have the cup?” I’ll take both, thank you! Thanks Cristo-balless, for making me look so good.
Projected 2020-2011 – Marty Turco, Corey Crawford, and Hannu Toivonen
This position is the biggest change of the offseason. Neither goaltending choice will be back this year, and I’m not worried about that one bit. By the time the training camp starts, the Hawks will have somehow found a way to unload the epic facepalm called Cristobal Huet. AHL, Europe, Russia, Seven Bridges 30 and older league, no one really cares as long as his obnoxiously inflated salary disappears. Goodbye and good riddance. Marty Turco will provide plenty of solid starts and probably a few not so solid ones. Tell me how this differs from anything the Hawks got this past year and I’ll tell you how you’re wrong. In fact, It’s nice to have a guy that WANTS the starting job and isn’t just looking for an inflated payday. Yes, Antti Niemi, I’m staring a hole in your enormous forehead right now. Niemi wanted to play games, Huet wanted to play with himself, and Turco wanted to play goalie for the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Turco is more affordable than the other two clowns, to boot.
Gotta love his attitude
Here is something to make you look forward to this season
On to the backup position, I‘ve always been a fan of Corey Crawford. I’m glad to see he’s finally going to get a chance, after the 2 year shaft job he got, courtesy of Huet and Tallon. He deserved an honest shot behind Khabibulin two years ago, and before he ever got the chance, Tallon raced out on the first day of free agency to sign Huet. He must have been drunk, because the whole league was rolling on the floor when that came across the ticker. To show even more confidence in Crawford, they ran out and signed some unknown Finnish goalie/zamboni driver named Antti Niemi. Somewhere, Crawford was slitting his wrists and dousing a Dale Tallon voodoo doll in gasoline. He had to have hooked up with one of Tallon’s daughters or something. I’m glad to see that the kid has remained patient and is finally going to get his shot. I wish him well, and best of luck.
Can't pass up a montage with a Van Halen song
I can’t really comment on the great Hannu Toivonen because I’ve never seen him play. I WILL say that his stats don’t exactly have the Hall of Fame, in Toronto, licking their lips. There is one infamous clip I’ve seen of him, in a game with the Bruins in ’06, where he gets stuck behind the net, and then finally, ON the net. I’m sure he’s more than qualified to be an NHL backup, though. I’m pulling for Crawford, but Toivonon has just as much of a chance, at this point, especially because he makes less money.
His best Cristobal Huet impression
Here is a little more flattering clip
This wraps up my preview of the 2010-11 season. Now, I won’t run around crowing like some idiot bandwagon fan saying that the Hawks WILL repeat, but they have just as much of a chance as anyone. They have a very strong core, and you can expect them to be a strong team for several years to come. The newer, youngers guys are very promising and talented. The management has created a few holes, but they have also replenished the developmental system with a lot of young exciting talent. My prediction is that they will make it to at least the conference finals.
