Preseason: Blackhawks At Blues5-2 Loss Recap

Living In America

by Patrick Stankus


On Thursday night, the Blackhawks traveled to the tire fire capital of the USA, St. Louis, MO, to take on the Blues in the second to last preseason game of the year. Thursday's game also marked the most anticipated return in Chicago sports history since Brandon Bollig's last year, when Marcus Kruger took to the ice in his preseason debut. Aside from Kruger the Blackhawks roster of NHL players was as much of a stretch as the seems on Ken Hitchcock's suit jacket. Meanwhile, the Blues assembled their roster as if it was a meaningful game, trying to prove their scrubs could beat the Blackhawks C squad.

The opening frame was a complete shit show. Bad goaltending, lots of penalties, goals a plenty, and bad defense. It was all on display. The Blues opened the scoring just over 3 minutes in. Their lead didn't last long, as the Hawks answered back with 2 goals in just under 2 minutes. That was the last of the lead the majority of the soon to be bagging grocery lineup would see. The Blues added 2 more goals in the 1st period to take a 3-2 lead into the locker room.

The sloppy play carried over into the 2nd period, with the Blues handing the Hawks 4 power plays. It doesn't matter who is in the lineup for the Hawks because the power play sucks. The Hawks failed to convert on any of the chances, while yielding a shorthanded goal to the Blues. After 2, the Blues led the Hawks 4-2.

In the 3rd period, the Blues took 2 more penalties to try and hand the Hawks the game, but again, the Hawks couldn't convert on either 2 opportunities. The Blues added another shorthanded goal on the Hawks 1st power play to give them a 5-2 lead, in which would wind up being the final score.


The Good

• Hey did you guys hear? Marcus Kruger got his visa issues solved, and played in his 1st game of the preseason.
• Ville Pokka led the Hawks in ice time, and aside from a Svedberg lapse on the 1st Blues goal that made them both look silly, I thought he looked alright. I still don't think he's ready for the jump to the NHL. Sorry Derek. My guess is tomorrow he leads the line to the bus back to Rockford.
• Another Hog that I thought looked alright was Ryan Hartman. We saw a glimpse of him last year, and I would expect either he or Kyle Baun could lead the Rockford Shuttle of forwards this season.

The Bad

• I don't know what to make of Viktor Tikhonov. On one hand I really want him to make the team because I like the idea of adding a Tikhonov shirsey to my collection. On the other hand I see him being a very frustrating player. I wouldn't be shocked if he was on a one way ticket back to Russia soon.
  
• Scott Darling looked sub par tonight. What do you expect though when you're facing a team with 90% of their NHL lineup while your team is made up of AHLers. Regardless, I did not like the first goal he allowed. If Crawford had given that up, dear God.

The Ugly

• Its hard to pick on the power play when the team is basically a C squad, but nevertheless, 0 for 7 on the power play is an eye sore. Oh and did I mention the 2 shorthanded goals they allowed?
• Bryan Bickell was sporting an "A" on his jersey tonight. My guess is this was the Blackhawks idea of showcasing his "Cup leadership" as a marketable trade tool. Too bad everyone in the NHL knows he's completely useless at $4 million dollars a year. He also managed to be a -2 tonight. Really looking forward to this for the upcoming season.
• Speaking of things to look forward to, ladies and gentlemen, David Rundblad. Rundblad had a nice swing and a miss to a bouncing puck that led to the Blues 2nd goal. For overall a million bucks, it looks to be a fun year of Rundblad.
• Whoever had the idea to make Troy Brouwer the #1 star of the game can go to hell.
• If you haven't listened to the Puckin' Hostile Shoutcast, then here are my feelings about 3 on 3 OT. It sucks. PERIOD. Check back in 5 years, I guarantee people will be talking about how much they hate it, just like they talk about how much they hate the shootout now. Remember that slobbering love affair everyone had with the shootout when it first debuted?

And finally because its almost time to wakey, wakey on a new season.........

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The Toxic WaltzBlackhawks Unload Versteeg and NordstromSign Marcus Kruger, and more

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks announced that they have made a deal, this afternoon, with the Carolina Hurricanes. They acquired two AHL defensemen, Dennis Robertson and Jake Massie, for Kris Versteeg and recently re-signed RFA Joakim Nordstrom. Looked at as a salary dump, this deal didn't exactly wow anyone on this side. While a salary dump is perfectly acceptable, the Blackhawks only cleared up roughly $2.7 million. This will get the team under that salary cap ceiling, but only gave them about $2.5 Million in additional room. This, of course, is all contingent on Jeremy Morin and Corey Tropp playing in Rockford.

The scouting report on the two new players are as follows, via Hockey's Future:

Dennis Robertson - Ht/Wt: 6' 0"/195 lbs - The go-to defenseman at Brown during his college career Robertson logged heavy minutes in all situations. He has a big, hard shot, which makes him a threat offensively, particularly on the power play and is sound in his own end of the ice. He’s beginning to add more snarl to his game which is making him a more valuable defenseman.

Jake Massey - Ht/Wt: 6' 1"/172 lbs - Drafted this summer, Massie was ranked as the 8oth best North American skater in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings. He is the top ranked defenseman in prep hockey.

Very shortly after the Versteeg trade, the Blackhawks announced that they had re-signed Marcus Kruger to a one year, $1.5 million contract. This, of course, was the discount of the year. Yes, Kruger was an RFA. Yes, Kruger was restricted in his options, but I fail to believe that there wasn't a single team in the NHL willing to offer a $2.5 million deal to try him at 3rd line C. Just because he didn't sign an offer sheet doesn't mean the offer wasn't there. Common sense tells you that an affordable, responsible, young shutdown center was called a time or two. Kruger did the Blackhawks a solid, and I hope that he is rewarded for his loyalty down the road.

Also announced were the signings of defenseman Jan Hejda and Daniel Paille to Professional Tryout Contracts. This means both will battle for depth spots in camp.

Hejda would be a slightly better version of Michal Rozsival, Nick Boynton, or Sean O'Donnell. You get the hint. A third pairing veteran defenseman that won't kill you in his own end.

The same could be said for Daniel Paille. He is a depth forward that will battle for a Left Wing spot, most likely, on the fourth line. The problem is that the fourth line is pretty crowded already. The Blackhawks have Marcus Kruger, Ryan Garbutt, Andrew Desjardins, Andrew Shaw, or Viktor Tikhonov (depending on which ends up playing 3rd line C, or maybe second, in Shaw's case) as well as possibly Jeremy Morin, or Corey Tropp already fighting for playing time on the fourth line. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to have more competition. There is zero risk to this move.

The Hawks have about $900K to sign a player, but they don't want to hover that close to the cap. This would mean that someone needs to go. We shall see how the camp drama shakes out.

Here is an updated look at the Blackhawks cap situation:

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Dirty Black Summer

The Blackhawks have been on a cinderella run that none of us have seen in this city, well, EVER. As far as the Blackhawks go, that is. Regardless of what the Hawks do to finish the season, Stan Bowman and the Blackhawks are going to need to do work on some creative accounting to fill some holes, thanks to the salary cap rollback in the new CBA.

As the roster sits today, Bryan Bickell and Viktor Stalberg will be unrestricted free agents. Marcus Kruger and Nick Leddy will be restricted free agents. With the deals they are getting in Stalberg ($875K) and Bickell ($541K), even if they re-sign, it'll be for a raise. Lets say, for the sake of sanity, that each of them double their salaries. Stalberg would be at $1.75 Million and Bickell would be at just about $1.1 Million. Both are palatable cap hits, in today's market, but that brings the Hawks cap room to just under $1.2 million, with Kruger and Leddy still unsigned and no backup goalie. You can see where I'm going with this. Even if they are ok with humping the cap ceiling, they are going to need to shed some payroll. My gut feeling is that one, or both of them will be playing elsewhere. Jeremy Morin and Jimmy Hayes should be able to fill the Bickell/Stalberg slots pretty well. Ben Smith is also another candidate to fill some of that ice time. I wouldn't be heartbroken with any of these moves, but Stalberg's speed is an x-factor.


On the other hand, Leddy is in for a payday and Kruger isn't far behind. Even if both of THEM double their salaries, Kruger is at roughly $1.8 Million and Leddy is at $2.233 Million. Again, both decent cap hits, but if the Hawks keep all 4 at double their current salaries, the Hawks would be nearly $3 Million over the cap. That number drops to about $1.4 million over, if they play the kids in Bickell and Stalberg's spots. Either way, the Hawks need to make adjustments.

There are some easy solutions, with a buyout of Rostislav Olesz and maybe Steve Montador. These two moves, alone, free up almost $6 million dollars, make the most sense, and leave the Hawks some room to either sign or bring up a backup netminder, with some slight wiggle room. It's doubtful that they are going to pay Ray Emery the raise he is going to be looking for, come season's end, but I've been wrong before. Hutton and Karlsson are both unrestricted free agents and if one is re-signed, my guess would be Karlsson, based on his NHL experience. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see both left to test the market.

All of these moves and all of this speculation is based on one thing, the Hawks don't test the free agent market. At all.

This brings me to my next point, and I brought this up on Twitter and in my game recap last night. David Bolland. Has the success of the young centers made him and his $3.375 Million cap hit expendable? I would say yes, and here is why.

-With Bolland out of the lineup, Kruger and Shaw have filled his spot pretty admirably.
-Shaw has taken over Bolland's beloved third line shutdown spot, and some would say he's not missed a beat.
-Those in love with his playoff performance forget that he's no longer playing against the other team's top lines. Shaw's line has been.
-While Kruger has a tough time winning faceoffs, Bolland has has almost identical issues at the dot. If they want to have a #3 playing in the #2 spot, Kruger can do it at less than half the price, and much younger.
-Kruger and Frolik could center the 2nd and 4th lines respectively, at the same cap hit as Bolland.
-$3.375 Million is a nice chunk of change to have in your pocket.
-His growth hasn't been what you'd like for a 2nd line center, and he's been at a plateau for about 3 years.

With the moves above, the Hawks could go into the free agent signing period with almost $8 Million in their pocket. Of course, Stan doesn't like to dive deep into the free agent market, but a Bolland trade may alos bring back something of value, as well.

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Marcus Krüger will Disappoint You All

GREAT, now I have your attention.

The intarweb has been abuzz with talk of newest Blackhawk center, Marcus Krüger, and probably for good reason. This season has been full of terrible let downs for Chicago fans, after winning the Stanley Cup last June, and we all need something to look forward to. The resulting Stanley Cup salary cap purge upset many fans even though we all knew, or should have known, it was coming. The signing of Marty Turco was suppose to lighten the burden of losing Antti Niemi to the turdly Sharks, but Turco has not been the important piece we thought he would be. The Hammer signing, though storied and dramatic, was important but he has been quietly and under the radar. El Capitan started very slow this season, and Deuce has his head firmly jammed up his tuchus for a majority of the year. New guys Stalberg, Skille, Dowell, Johnson, and Leddy have all done serviceable jobs, but didn't quite fill the shoes of their predecessors. Jack Skillington brought us Michael Frolik and Alex Salak, but we have yet to get anything special out of those two, yet. The trade from Stromboli brought us a game winning goal the other night, but he too has been up and down. The only real nice surprises have been the jump in production from Shooter, the 36 points of Bryan Bickell, and the unexpected success of Corey Crawford, which brings me to my initial point:

Marcus Krüger will disappoint you all.

Before I get a hundred nasty twatter messages, and a boatload of angrily typed Facebook comments, hear me out. When Kruger steps out on the ice, tonight, wearing his brand new #16 jersey, he will probably show some flash and talent. What he will NOT do, is become the next Chicago Hockey Messiah, aka Jonathan Toews. He is twenty years old, and has played European style hockey his whole life. It is going to take him time to adjust, and he might even have some awful games before he gets acclimated. This is what young, European, 5th round draft picks do. They take some time to adjust to the NHL. It wouldn't be the NHL if everyone could step right in, at 20, and do it. You're not going to see Toews, or Kane numbers out of him, maybe EVER. He has the tools to become a smaller, David Bolland, and that's not too shabby, folks. We should expect that he will get out muscled in his own zone a bit, but make some smart, and maybe even dazzling, plays in the offensive end. Young, smallish players can usually keep up offensively, but take some time to get use to the bigger and rougher NHL, not to mention the smaller ice surface. He's not going to be able to dance around people like Chris Pronger or Niklas Kronwall, so he's likely to be planted onto his doopa a time or two. Lets face it, if he was best thing since the "Slap Chop", StanBo and Quenneville never would have let him board that plane back to Sweden, in training camp. All this is fine and well, and I think the guy has some solid NHL talent, but lets all set our expectations at a reasonable level, before this bandwagon even gets-a-rollin, cowboys and girls.

Now, you can all now hit delete, on those hate laced messages. Remember, sarcasm; It's alive and well right here. I'll leave you on a slightly better note. Here is Krüger's first Blackhawks interview, this morning. Go Hawks!




Lastly, Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th movies have absolutely nothing to do with each other. In the crossover version, Jason Vorhees was Kruger's enemy, so all this "he should wear #13" jazz is just plain dumb. Come up with something that is actually CLEVER.

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Tales from the Emergency Room

After the morning skate and press picnic, here are the latest updates on the Blackhawks developments:

• According to multiple sources, Quenneville says the Hawks HOPE to have Sharp back before the end of the regular season. Note the word HOPE, folks. Don't start planning the ticker tape parade down Washington Street, just yet. Nothing is set in stone, and that is purely an estimate. Though they indicated that it's "not serious", it's still a knee injury, and he's not going to be 100% when he comes back. Remember how Kaner came back early from his injury and took a good two weeks to be able to do anything productive. Best case scenario, the Hawks are without him for the 10 remaining games, with three against DIVISION rival, Detroit. Stellar timing on this one, and thank you, Rosty Klesla, for tripping over your own feet.
  
  
• According to Chris Kuc at the Tribune, The deal to bring Swedish Center Marcus Kruger to Chicago was in motion prior to the loss of Sharpie. The wheels were set in motion when Dave Bolland was injured, by a pointless elbow to the back of the head, resulting in "concussion-like symptoms". He is expected to be in Chicago for tomorrows morning skate. With Bolland and Sharpie out, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make his Blackhawks debut tomorrow night.
  
  
• Brian Campbell skated this morning with the team. He is a game time decision on Wednesday's game against the Panthers. He told reporters that he felt winded, but fine otherwise. That's good news for the powerplay, in time for Saturday's game against the Ducks, at worst.
  

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Anyone for Doomsday?

A developing story is growing legs and running, here, regarding Swedish center Marcus Kruger. In a nutshell, his Swedish Elite League team is reporting that he is en route to Chicago. Here are a couple of links with some information:

Djurgarden's Official team site

The Third Man In, Chris Block article

Matt McClure at Second City Hockey

Puck Daddy on Marcus Kruger

What does this mean for the Chicago Blackhawks? As speculation rises like the filthy, rancid foam of a porta-potty, people are getting anxious. For my money, this means one of two things, and I will give you the bad news first:

• Patrick Sharp is out for, what could be, the rest of the season.
  
• The Hawks have no faith in any of the players in Rockberia, and need some depth for the playoffs.

As much as people will play it off, and wish real hard, I'm expecting the first scenario. Even though Tracy Meyers, at CSN, has reported to seeing Sharp walking with a noticeable limp but no brace, the way Sharpie went off the ice the other night looked more serious than when Jordan Hendry was helped off the ice a few weeks ago. We are all well aware of THAT outcome. All that side, The Hawks don't want to burn a year Jeremy Morin's contract, and he has been hurt. They also don't seem to have a great deal of confidence in ANYONE on the Sloar Hogs, so with Kruger's team being eliminated from their playoffs, I guess this was the best option. The Hawks have a log jam at center, but no one is really jumping to that next level. Bolland has been hurt, Frodo is a winger in a center's costume, Dowell isn't lighting the world on fire lately, and Ryan Johnson isn't really anything other than a third line shutdown guy, at best. Lets be frank, here, Bolland is dealing with a concussion, which can be a very tender thing to deal with. If the Hawks have to get hot for this stretch run without Bolland OR Sharp, things are going to get sticky, and I haven't even mentioned Campbell leaving the Defensive core thin. As things get announced, I will try and pass them on, in the meantime, here are some video highlights featuring Kruger (#32):

Complete with bad Hair Metal music

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