#Blackawks vs Oilers - Preseason Recap

The day has finally come, where we are finally able to watch NHL hockey again. GRANTED, most of the team on the ice will be collecting paychecks from someplace like Rockford, but it's Blackhawks hockey nonetheless. My apologies for the late recap, but I had some technical difficulties with my game notes (i.e. deleted them). ANYWHO lets begin...

First of all, I want to point out what idiots the Blackhawks web team are for the way they presented the game to the fans. The put a link up that pointed to a list of directions to get to the feed. The problem is that they obviously don't understand that a heavy majority of the people on the interweb can barely figure out how to wipe their own asses. There should have been a direct link to the feed on the splash page. THAT'S ALL!. With each step you add another point of failure, which will cause confusion. Maybe failure was the goal, and if it was, you achieved that. Get your act straight, guys!

Secondly, in the day and age of HD and 3D televisions, we have to watch a game from a PC with a low def feed? Really? We can produce 3D porn, and we can't get a professional NHL team's preseason game on television? That's absolutely ridiculous. This is not 1940 where people needed to sit around one radio to listen to their favorite programs. We're not asking for Rockford Icehogs or Chicago Express games. These are the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS. We can see every meaningless MLB and NFL preaseaon game, but Hawks fans are huddled around their PCs trying to follow a tiny little fuzzy puck? Yeah, right, thanks guys! There aren't as many people as you might guess that can hook their PCs up to a TV, and it's not like that even helps, because the feed is so fuzzy and grainy that we can't even read the numbers on the players backs. Don't even get me STARTED on the idiotic "50/50 raffle" box that took up damn near a quarter of the screen. So, the twatterverse can tongue the bungs of the Blackhawks about the stream all they want, but the fact of the matter is that there wasn't much effort put in at all, and we're not talking about some team that never wins, in the middle of rural USA. It's one of the most storied franchises in all of sports, one of the biggest markets in the NHL, and recent Stanley Cup champs.

Now, onto the actual hockey:

The first period was generally pretty boring, even though the Oilers had a majority of the scoring chances, and neither team could manage to put anything up on the board. The second period was another story. The Oilers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after the Hawks gave up a powerplay goal, and then gave up a generally soft one, but they were not to be outdone. The Hawks came storming back, jumping on some Oilers mistakes and turnovers, to tied the game up at 2-2 going into the intermission. The third period didn't go as well, for our heroes. They gave up a late third period goal, and then an empty netter to finish off their first preseason game a 4-2 loser.

The Good

• Ray Emery played a very solid first period, but followed it up with a couple of "tweeners" in the second. Overall, he had a passing grade, though, in my eyes.
  
• Those of you that picked Rusty Olesz to be the best Blackhawks player last night are going to Las Vegas with me, to help daddy get his little girl's college fund rolling. He had a solid game skating with Captain Serious and Viktor Stalberg and scored the first Hawks goal. When it came time for him to take advantage of his chance, he buried it. This is a good way to shut the whiners up, and earn that salary. It helps a little that the puck was put on his stick, wide open, by an Oilers defender. He needs to buy that guy dinner.
  
• Jamal "Megamind" Mayers was the second most surprising player, as he took a feed from Rookie Mark NcNeill and roofed it over the Oilers goalie to score the second preseason goal for the Hawks. That's a good way to get the fans of your new team to warm up to you.
  
• Brandon Saad didn't show up on the score sheet, but the kid can play. Along with Joe Lavin and Jimmy Hayes, the Hawks clearly have some promising rookies. All of them could play at the NHL level and probably deserve to, but it's not going to happen right away with the roster the Hawks have. Jimmy Hayes is fast and huge, when you watch him out there. The kid is going to be a very good player someday, and we can thank Toronto for basically giving him to us.
  
• Salak looked pretty good before the Eberle goal, but that one cost him and the Hawks.
  

The Bad

• The Oilers opened up the scoring with a powerplay goal that Ryan Smyth poked in after Razor Emery couldn't handle the long shot by rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that went through him like a slot machine, and laid in the crease. It is, what it is. First game of the preseason, sloppy goal, first point for the first overall pick.
  
• The second Oilers goal could be put squarely on Razor's shoulders. He over pursued Josh Green coming into the zone and left his blocker side wide open. Most NHL players will hit that spot, and Green did.
  
• Edmonton's third goal was a result of the Hawks getting lazy after yet another failed powerplay, and letting two Oilers behind them in on a 2-on-1. Jordan Eberle just picked Alex Salak apart, and the Hawks weren't able to recover.
  
• 0-5 on the powerplay guys? I understand the manpower isn't there, but lets generate SOMETHING. There IS talent out there, and the Oiler were playing with a split squad too.
  
• Kyle Beach anyone? Didn't think so.
  

The Ugly

• I hate to go back to the feed of the game, but they are cutting back to the penalty box for 5 seconds at a clip, while a powerplay is going on, so we can watch David Toews pick his nose, something isn't right. We're not idiots, and we know where the players go when they get a penalty.
  
• John Scott got beat so bad, in a foot race for an icing call that John Wiedeman couldn't gather the words to describe it. It was really embarassing, and just showed that he is NOT an NHL player. Can someone please bite the bullet and set this walking calamity loose? Enough, PLEASE
  

Here are the video highlights for your viewing pleasure:

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2011 Blackhawks Training Camp Festival

Pictures like this never get old to me

Happy Hockey Hangover Monday, folks. The first sign of hockey life came and went this weekend, with the annual Training Camp Festival. This was my first one, because last year I had to pay the bills and bring home the bacon. It really IS amazing that a team can sell out their building for a PRACTICE. I didn't partake in all the outdoor hoopla, because I'm above the age of 10 and I'm really just interested in actual HOCKEY being played. I was able to snap some in action shots of the festival, so feel free to check them out on the Puckin Hostile Facebook Page. Please be patient with me, as my mind is still in preseason form, as well.

-The day inside the UC began with some youth players doing drill as Eddie O barked out "encouragement" to them. Cute, yes, and awesome for those kids to be able to skate on the UC ice, but not quite the level I was there to see, unless I was there watching John Scott.

-The initial practice had the white team and red team doing drills, with Quenneville wearing a mic. That mic didn't make it all the way through practice. Kaner was included in the group, but wore a black helmet as opposed to everyone elses white lids. It was joked that he wore it just to be different, by Sharpie, but one can assume that it was to indicate "no contact". Following that was two 50 minute practice scrimmages, first with the Jonathan Toews white team against the red squad, and them the black team against the red team. There were 5-on-5 shootouts after both scrimmages to add a little excitement.

-Sharpie, Hossa, Dylan Olsen, and Jeremy Morin did not skate at all. Sharpie, of course, was nursing a sore side from having his emergency appendectomy. Hossa was not back from attending one of the funerals from the Lokomotiv tragedy, Olsen was nursing some injury, and Morin was still feeling effects of a concussion he sustained in Rockford, last season.

FORWARDS
-The big event INSIDE the UC was Patrick Kane skating the practice and then coming out as the "surprise" participant in the Black/Red shootout. He ended up scoring on Mattsson to tie up the shootout, and the crowd went bananas. It was nice to see him out there dominating.

-Captain Serious was in midseason form. As hard as I can be on players, does this guy do ANYTHING wrong? He was far and away the best player on the ice, and even gave rookie Mark NcNeill a little "how do ya do", picking his pocket from behind, while the kid was lollygagging through the neutral zone. Lets not forget the 5-hole break-a-way goal he scored on Emery, either. Effortless.

-Rostislav Olesz made HIS Blackhawks debut in unspectacular fashion. I'd like nothing more than to see this kid be a steal, but I really saw NOTHING special about him, especially nothing that would command $3-plus million dollars. Just another skater out there, and could have been easily mistaken for one of the European prospects.

-Speaking of people that were unspectacular, Ben Smith and Marcus Kruger played together on the black team. Still nothing there that's screaming "next level" at me. If Kruger plays anywhere but Rockford, he will be overmatched. He doesn't have enough raw talent to overcome his small stature.

-Dan Carcillo is going to be QUITE the circus this year. In his second shift, he laid a heavy hit on a red team player and Rockford Icehog Brandon Bollig proceeded to take exception and jaw with him. They didn't throw down, but there were a few moments from it. In the same shift Carcillo and Bolland had an exchange as both were returning to the bench. On Sunday, Carcillo and new draft pick/yapping chihuahua Andrew Shaw dropped the gloves. Carbomb has a high RPM mouth and a short fuse, which is pretty much what we all expected. I hope the Hawks penalty kill is up to par, because there is NO WAY Carbomb doesn't cost them a few needless powerplays against. He ALWAYS skates with a chip on his shoulder, and is always looking to put someone onto their ass, legal or not, Floyd Mayweather style.

-Brandon Saad and David Toews both showed some serious speed, at different points in the day. This Saad kid is going to end up a steal, and bringing in little Toews certainly didn't hurt.

-Invisi-Bolly looked like he was ready to play. He made a sweet move through two defenders, and looks like he may have taken a little weight off.

-Kyle Beach has to be counting down to the day when he becomes a former Blackhawk. I was quietly hoping to see Carbomb and Beach go at it. THAT is entertainment.

DEFENSE
-Keith and Seabrook both looked like themselves, and by that I mean, Keith looked more like the Norris Trophy winner than the basket case we saw last season.

-Hammer was also in his usual zone. Unspectacular, but solid.

-Leddy looks more comfortable out there, and is skating very smooth.

-Montador, and O'Donnell weren't very noticeable, which means they were doing their jobs. Lepisto was decent, but gave up a godawful turnover to Rob Klinkhammer, who buried it on the break-a-way.

-To NO ONE'S surprise, John Scott is still awful. Joe Lavin is a much better option and much less of a liability.

GOALIES
-Corey Crawford did nothing to make me think he was any less of the player we saw last year. He was composed and looks to be in great shape. Sophomore slump, my ass.

-This was the first chance most Hawks fans have had to see Alex Salak. He only gave up one goal, and looked smooth in net. His stance is a little unorthodox, and he holds his glove REALLY low, but he seemed to be able to compensate. After seeing Saturday's skate, I would rate him above Emery, but we didn't get to see him in either of the shootouts.

-Of all the goaltenders, Ray Emery logged the most ice time. I would like to preface this by saying I like Ray Emery, and I have been pulling for him to make it. He skated the entire practice and the whole first period of the first scrimmage. I have been reading where people have been claiming he looked solid, but I didn't see it that way. He made quite a few of the expected stops, but he was also lit up a couple of times. He looks a little tight, and moved post to post as I would call it, "gingerly". As a goalie who has played MANY games favoring injuries, I can recognize when another goalie is favoring something. Ray Emery was. He may work through it, and it may just be preseason tightness, but I saw something. His post-to-post movement was slow.

-Half of last year's Rockford tandem was next as far as netminders go. Alec Richards is a decent goalie. He did nothing to play himself out of an emergency #3-#4 position, depending on what happens with Emery. Nothing spectacular, but didn't make any huge gaffes.

-Kent Simpson is clearly the tops, of the prospect goalies. He looks more composed and calm, compared to Mac Carruth and Johan Mattsson. None of them were awful, so that's another positive.

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Keep That Bandwagon Parked, For Now, Ben Smith Fans

Last season, when the Hawks were doing their best to blow their playoff chances, and injuries were all but swallowing up the team, an unlikely hero emerged. Let me take you on a trip back in the Matrix to April 24th:



His name was plainly enough, Ben Smith. Agent Smith, to you folks in the Matrix. Smith tallied just one goal in the regular season, and then had a great Vancouver series with 3 goals in 7 games, including that game winner in OT of game 6. Chicago fans, and the media, fell in love with the kid. There were plans of parades, and men giving up their first born daughters to this young man, but was this a case of a "flash in the pan"? I tend to think all the praise and head petting is a little premature, and we should be careful to put too much stock into his potential. Granted, I think the kid is going to be a good solid 30-40 point NHL guy some day and I like him a lot, but the next Jeremy Roenick he is not. We're talking about a guy that only has 4 career NHL points (all of which are goals). People are going to have to back down off the Ben Smith Bus a bit, because if they expect too much of him, they may be blaming him for the JFK assassination and the Billy Goat Curse in the very near future. For those of you not familiar with the brief solid but unspectacular career of Agent Smith, here are his vitals:



Smith is a slightly smallish, but strong, forward that has some grit and a nose for the puck. He's played wing AND center in college, but has yet to get any work at center at the pro level. So, lets start by not entertaining any CRAZY notions of him stepping in at the #2 center spot, over Bolly or Sharpie, to slide Sharpie over to his more comfortable position at wing. It's not that easy to adjust from playing part time college center to full time NHL center. He found a nice little niche as a forgotten role player who took advantage of a glorious situation, and was successful. One can bet that the NHL scouting teams will have plenty of intel on him, for the upcoming season, so don't expect him to be able to sneak under the radar yet again, this year.

A safe bet would have Smith start the season in a serious top 6 role at Rockford, and be one of the prime call ups, when injury or lack of production hits the lineup. He is a pretty good bet to push a few of the veterans in camp, but he'd have to absolutely dominate to show up in the opening day lineup. As insignificant as it may seem, his cap hit is $812K a year, and the Hawks have players like Bryan Bickell, Jamal Mayer, Dan Carcillo and, Brandon "Don't call me Steven" Segal, that make less money. Of those players, Bickell is the only one signed for next season, so you figure they will try and get their money out of the other guys. I just don't see Smith as a 4th line player, but then again, Jack Skille was for a good portion of last year, and Smith can do all the things Skille did, if not better. I just don't think it really benefits the Hawks OR Smith any, by burying him on the 4th line. They have plenty of guys that can fill that role.

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"Sportswriter" Idiocy at its Best

There are many reasons I started this blog, and the biggest of which is the loudmouth "experts" on the interweb spewing all sorts of fabrications, untruths, and flat out conspiracy theories. I would read one after another and they would simply infuriate me with their idiotic accusations and impossible scenarios. So, instead of holding it in, I decided to hash out my own views and opinions right here, for all of you to read. That quickly, I started this wonderful cathartic place I hold so dear, like an adopted child.

As of late, there hasn't been much to really get my blood pressure up in the red range, until last night. As I was looking through my various Twatter and Facebook feeds, I came across an article from someone named Tony Pirano on some site called Rant Sports. Now while I've never read anything this guy has written or even visited this site, the title immediately grabbed my attention and made that little red light in the back of my head start flashing. The title of the article was: Chicago Blackhawks Front Office Prevented A Dynasty. Read it for yourself, if you'd like. It's quite, shall we say, interesting. Mind you, just from the title, I knew where this guy was going. As I read through, I found myself rolling my eyes and having to stop to compose myself. It's THAT fucking silly. People say hindsight is 20/20 and it truly is, which makes me question this guy and his silly rag. So let me pick out a few example of this masterpiece and weigh in on them. Lets not forget that this guy's credentials include nothing remotely involving professional hockey. He is a COLLEGE BASKETBALL Broadcaster/Color/Sideline Reporter. Oh THIS is going to be good...

The state of the Chicago Blackhawks franchise is in purgatory

Oh is it, Tony? The Blackhawks took the eventual Conference Champs to 7 games and gave them their biggest challenge until the Cup Finals. Purgatory? Slight disarray, possibly, but Purgatory? Easy there, Chicken Little. Have you been huffing pesticides down in Southern Illinois?

Basically, the Blackhawks had two goalies who are the same age and decided to re-sign the one who lost a first round playoff match-up to Vancouver versus a guy who helped give Chicago a title in 2010.

This is a flat out JOKE, and insult to anyone who has played goaltender! Antti Niemi had no more hand in winning the cup than Corey Crawford had in losing to the Vancouver Canucks. These were completely different teams, and neither goalie was to blame for the good OR bad.

In the regular season, Corey Crawford was 33-18-6 (58% winning percentage) with 4 shutouts, 128 goals against, while facing 1,545 shots, with a .917 save percentage, 2.30 goals against average, and a total of 3,337 minutes. Antti Niemi was 26-7-4 (70% winning percentage) with 7 shutouts, 82 goals against, while facing 936 shots against, with a .912 save percentage, 2.25 goals against average, in only 2,190 minutes. If you exclude the win/loss record, which is misleading in the first place, you have virtually the same numbers. In fact, Corey Crawford had a BETTER save percentage, with more playing time. Oh wait, PLAYOFFS, right Tony? Lets examine...

Young Corey Crawford was 3-4 with 1 shutout, and 16 goals against, while facing 218 shots, with a VERY impressive .927 save percentage, 2.21 goals against average in 435 minutes played. Antti Niemi was 16-6, with 2 shutouts, and 58 goals against, while facing 645 shots, with a .910 save percentage, and 2.63 goals against average in 1,322 minutes played. Once again, win/loss records are very misleading, but when you get to the "meat and potatoes" Crawford had a considerably higher save percentage and lower goals against in the playoffs. But, Crawford choked in the playoffs, right?

I'd really like to know how Niemi is so much better of a choice, when he couldn't beat out the sieve that is Cristobal Huet in the first place, until the closing weeks of the season, all the while playing behind a much deeper team than Crawford. I'm sorry if I missed the great Antti Niemi standing on his head to win the Stanley Cup for the very deep San Jose Sharks, last season. I think I remember an inconsistent goalie that was pulled from several games because if his play. I MUST have been mistaken, right? Mind you the Hawks would have been forced to pay Niemi $750K more than the Sharks did, to return to Chicago. Roughly $100K more than they are paying Corey Crawford for the next 3 years. LETS ALSO NOT FORGET the 3 year extension San Jose signed Niemi to, that will have them on the hook for $3.8 million, or roughly $1.2 million more than they are paying for Corey Crawford, who has better raw stats. You sir, have no fucking idea what you're talking about, and we're only 2 paragraphs in.

The Blackhawks no longer have the same luster or appeal as they once did, just a year ago. Besides the Chicago Blackhawks three major known commodities of Patrick Kane, Jon Toews and Duncan Keith, the team is built around young “prospects” and veterans with the hopes of reviving the magic from their 2010 dream season in the future

Has anyone heard of Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook, or Dave Bolland? These guys would all be top 10 players on ANY team in the NHL.

I see guys like Udonis Haslem taking $14 million dollar pay cuts to stay with the Miami Heat, rather then signing with a new team for a multi-million dollar deal. Those players do still exist. Some guys are willing to take less, to in-turn, win more. I don’t want you to think I am being naive either, I realize a ton of modern athletes will jump at the money, rather than the glory of winning.

Who the HELL is Udonis Haslem, and if you can name one person that even cares, I'll be surprised. He is a 10 PPG career player who had 8 PPG last season, and averaged the lowest minutes and points of his career last season. Of course, he's going to jump on the James/Wade/Bosh coattails, because the guy is a NOBODY, and not to mention a basketball player. You're not even comparing apples to apples. Where was this hometown discount during the Niemi negotiations? Niemi ended up making $750k LESS than the arbitrator awarded, to play for another team. Andrew Ladd going to arbitration, you say? Making $800K more last season than the one previous and then following up with a whopping $4.4 million cap hit for the next 4 years. Where would have the money been to resign Sharp and Seabrook? If you combine the salaries of all the Hawks players from that team, you're probably looking at something in the area of $70 million. Just a crotch hair over the salary cap there, Tony. But it's the front offices fault...right. Got it.

The Hawks could have always let Hjalmarsson go and let Nick Boynton or Jassen Cullimore patrol the second line pairing with Campbell. Wouldn't that have been fun? I'm sure you're going to throw old, slow Brent Sopel at me, and with that I retort with the fact that not a SINGLE NHL team had enough confidence in him to sign him this offseason. If Brent Sopel is on my second pairing, my team is hurting.

All this is a moot point because Niemi and his agent tried to do exactly what you're condemning, by gouging the Blackhawks for more money. They offered him something in the neighborhood of $2.25 million a year. This, of course, blew up in their face.

Arguably, the MVP of the 2010 Chicago Blackhawk playoff run was Dustin Byfuglien. He set the hockey world on fire with his size and ability to play anywhere on the ice. Especially, in front of the net where he did most of his damage. Even in the Stanley Cup Finals when he matched-up against a much bigger and far more experienced Chris Pronger, Byfuglien held his own and really stabilized the Flyers enforcer.

Byfuglien was out the door quicker than any other Blackhawk, pretty much as soon as the Stanley Cup was handed out. He was traded alongside another up and coming youngster, Andrew Ladd, to the Atlanta Thrashers for prospects. Ladd was making nice strides in his NHL career. The former 4th overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft made major contributions to the Blackhawks during their ’10 title run. Those two were thought to be locked down in Chicago Blackhawk uniforms for the majority of their careers. No fans, teammates or experts thought Byfuglien was going anywhere after his emergence in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs….We all thought wrong.

Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien led the Atlanta Thrashers in points scored in 2011. They were the top two individual point scorers on the team. Ladd led the team in scoring with 59 points, 29 goals and 30 assists. While the 2011 All-Star voted Byfuglien was second on the team in scoring with 33 assists and 20 goals. To say they were missed dearly by an eighth seeded 2011 Chicago Blackhawk team, is an understatement.

Oh, you SIMPLE, SIMPLE person. MVP? Did anyone watch Jonathan Toews or Duncan Keith play in those playoffs? Dustin Byfuglien was a THIRD LINE FORWARD who wasn't good enough to put ANY of the top 4 defensemen out of a job, either. He annoyed Roberto Loungo for a series, and his claim to fame was having a big enough ass to block out the sun. You are comparing playing for the World Champion Chicago Blackkhawks and playing for the Atlanta Thrashers, my man. The Thrashers were basically a good AHL team last season.

Ladd, while being a player I absolutely loved, would not have cracked the top 6 forwards on the Blackhawks, at any point. If you throw hamburger next to a pile of cow dung, that hamburger is going to look MIGHTY TASTY, but if you plop hamburger down next to a juicy steak from Ruth's Chris, the comparison is drastically different. In case you didn't understand, the Blackhawks were the Steak, and the Thrashers were the cow dung.

If you'd like to dig deeper, certainly Buff's offensive season was commendable, but his defensive skill leaves MUCH to be desired. Joel Quenneville was NOT going to watch Byfuglien and his comedy of errors in the Blackhawks end of the ice for long, I promise you that. While Hjalamrsson didn't put up the offensive numbers, his back end positioning and shot blocking skills FAR outweigh what Byfuglien would or did do. Both Ladd and Buff would have wasted away behind BETTER players. The Thrashers do not have that caliber of depth that the Blackhawks do. If you want to pay Byfuglien $5.2 million a year to play on the third line and be a 30 point per season player, be my guest. Hossa and Sharp put up double the numbers for the same basic salary. I'll pass on that one, thank you very much.

Soon after Byfuglien and Ladd were traded, came the wheeling and dealing of Chris Versteeg. Thought by many in the Chicago area, to be a mainstay of the team for years to come. The gritty youngter was dealt to Toronto for prospects on June 30, further dissecting this once potent group of young-guns who already had a title to their credit.

Before I even get into the THIS one, it's KRIS Versteeg, Tony. With a "K", as in KNUCKLEHEAD. The "K" is silent there, get it?

Again, Kris Versteeg was a smallish third line player that created an amusement park type atmosphere in the neutral zone, because he absolutely refused to dump the puck into the opponent's zone. Hidden behind much better players he was able to put together decent numbers, and those "decent" numbers stayed exactly the same in Toronto, playing with their top forwards and on their top powerplay. Decent isn't good enough there slick, so he was traded to the Flyers, who quickly realized that he is exactly what the Blackhawks used him as; a bottom 6 role player. After 38 career games as a Flyer, he was traded to Florida to reunite with the guy that generously let his qualifying offer pass and forced the Blackhawks to overpay for him two years previous. There was that hometown discount you were chirping about, again.

The trade of Versteeg was drowned out by the Blackhawks signing of 38-year-old veteran Marty Turco, amidst allowing rookie Stanley Cup winning goalie, Antti Niemi, to walk away to San Jose in early August for nothing in return. This was the most gut-wrenching blow to me personally and most Blackhawk fans in general.

How in the world can you allow your rookie goaltender who just won you a Stanley Cup to walk out the front door while receiving nothing in return? You can’t and you shouldn’t be able to so easily, as the Blackhawks front office made it seem.

Don't insult my hockey knowledge. Turco didn't pan out, but the Blackhawks were able to develop the talents of Corey Crawford. For the first time in YEARS, they have a successful returning starting goaltender back in net. If you knew ANYTHING about hockey you'd know that VERY few goalies can singlehandedly carry a team, and Antti Niemi is NOT one of them. Corey Crawford isn't for that matter, either. Currently there aren't any in the league that can carry a team to the cup finals just on his sheer talent alone. That takes a Patrick Roy type player. Martin Brodeur was once that player, and Ryan Miller has potential. Not even the $10 million man, Bobby-Lu, can carry a team, as we saw. The Blackhawks received CAP ROOM in return, which is something they desperately needed.

They decided he was not their "future" goalie and signed a 38-year-old Turco who never got past the first round of the playoffs…Similar to Crawford in his young career so far.

First of all, Marty Turco was NEVER the "Future Goalie" of the Chicago Blackhawks. Marty Turco was a one year veteran signing that was intended to do what Niemi did the year before. Not lose games. He was not brought here to carry the team on his back, which is good, because he didn't. So they wasted an affordable one year deal. That's just smart business.

SECONDLY, you have your facts wrong, TONY. Marty Turco made it past the first round of the playoffs twice in his career. In 02-03, he made it to the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Ducks, and made it to the Western Conference Finals in 07-08 against the Red Wings.

The huge debacle with GM Darryl Tallon in 2009, filling out the incorrect paperwork for the re-signing of a number of Blackhawks was well documented and helped in their 2010 reckless off-season.

DARRYL Tallon? REALLY, Tony? You call yourself a journalist? I'm a mens league goalie with a day job, and I can get that one right in my sleep.

Now let's get to your comments, as you responded to people obviously smarter about hockey than you:

I would call Seabrook, Hossa, Sharp and Bolland solid above average players with the talent around them.

Granted, I love Marian Hossa. He was one of my favorite players in the game long before he became a Blackhawk. Yet, his best days are behind him. This speedy Hawks offense makes him look better than he is right now.

Seabrook is a sensational teammate, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t want to go in the trenches with anyone else, yet he is not a top talent defenseman in the league. He does everything well, but does nothing extraordinarily great either. He is solid and a leader by example. But, put him in Tampa Bay or St. Louis and he would never be heard from again.

Sharpie is another one of the fan-favorites. He is great on paper, but lacks a major defensive prowess, intensity and he is not as crafty and agile as one would think. He is also 28-years old, so he is not as young as people think. Therefore, his ceiling is not as high as we would of thought it would of been three years ago. He is an above average NHL scorer, plain and simple.

Dave Bolland is the only one here who is worth anything. He is the man, you’re right. Bolls in one of the young studs who luckily escaped the meat grinder that is the Chicago Blackhawks front office. Hopefully, he can stick around for awhile. Great point though Jason, Bolland is a future star that we must pay sooner rather than later.

That is HILARIOUS!!!!! Sharp, Hossa, Bolland and Seabrook are "solid above average players with talent around them". What exactly would you call Byfuglien, Ladd, Versteeg, and Niemi? Hall of Famers? Solid above average players with talent around them is the DEFINITION of those four. Seabrook would be a top 2 defenseman on ANY CLUB IN THE LEAGUE, and there are only of a handful of players in the league that are better than him. If you'd like a more credible source than myself, you can kindly surf on over to Yahoo Sports very own Puck Daddy, where Sam McCaig named Seabrook the 13th best defenseman in the entire league. Far cry from a "solid above average player with talent around him", wouldn't you say? No other team had two players in the top 13, and the only one close was Nashville, with Weber at #2 and Suter at #14, which I also happen to agree with. Getting Seabrook back at $5.8 million a year in this market is a STEAL, and is certainly a hometown discount.

Sam McCaig also ranked Mr. Hossa as the 8th best right winger in the league, with Patrick Kaane being #5. Yes, #5 and #8. Hossa isn't going to give the Hawks 45 goals a year, but he is certainly capable of netting 30 or 35 and continuing to be one of the better defensive wings in the league, on a nightly basis as well as providing veteran leadership to the kids coming up.

In your defense, Andrew Ladd was ranked at #12 as a Left Wing. The Hawks are certainly not swimming in a pool of Left Wings, but they aren't exactly hurting either. I'll give you that one, but again, polishing up a turd doesn't make it an allstar.

Speaking of All-Stars, do I recall you mentioning the ALL-STAR GAME MVP a "solid above average player with talent around him"? Just refresh my memory. You also said "He is also 28-years old, so he is not as young as people think". Patrick Sharp is 29 years old (12/27/81) and has gotten better each of the last 6 years, with the exception of 08-09 where we was limited to 61 games, but was on pace to fit right in to his usual progression. Remember, he was not only elected to the All-Star team, he was awarded the MVP. Average, indeed, Tony. You're just knocking them out of the park. The only reason that he wasn't ranked in Sam McCaig's articles is because no one is sure whether he was going to play center or wing.

Dave Bolland is one of the PREMIER shutdown centers in the league, but the best of the group? As Sam McCaig said, "Just ask the Sedin twins about the effectiveness of this two-way 'Hawk." There is a reason the Canucks series turned around when he returned to the lineup, and it has a lot to do with David Bolland, whom McCaig ranked the #24 best center in the league. ON THE OTHER HAND, Dave Bolland was virtually invisible for much of the regular season last year. Kind of hard to describe that as "the only one here who is worth anything".

I'm going to call it a day, here, because I could literally tear this rag to shreds for days on end. As you can see, the interweb is a dangerous tool that allows complete morons to voice their opinions. Bad ones, at that. Go back to Women's College Basketball.

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Please Hockey, Save Us From Boredom and Idiocy

Even though the weather is nice and hot in Chicago, hockey fans can't help but dream for September, so we can see a little puck-n-ice action. The summer is a great time for me, and most of the hockey reporting world to get some much needed down time. That time is quickly coming to a close, though. August is here, and training camp is right around the corner, but this leaves time to continue the silliness of the summer NHL rumor mill. Here are a few issues I haven't had a chance to weigh in on yet.

A rumor was brought to my attention late last week, regarding Patrick Kane going to rehab for drug abuse. This is some of the silliest crap I've heard in a long time. Look, we all know professional athletes like to party from time to time, and Kaner is a young kid having fun with life. There have been NO signs of anything out of the ordinary with young Patrick, and the only rehab he will be seeing is for his surgically repaired wrist. By all accounts, Kaner has put on some bulk, and is ready for the new season. Cut the kid some slack, because I'm sure what all of YOU were doing at 22 probably weren't your finer moments. Lets not get crazy with the rumors.

Who would have thought that inviting a guy to try out for your team would cause such discussion? Last Wednesday it was announced that the Blackhawks had invited former Senators, Flyers, and Ducks goalie Ray Emery to try out for a spot in camp. Immediately, there was an uproar from the Twitards about this move. I cannot stress enough how this move can do nothing but help the Blackhawks. They don't owe him a single cent for coming to camp, and if he looks good, they can offer him a contract. This said contract can either be to play behind Crawford or start in Rockford. Granted, he won't want to play in Rockford, but he's free to then walk away. If HE completely shits the bed, then the Hawks let him walk.

Not only that, but it creates some competition for Salak and even Crawford. Wouldn't it be NICE to have to make a tough decision between Emery and Salak? That's a problem Stan Bowman should be licking his lips at, and not to mention that there aren't many goalies willing to TRY OUT without a contract. Bowman should be lauded for getting Emery to agree to this situation, because most goalies would want SOME kind of monetary gain, even if they don't make the team. This guy has been to the Stanley Cup finals, AS A STARTER, WITH THE OTTAWA SENATORS. Yes, He was a bust in Philly because he had MAJOR hip problems that kept him out for roughly a year, and almost ended his career. This is the same injury that ended the career of one of the best athletes in the 90's, Bo Jackson. Bo didn't know hockey, but Ray does. He has rehabbed the injury after his surgery, he is back in the league, and he looked VERY WELL for the Ducks, last year, when Hiller went down with a foggy head. Remind me where ANY of this puts the Hawks at risk, please?

On a more personal note, I happen to really like Ray Emery's fire and attitude. He has had his issues, but has he really been any more of a handful than Dan Carcillo? I hope he does well for the Hawks, and I would gladly wear an Emery jersey. He's not going to win a Vezina trophy, but he's also not going to hurt the team as a backup. Welcome to Chicago, Ray Emery, and I hope to tell you that in person some day soon. Here is to healthy competition.

It was announced this week that former Blackhawks Chris Chelios and Gary Suter were elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, along with Keith Tkachuk. None of this should be a surprise after the careers they both had, here in Chicago and elsewhere. They were the original Keith and Seabrook, or should I say Keith/Seabrook are Cheli/Suter version 2. Being a Calgary Flames fan back in the day, I was very familiar with Suter, and couldn't believe the Hawks were able to get him for Frantisek Kucera and Jocelyn Lemieux. That's STILL a steal. He played for the Hawks for 4 1/2 seasons and including 34 playoff games. He was the perfect compliment to Cheli's physical play, and it showed on the ice.

What needs to be said about Cheli? Maybe the BEST American born player to step on the ice, and one tough son of a bitch. He came in under fire, when the Hawks traded away fan favorite Denis Savard, but he quickly won his home town fans over. Before long, Savard was fading into the twilight of his career, and Cheli was at the top of his game. No matter how you feel about his departure here, he's still one of the best ever and deserves to be a first ballot inductee to Toronto, as well.

These two are still my favorite Hawks duo just ahead of #2 and #7. Congrats, Guys!

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Looking Back, Looking Ahead - Blackhawks Comparison

Not quite the same as last year, eh, fellas?

Well, here we are ladies and gents. The title defense is over, and the Cup is overflowing with vomit, and beans, like a porta-potty after a Dropkick Murphys show. In all actuality, I'm happy for Boston and their fans, though, because they are a hardworking city that gets little respect, like Chicago. Oh yeah, and a little situation regarding sending the Canucks home as losers, and inciting their fans enough to burn their own city down. Sweet justice. If anyone else was going to win the cup, have it be Boston. An original six team, with history and pride, and not some bunch of arrogant western Canadians with a severe entitlement complex.

As far as the Hawks go, No one can really say they played like defending champs last season, if you disregard games 4, 5 and 6 against Vancouver. Of course the cap restrictions and necessary roster changes handcuffed them, and they were unceremoniously ousted by their new most hated rival. In my forecast last year, I predicted that the Hawks would be most likely be ousted, and that Vancouver would make it to at least the conference finals. I would have loved to be proven wrong, but when you're good, you're good. Even with the same exact team as the previous year, it would have been hard to repeat. That being said, they made it interesting. Some people stepped up, and other people left much to be desired.

Here is a breakdown of last years Blackhawks team as opposed to this years projected roster. Remember, it's July, and things can change, but I wouldn't expect much in that regard. Here goes...

Centers


2010-11 - Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp, Jake Dowell, Ryan Johnson, Marcus Kruger

What a frustrating year it was, for the center-icemen of the Blackhawks. Toews had a typical Toews year, but also had to shoulder much more of the load than he has in the past. I'm sure this took a toll, and a quiet summer should do him wonders.

As I expected, Patrick Sharp was forced upon us as the second line center. Now, while this isn't the worst thing for us to endure, he's not a center. He's a wing that can try his hardest to fill in where he's needed, and in this case it was at center. Pretty Boy Patrick went to work with his hardhat and lunchbox, every day, and had a great year. One would think they could reward him by getting a legit second line center and letting him go back to where he is more comfortable. One would think.

Dave Bolland was "Invisibolly" for a solid portion of the season, and had to endure some injuries. Just when he was finally waking up, he ended up hurt as a result of a cheap but fairly harmless looking elbow to the back of the head from Pavel Kubina. When he finally returned for games 4-5-6-7 in the playoffs, he showed everyone what he CAN be. Maybe THE BEST shutdown center in the league. He rendered the Sedin sisters useless. He just needed more consistency. I'm looking for a breakout year, for him. This team needs it.

Jake Dowell, and Ryan Johnson filled in on the 4th line admirably, but Dowell faded fast towards the end of the year, and in the playoffs. Kruger was an interesting story, as Bowman proclaimed that bringing in the undersized Swede was their plan all along. He was in WAY over his head, and he was NOT the answer they were looking for at center. This was evident in the 7 regular season games he played, when he went -4 with no points. It's not entirely his fault that he was shipped over in the heat of a serious playoff push, after playing on a bigger European ice surface, and thrown to the wolves, but he IS a pro hockey player, and needs to learn to adjust. Kruger showed some spark in the playoffs, playing wing in 5 of the 7 playoff games where he was a +2 with and assist. I cursed Bowman for signing Ryan Johnson, originally, but by seasons end, I was a fan. Johnson's faceoff talents and penalty kill expertise was part of the reason they played better in the second half of the season.

2011-12 Prediction - Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp, Marcus Kruger

This year, they are as thin at center as they have ever been. We were fed lines about acquiring a solid second liner to fill that gaping hole, but that time came and went. If ANYONE thought that there was a soul in that front office that was bringing Brad Richards in to play behind Toews, they are certifiable morons. He wanted to be the high paid, #1 center, and that is what he got in NY. That was never happening here. Jonny B. Goode is the man, and everyone else falls in line behind him. After Richards, there wasn't much to pick from, so Stan was quick to decide that they were going to work with their current options. Unless Marcus Kruger skates through camp like his hair is on fire, Sharpie will open at second line center, AGAIN. We could be in worse situations than having the AllStar MVP as our second line center, but AGAIN; he's not a center.

Davey Bolland is in no danger of losing any spot he has, and if he plays like we all know he CAN, might make a solid second line center, someday. Wouldn't THAT make everyone happy, and things much easier? I know it would make THIS guy much more comfortable. Again, Marcus Kruger is an curious case, because he doesn't look like he can take the grind of being an NHL center, but we only saw 12 games of him.

I'm not really sure what they intent to do with the 4th line, because there are really no true centers to play with those guys. Jamal Mayers might be able to play there, but this is only a temporary solution. Ben Smith can play center, but showed that he has more of a spark than a 4th liner and is a wing by trade. Brandon Pirri is far too small and fragile for the 4th line. Mark McNeill isn't an NHL player yet, and the rest of the Rockford slugs aren't going to offer much help, either. It's hard to believe they are worse off at center this year, but it's cold hard truth. Some kind of move needs to happen to change this, so if a trade happens, look for a center to be making their winter address 1901 West Madison. There are still low priced centers out there, too. At least they had Dowell, to start the year last season, and Ryan Johnson filled in nicely, once he got in shape. Signing Johnson, Madden, or even Zenon Konopka wouldn't have hurt their depth, that's for certain.

Right/Left Wingers


2010-2011 - Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Michael Frolik, Troy Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky, Viktor Stalberg, Fernando Pisani, Bryan Bickell, Jack Skille, Ben Smith, Jeremy Morin, John Scott, Jordan Hendry

The wings were a pretty solid core group. Kaner, Sharp, and Hossa were solid, even with Sharpie playing more center than wing. Kopecky has a decent year, despite never having a true defined roll, and Brouwer was the same case. One-Trick-Bickell was a HUGE surprise, because NO ONE expected production out of him, and he gave us 37 points. Good for him. Frolik was a STEAL from Florida in exchange for Skille, and proved to be a tough but undersized two way player. Stalberg always shows flashes of potential but was extremely inconsistent, and he played best with Dowell and Skille as the kamikaze 4th line. Getting 16 points out of Pisani was about all we were going to get, so whatever. Jeremy Morin looked exciting but the Hawks decided not to throw his contract in to gear with wasted bottom six minutes, and sent him back to Rockford, only to get hurt. After the season, Kopecky, and Brouwer were deemed expendable, which resulted in them becoming former Hawks. John Scott...well...he can punch. The thing is that with Scott, if he could SKATE, he would be a folk hero in this city. He's a VERY nice guy that provided some physical presence. The problem is that by the end of the season, he was just the punch line to our jokes. No one feared him, because he couldn't CATCH, and wouldn't check anyone. But we'll always have the Kevin Westgarth fight, right? (sigh)

2011-2012 Prediction - Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Andrew Brunette, Michael Frolik, Viktor Stalberg, Bryan Bickell, Dan Carcillo, Ben Smith, Rostislav Olesz, Jeremy Morin, John Scott, Rob Klinkhammer

This is really where Stan Bowman can make himself a hero with Chicago fans, and I'd personally like to see that. I will second guess and question moves, but all-in-all I want to see them succeed. Make all those Twatters looks stupid, Stan!

On the first line, We know what we'll get with Kaner and even though he surprised us by having wrist surgery, he looks to have added some bulk. He was pushed around a majority of the year, and we'll see if the presence of Carcillo, Bickell, and Scott can't give him some room to breathe. Talk has been that the person that may be the steal of free agency, Andrew Brunette will play opposite Kaner. Brunette is tough, smart, and just produces. Now, he's getting up there in age, but that won't stop him from picking up the wondertwin's scraps or feeding them for some highlight reel goals. He's a former Wild captain, so his leadership might be even bigger than his on ice contributions. This summer alone, the Hawks added 3 former team captains, which is HUGE for a team that lost their identity last season.

On the second line, Hoss is Hoss, and even though he lost 17 games to injury last year, he still had 57 points. He does well hiding on the second line, now if they could only find him a permanent center, and opposite wing. We'll see how he does in his first season here without Kopecky, too. I would expect the same production out of him this year. Who will be playing the other wing, is anyone's guess. Frolik could be there, Stalberg could step up, Olesz might actually be able to play, and Morin or Smith could have a great camp. They could even decide that Kruger is going to be an NHL wing. No one really knows. My educated guess would be that Frolik opens up with Sharpie and Hossa. Not too shabby.

Bolly's wingers on the shutdown line will begin with Bryan Bickell. He earned a spot with his surprising production and well documented size. Again, the other side could range from Olesz, Stalberg, Smith, or Morin, to even Kruger, or Carcillo. Camp will be important for this part of the roster, to see who steps up. As it is, this looks like it'll be a revolving cast of characters, but my gut feeling would be Olesz or Smith will be the leading candidates. They aren't going to pay a guy $3 plus million to play on the 4th line or not play at all. That's a BITTER pill to be swallowing each night.

As with the center, the forth line wingers are a complete crapshoot. Mayers, Smith, Stalberg, Carcillo, Scott, Olesz and Morin could all see time there. A forth line of anyone with the Big Slow and Carbomb's dopey, gap toothed grin would certainly be interesting, but isn't going to do much other than wreak havoc. I can't see Quenneville dressing both cementheads on the same night, but then again, we had to watch a forth line of John Scott/Jake Dowell/Jordan Hendry. ANYTHING, is an upgrade over that.

In the most curious of all moves that Bowman made this summer, I'm interested to see how this Dan Carcillo move goes down. I still have to openly say I'm not a huge fan, but I'm definitely intrigued. I'm sure if fans liked John Scott pummeling faces last year, they are going to get into Carcillo's shenanigans. Speaking of shenanigans...

Carcillo drops Matt Bradley with one punch


Carcillo and new teammate Steve Montador

and WHO can forget this????? SHENANIGANS!



Defensemen


2010-2011 - Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Chris Campoli, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Leddy, Jordan Hendry, Nick Boynton, John Scott, Jassen Cullimore

The lines on defense were shaken up all year. Quenneville had to split up Seabrook/Keith, and Campbell/Hammer because the third line of Leddy and Boynton/Cullimore/Hendry/Scott wasn't cutting it. As a result, Leddy got a big push, that didn't absolutely kill anyone while he was out there. That was great news for a kid that was a year out of playing in high school, so that Cam Barker trade is really looking up, now. Cullimore was the best of the fill-in players, with Hendry playing average, and Boynton/Scott absolutely sucking the LIFE out of the team. Cullimore was sent back down to Rockford and is now signed in Europe, Boynton was waived and picked up by the Flyers (How'd that work out for ya?), and Hendry and Scott were banished to the press box for all eternity. At the deadline Bowman tried to acquire Montador THEN, and failed, so they picked up a very serviceable Chris Campoli, from Ottawa. This trade was kind of a steal because the chance that Ryan Potulny was going to play on ANY Blackhawks team was nil. This certainly boosted the athletic talent level of the group, but did nothing for the toughness, and it showed when the Canucks pushed around the Hawks for 7 games. Seabrook was really the only bad ass on the corp, but his need to become a jack-of-all-trades took a toll on his ability to continue to be a physical force. If you told me at this time last year that Seabrook and Sharp would be the "D" pair on the first powerplay, I would have told you to get off the glass pipe, Amy Winehouse (too soon?). BUT, that's exactly what happened, and they did VERY well, finishing 4th in the league with a makeshift group, working on PURE talent, is MORE than admirable. Can you imagine if Keith and Campbell were able to contribute at all? Instead, Keith decided to try and shatter every pair of shin pads that stepped in his way. I guess this is part of the reason why they found Campbell so expendable, because if they didn't need him on the PP, then where did they "need" him?

Penalty kill; well that's a whole different story. YIKES

2011-2012 Prediction - Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Steve Montador, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Leddy, Sean O'Donnell, Sami Lepisto, Dylan Olsen, Shawn Lalonde, Joe Lavin

This is where the Hawks will be bigger, tougher, and a bit slower. Trade out Campbell, Campoli, Hendry, Cullimore and Boynton for Montador, O'Donnell, Lepisto, Olsen and maybe even Lalonde, Lavin, or Connelly. Montador and O'Donnell are bonecrushers, as well as Olsen and Lavin. Personally, I like this new mix of thunder and lightning. Keith/Seabrook, Leddy/O'Donnell, Hjalmarsson/Montador with Lepisto ready to step up the speed factor at any moment. It's going to be nice to not have to rely on Jordan Hendry and John Scott, to be your "fill-in" players. Hendry wasn't bad, but John Scott was simply atrocious. By all reports, Lepisto could even end up sliding into a more regular spot, which is a VERY nice problem to have to deal with. Lepisto was a real "under-the-radar" signing, but it should prove to be a very valuable one.

The biggest difference fans will see is the physical toughness. I was never too comfortable with a corp of puck moving d-men, and really no big bulldozers. You wouldn't have seen Campbell getting hurt like he did, if he had a big physical partner. The Hawks management must have noticed that as well, and fixed the problem. While I will certainly mention, more than a few times, how much we'll miss the puck movement of Soupie, his salary needed to go. Just the sheer volume of players that the move allowed the Hawks to sign was worth it. Sure they took on Olesz's dumb contract, but it was about 4 million less than Campbell. Chris Campoli couldn't come to terms with the team, and Stan was pretty quick to let him walk. They got the guy they originally wanted, anyway, in Montador. Montador was an alternate captain in Buffalo, so his leadership should help the younger guys deal with more. The same goes for O'Donnell, as he was an alternate captain, himself. He's a big body that will take NO crap from anyone. It'll be nice to see guys in the Blackhawks jerseys actually punishing opposing players.

To psyche you up for the new season, here are a few highlights of the new guys:

Montador hits Jeff Skinner


Montador meets Luke Schenn


Evander Kane, meet Sean O'Donnell


Louis Eriksson...Sami Lepisto


Goaltending


2010-2011 – Marty Turco, and Corey Crawford

What an interesting year it was. Unlike the 09-10 Quenneville didn't wait until February to decide which goalie was the better option. Turco played decent, but Crawford was far more consistent and far more solid. The team never seemed to get use to Turco's wild and crazy style. Fans were left holding their breath when he would have control of the puck, not because he didn't know what he was doing, but because the defense had no idea how to deal with a goalie that can control the puck like he does. When you couple that with the soft goals he gave up, Crawford was asked to step up, and he did. After his years of being passed over, he shit all over everyone, by taking the starting job for good. I love seeing the underdog win, a la Tim Thomas. Just goes to show that all the scouts in the world don't always know everything. Don't think that the presence of Marty Turco didn't help Crawford's progression either. Having a mentor there to help you through is HUGE, so the money Turco was paid is well worth it. Marty was a professional throughout the whole ordeal.

2011-2012 Prediction – Corey Crawford, and Alexander Salak

For the first time in what has probably been an eternity for Crawford, he is the undisputed number 1 guy. I'm going to assume that this will bode well, and things will be alright. No one can be certain, but Crawford is mature and level headed. It would take quite a step backward for him to crash and burn. I, myself, have been waiting to see Crawford in this role for a couple of years. This is one of the positions that fans need not worry about, unless there are major injuries.

Once again, for the third year in a row, we have a relatively unknown second string player, Alexander "The Alligator" Salak. Relatively unknown if you're outside of the Chicago or greater Miami area, that is. Those of us "in the know" have been very high on Salak, since Stan pulled the trigger on this transaction. Florida fans are NOT going to be happy when both Frolik and Salak succeed, this next season, and Skille remains, well, Jack Skillington. They let Vokoun go to Washington, traded Salak, and only Scott Clemmensen remains from last year. They then signed Jose Theodore to hold the fort for a year, because Jacob Markstrom was so highly regarded. It looks like that's why Tallon let Salak go, but I'm not so sure that was the right choice. Uncle Dale decided that the Panthers goalie gang was too crowded, and the Hawks were the lucky recipients. Again, thanks for the solid, Dale!

As far as the remaining goalies in the system, the Hawks are thin; actually anorexic. Alec Richard will be in Rockford, and other than Huet in Europe, they have no other goaltenders signed. This is no reason to panic, because they have plenty of time to sign some players. They have a few players that participated in the prospect camp, that could be brought to Rockford. Kent Simpson and Mac Carruth are Blackhawks property, and just need to be signed to an entry level deal. If Crawford or Salak end up failing miserably or getting seriously injured, there may be a bit of panic, but they have the cap room to sign a Marty Turco or Ray Emery type, or trade for a castaway from somewhere else. If fans and reporters are flipping a lid over 3rd string goalies, they must REALLY be bored, and everything else must be looking REALLY good.

So, there you have it, folks. As I see it, the 2011-2012 Blackhawks are going to have a new look, with the same solid core of familiar faces. Players like Captain Serious and Kaner will have some of the pressure taken off their shoulders, which will allow them to just play, instead of carry the team on their back. The low risk veteran signings and the existing young core group should prove to be a solid team this year, with the potential of another conference finals appearance. This team WILL be better than the team we saw last April.

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Hawks Lock Up Frodo and Lepisto

One down, one to go.

This morning it was reported my Pavel Barta from http://www.isport.cz that Michael Frolik signed a 3 year $7 million deal with the Blackhawks. Then denied by Chris Kuc. Then confirmed by a host of thousands, later in the day.

Now, while I think that an annual Frolik cap hit of $2.33 Million is a tad bit high, in this market, that's not too shabby. The Twitards have ALREADY been chirping that he only had 13 goals last year, but two thirds of his season was with an absolutely DEPLORABLE Florida Panthers team. The guy is only 23, he has 3 full NHL seasons under his belt and two 21 goal/40 plus point seasons. Once he found his spot on this team, in 7 playoff games, he had 5 points, all while also having to play with the shutdown crew. Remember, genuises, Rostislav Olesz, who has never scored more than 14 and is 2 years older, is making ALMOST $1 million MORE per season. If Alex Salak pans out, and Frolik just maintains, this Skille trade could end up being even more embarrassingly in Stanimal's favor.

In somewhat of a surprising under the radar move, the Blackhawks also signed former Coyote and Blue Jackets D-Man, Sami Lepisto to a 1 year $800 contract. This could mean a few things, the most welcome of which could be the exit of John Scott. It CERTAINLY means that there is no more room for him on defense, so he may just be set up at an "as needed" cementhead, when Carbomb's fists are swollen. This also may or may not figure into the curious case of Chris Stromboli. It COULD mean they are expecting some redonkulous arbitration number that they just aren't going to pay, OR it could just mean that they want one more solid D-man to keep the troops rested and healthy. At any rate here is the scouting report on the newest Blackhawk:

Assets - Moves the puck with aplomb. Has sound defensive instincts and a history of putting up numbers at lower levels. Can log a lot of ice time.

Flaws - Can lose battles in front of the net and in the corners, mainly due to a lack of strength. Is somewhat inconsistent, especially in the offensive zone.

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Let the Craziness Begin

This time of year, between free agency and the beginning of training camp, is the time of the NHL year that brought me to begin writing this blog. Every "Tom, Dick and Harry" has a gripe and opinion. Most of which are either moronic, or just plain splitting hairs, and this season is no different. There are questions and concerns, as there are with any year. Some are legitimate and some are just because people have nothing better to do with their time. Actually, most of it is the latter. I watch people ask the beat writers some of the dumbest questions known to man, on a daily basis, on twatter. This frustrates me to no end, because as a fan, most of these questions answer themselves. This is why I could never be a beat writer with direct access to the fans. I'd flame each and every one, because I can understand mistakes, but what I can't tolerate is stupidity.

Last year, we had the little fanboys and fangirls claiming the management was purposely tearing the team apart, in some diabolical conspiracy to make the team worse. Makes sense, right? Anyhow, that was addressed last year, so I'm not going to open THAT can of worms again, but we have the same idiocy going on in Blackhawk Nation this summer. There are some really odd ones out there, so let me address a few:

• What should be the BIGGEST concern is a second line center. Last year, I proclaimed that Sharpie would be the #2, and Bolland belonged at #3, which is exactly what happened. Based on what the roster looks like, that is the same scenario we'll see this camp. Sharpie is out of position and they're not getting all their full value out of him, but there is/was no other option. It's obvious, to those with brain, that Stanimal was not going to dump a truckload of cash into another long term embarrassment of a contract, that they would be begging ANYONE to take, in 3 years. Brad Richards was NEVER coming to Chicago, and I doubt they ever contacted his agent. They hedged their bets on role players with contracts that were of minimal risk. In a business sense, SMART. Not flashy, but you're not eating an Alex Yashin size buy out, if the guy flakes. It's not the end of the world that the All-Star game MVP is your #2 center to start the season, but this is a temporary fix. No one at Rockford is going to be able to handle #2 OR #3 duties, and this includes Marcus Kruger. He's just TOO small, and TOO inexperienced. Hell, Bolland isn't even in a position to move up to the #2 slot, even though he has proven to be an excellent #3 guy, when he finally decided to show up. Barring some glorious miracle in NY, with one of their RFA Centers not returning, we're going to be fed Sharpie out of position. The Hawks have $6.2 Million in cap space, so an in season move is the most likely scenario.
  
  
• When you have nothing else to rag about, you turn to...Backup Goalie. Considering the Blackhawks luck in developing young goaltenders, you'd think that people would trust their eye for talent, but alas, I've read twatters crying about how thin the team is at goalie. First of all two years ago, we were slated to begin the season with CRISTOBAL HUET as our #1, and two hardly known guys named Niemi and Crawford, battling for the #2 slot. How'd that work out? THEN, last year they had a fairly questionable #1, in Turco, with that same hardly known Crawford kid who couldn't beat out an undrafted free agent, in the #2 slot. How did THAT work out? In each of the last two years the Hawks developed, young, hardly known players into solid NHL starters, so this is not some huge surprise. Now, for the first time in years, the Hawks starter is back. Good, no? On to the #2 guy. Not to mention they have one of the best goalie coaches in the entire game of hockey.
  
  So, this season the backup slot goes to Alexander Salak. Who, you ask? I've written about him previous, but he comes with exactly 6 less pro games than Crawford came with, last season, and exactly 2 MORE games than Niemi had in HIS rookie year. Lets drill down a little more, though. Salak was in Europe, on loan from the Panthers, all last season, but in 09-10 he played VERY well in the AHL with Rochester. Well, as in, 29-14-0 with a 2.89 GAA, and .910 SV%. Our new hero with the capital "C" on his chest, Corey Crawford, was 24-16-2 with a 2.67 GAA and .909 SV%. You see where I'm going with this, right? This year our goaltenders are LESS at risk than they were the year we won the Stanley Cup. That is, unless everyone was pinning their high hopes on Hannu Toivonen, last year.
  
  Lets say, for argument sake, that Salak pisses through his diaper, and plays like Luongo in games 4 and 5 last year. OH NOES! Alec Richard really isn't the man, but could he fill in for 10 games? MAYBE. Let's say he can't. Kent Simpson, Mac Carruth, and Cal Heeter aren't ready, right? That would be a correct assumption, because goalies typically take longer to make the NHL ranks. You don't see many 18 year old goalies playing in the NHL. OH NOES TIMES TWOS! As of this very moment, Marty Turco, Ty Conklin, Patrick Lalime, Ray Emery and a host of others are going to be begging for a job, soon, and there are NOT many open slots in the NHL. Chances are that a decent serviceable guy will be hanging around, and if the world comes crashing down, Stan has some cap room to make a trade. If we get to that point, there are probably much bigger issues going on. So, lets put the poison kool-aid down, and relax. A majority of the hockey world hasn't even seen Salak even PLAY yet.
  
  
• If anyone thinks that the NHL is going to break up what might be it's most intense rivalry, to leave the Hawks in a division that consists of Columbus, Nashville, Winnipeg, and Dallas, they are out of their minds.
  
  First of all, The Hawks SHOULD and WOULD dominate that division into laughability, because the only team listed that is actually competition would be Nashville.
  
  Second, You're more likely to see the Packers and Bears split up, because THAT is just as silly.
  
  Third, I'll let Tab Bamford over at the Committed Indian spell it out for you a little better, before this whole things gives me a migraine. NHL Realignment Reality Check
  
  
• Rostislav Olesz will be somewhere on the opening day roster for the Blackhawks, whether it's on the forth line or in the press box. Like most executives, Stanimal isn't going to admit failure easily, and buying out Olesz wasn't going to happen. Bowman came right out and said that the period for buying out his contract had passed, and who is going to trade for this guy? They aren't going to send him to Rockford, making over $3 million a year. Get use to seeing a little #85 out there.
  
  
• Most Rockford players are still a ways away from playing in the NHL. Plan all you'd like but the only player looking at NHL time, other than Ben Smith, is Jeremy Morin. I've watched a few of them, and they belong in the AHL. This is not a knock, they just need seasoning. Accept it, because it's the harsh reality. If you want to cheer for them, make the trek an hour and a half west.
  

This will be continued, oh yes it will...

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Views from Above at the Prospect Camp

I ventured out to the Prospect Camp on Sunday with a friend, to get a look at the baby Hawks, and I can't say I wasn't a little surprised. The raw talent is there, with each of the players, but some were clearly more ready than others. Now, these observations are based on the Sunday sessions alone. The only player on the camp roster that I didn't see out there was one of the the biggest ones, Dan Delisle. I'm not really sure why he wasn't out there, but it's a shame, because I wanted to see how he moved at 6'5" 225. That's A LOT of player right there. Be sure to check the Puckin Hostile Facebook page to see some pictures and a video from Sunday's action. Anyhow, on to my observations:

The Standouts

Joe Lavin

This guy is a machine, and I love his style. He's on the smallish side, for NHL D-Men, but his hockey IQ looks to be at genius level. He plays solid position, and has a little attitude to his game. I watched him push around young kids just about every time there was a drill that allowed contact. I see reports out there, that he's too small, bla, bla, bla. Nik Lidstrom is 6'1"/190 and Kevin Bieksa is 6'1"/200, so that size argument only holds so much water with me. Not every defenseman can be 6'5" 220, nor would you WANT that. If you have the brains and a mean streak, you can work around the size disadvantage. This guy has a some sass in his game, and has no problem blasting someone to the ice. I like his poise, and confidence on the ice, as well. He holds his position and doesn't seem to give up and ground. He will play in the NHL SOMEWHERE in the future. He might not be a #1 or #2 guy, but he can be a #5 or #6 guy, at the very least, somewhere. There is clearly something the Hawks like about defensemen from Notre Dame, because there were 3 of them in this camp, and all of them have the goods to play in the NHL someday. I'd be surprised if he can't make it to a #3 or #4 slot, at some point in his career.

Stevie Moses

A player no one has heard of, from the Leominster MA, where the International Dek Hockey headquarters are located (Coincidence? highly doubtful). Again, balk all you'd like at his small stature, but the kid has happy feet and quick hands. The roster has him listed at a very generous 5'9" 170, but he was always making a play with the puck. As a goalie, I would much rather see a big guy coming at you, than some tiny little waterbug, that can stop on a dime. Theo Fleury and Steve Sullivan have made quite some careers this way. Now, I'm not saying he's the next Fleury/Sullivan, but he has skill. He does get pushed around at times, but he can also use his small frame to get underneath and squirt off bigger players, too. He may or may not ever play in the NHL, but it's not because he doesn't have skill. I'm rooting for the kid, and would love to see this exciting kid in Rockford, at least. Unfortunately, Sunday's camp was mostly drills and I didn't get to see his positioning, and that may blow my whole theory out of the water, but on raw skill alone, he's got something.

Brandon Saad

He's got some spice and spunk to his game. Well rounded offensive skills, but, of course, I didn't get to see him in game action. I would say he has some potential to be a slightly bigger Sharpie, but that's being very generous. He's got the tools, but you really can't tell what he looks like until you see him in a REAL game situation. He didn't do anything flashy, but he did what he was asked to do, and did it well. All that being said, he was well worth the draft pick. Maybe the steal of this draft.

Jimmy Hayes

I know he's not a huge surprise, but he's certainly a huge kid. At 6'5" and LISTED at 210, you can't miss him. Even thought he's listed at 210, reports are that he weighs as much as 235, now. I watched him rip off quite a few wrist shots at those poor goalies. He's a big body, and could help at wing with that size. He makes Troy Brouwer look like Stevie Moses, dwarfing Brouwer by 3 inches and roughly 20 lbs. That's nothing to sneeze at, and he now has some AHL experience under his belt, so let's see what he can do in the big boy camp. At the very least, he's a year away, and best case scenario, he plays well enough to earn some time with Hawks this season. Pack your bags, Kyle Beach.

Dylan Olsen

He's ready for the big time, and it's just a matter of where. With the Defensive Corp already crowded, he's not going to see much time with the Hawks unless we see injuries or catastrophic fails by someone. This is a very nice problem to have, though, so lets enjoy it. He has the size and maturity to make the jump, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do when camp starts in a few months. All indications point to a baby Seabrook, in the making. I'll take that any day of the week, because I'm a BIG fan of Seabrook. If he looks this poised in camp, he may make Hammer expendable at the trade deadline, which would free up even more salary. And, PLEASE, don't yap at me about Hammer, because I've seen what he can do, but if we can replace that with younger and cheaper, they are going to do it. Olsen IS younger, cheaper, and probably more talented.

The Warm and Fuzzies
I'm not going to list each and every middle of the road player in the camp, but there were a few that didn't blow me out of my seat, but have some skill. I'll like list out a few bullet points below:

• Mark NcNeill looked average. He clearly has the tools and brains, so he just had an average day. No reason to panic and curse Stan out.
  
• Kevin Hayes had flashes, but nothing really grabbed me with him, either. Maybe that is because of his big brother making everyone look like children. He'll be fine.
  
• Byron Froese, Rob Flick, Philippe Paradis, and David Gilbert all looked pretty good. They are all pretty good size, and moved well. Nothing too flashy, except Froese practicing his one timers after practice with Sam "The Dean of Mean" Jardine (I've been dying to use that). Froese was parked at the top of the circle and didn't miss a single shot, which is NOT easy to do with one timers, goalie or not.
  
• Andrew Shaw looked pretty good for his size. It was clear that the organization likes him, because he was pulled aside with Hayes and Lavin, by Marc Bergevin to get a little fighting tutorage. Nothing like watching a 5'10"/180 guy trying to wrestle a 6'5"/233 guy.
  
• Ludvig Rensfeldt, Joakim Nordstrom, and Mirko Hoefflin were pretty much what you'd expect out of European prospects. They were a little on the thin side which means that they are pretty open to being planted into the tenth row of the seats, and rendered useless from then on. That being said, they can skate the hell out of the puck, when they want to, but that brings one name to mind: Marcus Kruger.
  
• Adam Clendening, Shayne Taker, Paul Phillips, and Michael Paliotta all caught my attention. Clendening, Phillips and Paliotta looks solid both ways, and Taker is out of the Lavin/Johns Notre Dame mold. Take it for what it's worth, they were drills, folks.
  
• The Goalies were nothing to write home about. Simpson, Carruth and Heeter were clearly the top three, in that order, and "Mr.Irrelevant" Johan Mattsson showed me the least. Drills don't always showcase a Goaltender's skills the best, and they certainly leave these guys hung out to dry, so again, take it for what it's worth.
  

The Disappointments

Stephen Johns

Leave it up to me to bash Stan's first draft pick last year, but he was shockingly and noticeably bad. I was really looking forward to see him, because he's a mountain of a kid, but he couldn't handle the puck to save his life. I'm sure he just had a bad day or was using his unlucky stick, but OUCH. I'm sure I saw John Scott handle the puck better than that, a time or two, and I'm SURE I saw Jassen Cullimore and Nick Boynton handle it better. His fellow Golden Domers (Lavin/Taker) out-shined him all day. Most of the scrimmage drills had him paired with Lavin, and Lavin looked more like the 2nd rounder than Johns. In a matter of 5 minutes I watched him whiff over the top of 3 out of 4 passes, which should have really been academic plays. He certainly needs some seasoning, that much is apparent. I have nothing against the kid, and I'm hoping he gets his head together, because we could use that size SOON, but Sunday was NOT his day.

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On Ice Activity Begins in 3...2...1!

This morning begins the first on ice training for the 2011/12 Blackhawks at Johnny's Ice House, with the first session of the Prospect Camp. Stanimal addressed this year's camp with the press and stressed that this years camp would be a little different, from past camps. They are going to cater more to the actual Blackhawks players, rather than trying to find hidden free agents. This makes sense, if they want to build the system up like they say, and get these young players ready for the NHL. If you noticed, the recent young players have not progressed like like the current players did, when they were prospects. You had Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, and Bolland all come up through the system and thrive at a young age. Even former players like Byfuglien, Versteeg, Wisniewski, Burish, and Eager played major minutes as youngsters. Part of the latest lull is directly because of the previous players success, but some of it is because the young players haven't been prepared. You'll have one or two players sneak through, like Three Times-A-Leddy, and Agent Smith, but players have hit a roadblock in Rockford lately, and it's not from IDOT construction. Players like Morin, Makarov, Beach, Pirri, and Lalonde should be pounding on the UC locker room door. Either it means they aren't prepared, or they aren't the talent that they were thought to be. I'm going with the first choice. So, in a nutshell, it's nice to see Stanimal notice this and make a change. Kudos to him, because god knows we have been hard on him.

As far as the camp goes, this should be interesting, and I'm hoping to make it out to one of the practices, this weekend. If you'd like to see the full roster of players, you can CLICK THIS LINK. Some fan favorites to watch are hometown boys Alex and Terry Broadhurst, Luke Sandler, and Paul Phillips. Everyone loves to see a hometown boy make it big. Some prospects to watch are new draftees Mark McNeill, Phillip Danault, Brandon Saad, and Klas Dahlbeck. As well as past picks and prospects Rob Flick, Byron Froese, David Gilbert, Jimmy and Kevin Hayes, and Ludvig Rensfeldt.

The main guys I'm looking forward to seeing are huge defenseman Stephen Johns, defenseman Dylan Olsen, and winger Brandon Saad. These defensemen are suppose to step up in the near future and take the spot of O'Donnell and maybe even Hjalmarsson. Johns is a BIG boy at 6'4" and 220, so he could definitely take that O'Donnell spot, and Dylan Olsen is suppose to be the next Brent Seabrook type player. Saad was called a wild card, but he might just be the next EXCITING Blackhawks player with personality. Just something that strikes me as interesting about this kid. I'm stoked to hopefully get out and see these guys skate in person.



On a side note, for all those looking to get their new players jerseys, it was announced that Brunette will wear Rich Sutter's old #15, Carbomb will wear lucky #13 (or unlucky if you associate it with Zhamnov), Mayers will do Adam Creighton proud and don his former #22, Rosty Olesz will wear the ever popular #85, The Matador will take Stevie Konroyds old #5, and O.D. will wear Bob Murray's old #6. Run out and get your Rosty Olesz jersey, while they last, folks!

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