No All-Star "Break" for BowmanBlackhawks Acquire Morrison from Calgary

I refrained from spitting out my immediate feelings on the Friday trade of Brian Connelly for Brenden Morrison because, quite frankly, I didn't know just what I thought of it, nor did I understand just what Stan's intentions were. To be honest, I still don't know exactly where this one is going.

At first glance, people were probably thinking, "The Hawks traded for a Center, the second line Center hole is filled", but this couldn't be further from the truth. Morrison is more like a Jamal Mayers, than a David Bolland. He's a veteran third, at best, or fourth line Center, with the needle bouncing below 1/8th of a tank. What does this move open up for the Hawks? Not much, to be honest. They could make a few different moves:

• Move Bolland to #2, which I personally think it's time for, and leave Morrison at #3.
• Move Mayers back to his true position, wing, and slide Morrison in and the #4 Center.
• The previous move would leave no choice but to move Sharp or Kaner back to Center unless Bowman can pull a fat rabbit out of his hat.

I can't speak for Stan and Joel, at this point, but either way you slice it, this is a low level trade that really doesn't clear up much in the confusion of the lineup. With Bickell and Frolik suckling at the eternal bunghole, this turns into a move to shore up the bottom 6. Bickell can now sit as long as we would all like, and Frolik can continue to treat the net like it has a Death Star force field. Once Sharp and Toews are back, look for everybody's hero, Andrew Shaw, to make a triumphant return to Rock Vegas. Just too many cooks in this kitchen for him to last.

Needless to say, with the NHL trade deadline 4 weeks from tomorrow, this will not be the last move that the Blackhawks make.

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Rockford Express

In what is pretty much a standard Blackhawks move, the team recalled 11 players from Rockford, over the past few days. This really has nothing to do with current roster situation. It's more of an "experience" builder for the young players, and it allows for more practice dummies to play against. Last season, they did the same thing with the likes of players like Crawford, Bickell and Dowell. If they need the help, the players are already with the team, but there is a VERY small possibility of them ever playing. Anyhow, the players are Forwards Jeff Taffe, Rob Klinkhammer, Jeremy Morin and Brandon Pirri; Defensemen Garnet Exelby, Jassen Cullimore, Brian Connelly, Shawn Lalonde and Ryan Stanton; and Goalies Hannu Toivonen, and Alec Richards. Here is the info on each player:

• Taffe, 30, appeared in one game with the Blackhawks this season, logging 4:05 of ice time on Feb. 12 at Phoenix, in his first year with the organization. The Hastings, Minnesota, native paced Rockford and shared eighth in the AHL with a career-high 30 goals and led the IceHogs with 67 points (30G, 37A) in 74 regular-season tilts. Taffe has registered 21 goals and 23 assists in 175 career regular-season NHL contests over parts of seven seasons with the Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes (2002-04, 2005, 2006-07), New York Rangers (2005), Pittsburgh Penguins (2007-09) and Florida Panthers (2009-10).
  
• Klinkhammer, 24, made his National Hockey League debut on Dec. 8, registering one shot and a +1 plus/minus rating against the Dallas Stars at the United Center. The Lethbridge, Alberta, native paced Rockford with a +14 rating, ranked fourth with a career-high 17 goals that included 16 markers at even-stregth, and finished third with a career-best 46 points in 76 regular-season tilts with the IceHogs.
  
• Morin, 19, posted three points (2G, A) and a +2 plus/minus rating in nine regular-season contests with the Blackhawks this year in his professional debut. The Auburn, New York, native added 12 points (8G, 4A) in 22 AHL games with Rockford and was a member of Team USA’s bronze medal-winning squad at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo.
  
• Pirri, 20, made his NHL debut on Oct. 9 in the Blackhawks 2010-11 home opener at the United Center. Chicago’s second selection (59th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Toronto native ranked third on the IceHogs, and shared eighth among AHL rookies, with 31 assists and finished fourth on Rockford with 43 points in his first professional campaign.
  
• Exelby, 29, registered 13 points (3G, 10A) and ranked second among club defensemen with a +7 plus/minus rating in 77 AHL contests with Rockford while serving as the captain of the IceHogs. The Ste. Anne, Manitoba, native is a veteran of 408 career National Hockey League regular-season games, racking up 43 assists, 50 points and 584 penalty minutes with the Atlanta Thrashers (2002-09) and Toronto Maple Leafs (2009-10).
  
• Cullimore, 38, recorded eight assists and eight penalty minutes in 36 regular-season games with the Blackhawks this season, and nine points (2G, 7A) in 41 AHL contests with Rockford. The Simcoe, Ontario, native is a veteran of 812 career National Hockey League regular-season games, racking up 85 assists, 111 points and 704 penalty minutes with the Vancouver Canucks (1994-96), Montreal Canadiens, (1996-98), Tampa Bay Lightning (1998-2004), Blackhawks (2005-07, 2010-11) and Florida Panthers (2007-09). Cullimore has also notched four points (G, 3A) in 35 career postseason contests, which includes helping Tampa Bay capture the 2004 Stanley Cup.
  
• Connelly, 24, ranked sixth among American Hockey League defensemen, and second on the IceHogs overall, with a career-high 52 points, pacing the club with 41 assists in 80 regular-season tilts. The Bloomington, Minnesota, native, who was honored as the IceHogs Rookie of the Year during the 2009-10 season, also represented Rockford at the 2011 AHL All-Star Game.
  
• Lalonde, 21, ranked second among team blueliners, and shared fifth among AHL rookie defensemen, with 32 points (5G, 27A) in 73 regular-season tilts in his first full professional campaign. Chicago’s second selection (68th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the Ottawa native ranked sixth on the IceHogs and second among defensemen with 142 shots on goal.
  
• Stanton, 21, paced IceHogs defensemen with a +9 plus/minus rating and registered 17 points (3G, 14A) in 76 regular-season AHL tilts. A native of St. Albert, Alberta, Stanton shared second among Rockford blueliners with 76 penalty minutes in his first full professional season.
  
• Toivonen, 26, dressed for one game with the Blackhawks this season but did not appear in the contest. The Kalvola, Finland, native led Rockford with a career-high 21 wins (21-16-6) and posted a team-best .907 save percentage in 49 appearances between the pipes. Originally acquired by the Blackhawks on March 1, 2010, in a trade with the St. Louis Blues, Toivonen has appeared in 61 career NHL contests with Boston (2005-07) and St. Louis (2007-08), registering an 18-24-10 record with a 3.37 goals against average and an .890 save percentage.
  
• Richards, 23, led Rockford netminders with two shutouts and a 2.89 GAA in 44 appearances in his first full professional campaign. The Robbinsdale, Minnesota, native posted a 17-21-2 mark between the pipes for the IceHogs.
  

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Cut me, Mick!

The team announced today that they've trimmed the roster down to 26, with the latest group of indianhead wearing hoodlums bound for Rockford, IL. They sent Kyle Beach, Igor Makarov, Brandon Pirri (deja vu all over again), Ben Smith and Brian Connelly west bound. The surprise, if you want to call it that, was Makarov. I went out on a limb and said he'd make the team over Morin, and I can admit when I'm wrong (which is rare). Actually, I think I put the kiss of death on him, because after I proclaimed this revelation, he went into a mad slump. Last year, I proclaimed Brent Seabrook as my favorite Hawk, and he also tumbled into a mad slump. At this point, I should probably keep my proclamations to myself, but you all know how hard that is. ANYWAY, Morin is just playing too well to cut, yet. I think he played himself into the final cuts, rather than Makarov playing himself out of them. The Hawks have to get the roster down to 23 before opening night, with Toivonen and Cullimore shockingly still around, and Skille injured. Conventional wisdom would tell me that Toivo-Cop, and Culli-snore get the axe next and if injuries keep Jack Skille-ngton on the shelf for a bit, Morin and Leddy make the team opening night. Not too shabby for the two 19 year olds acquired in trades by Bowman, for our overpriced role players. I've read rumors that say Toivo was placed on waivers, which sets forth the process of him going to the Hogs, right behind Richards. This would also mean that Jake Dowell makes the big boy team. Congrats, boys!

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