The Huet Dilemma Could Be A Blessing In Disguise

Not to sound like an annoying, overly optimistic Blackhawk blogger but maybe Cristobal Huet’s down fall is a blessing in disguise. If Huet is not here there is a far better chance of re-signing Kane, Keith and Toews without depleting next year’s roster of a lot of young talent. Hawk fans can then look forward to watching most of this exciting group well into the future. On the dark side, a starting goalie is the most important position on a hockey team. The Chicago goalkeeping issue needs to be resolved. 

If Huet can’t cut the mustard Antti Niemi will get the job by default or the Hawks could be forced to find another goalie via the trade market. There is also the possibility the best Blackhawk goalie may currently be in Rockford. Corey Crawford can’t be dismissed as just another AHL goalie yet. If Crawford proves to be a NHL starter, he is signed through next season at a very favorable $750,000. 

Let’s say Niemi proves to be the answer. 

The Hawks could then jettison Huet’s salary. It could be optimistic to consider Niemi as the solution, but it is possible. That scenario is more likely than considering another team acquiring Huet through a trade. 

If Niemi is re-signed for next season it will be at a fraction of Huet’s $5.6 million salary, which will mean the Hawks will have created a good chunk of salary cap space. I say created but it is more like absorption. 

The financial loser will be Rocky Wirtz because most likely he will have to swallow the Huet salary while he toils in Rockford or the KHL. If Huet’s performance doesn’t improve he could be put on unconditional waivers. But at this point sending Cristo down to the AHL with the intention of recalling him later presents a possible sticky situation. 

No one is going to claim Huet for full price, but for half of his salary on re-entry waivers…. maybe. That would not help the Hawks nearly as much in their quest to re-sign Kane, Keith and Toews as shedding Huet’s entire cap hit. 

At this point every million matters, and risking a possible re-entry claim on Huet would be approximately a three million dollar per season gamble. 

Carrying $2.8 million on the books until 2011-2012 is not something Stan Bowman needs. In essence a productive $3 million player would then have to find a new home for next season. If Huet can’t play here in Chicago he needs to be completely removed from the Hawks salary cap. 

If Niemi or Crawford can shoulder the load for his season then the Hawks  have a much better chance of re-signing the “big three”. 

That would be a blessing. 

I like to talk trades as much as anyone, but the Blackhawks can’t acquire another goalie who earns as much or more than Huet unless he is on a one year contract. There are only two possibilities which stand out, the Islanders Marty Biron and Jaroslav Halak of the Canadiens. The situation in Long Island points to Biron as being easier to acquire. Marty Turco of the Stars is in his last contract year, but it is too early to consider him a realistic option.

Jack Skille et al. 

Jack Skille should have been able to make the Hawks roster out of training camp, considering all the injured forwards. He has flashes of NHL ability and there are probably a number of teams Skille could help. Currently the Hawks are not one of them and may never be. 

Skille shuffling from Rockford to Chicago only to play a few minutes each game made little sense. Those days have past as Stan Bowman plucked center Andrew Ebbett off of waivers. 

The table was set for Skille to be a Blackhawk at least until Marian Hossa returned. Now a table will be set for him at the Rockford Cracker Barrel. 

Ebbett got caught in a numbers game in Anaheim. He may be best suited for the AHL, but at a $500,000 cap hit he is well worth a look. Ebbett is about the same size as Kane and he appears to have some offensive talent. Last season in 48 games for the Ducks, Ebbett had 32 points. Not bad at all, but keep in mind he was a linemate of Teemu Selanne, and that didn’t hurt point production.

There are two likely scenarios which could play out for Skille.

Option “A” for Skille is he plays here next year because the talent level won’t be as high because of cap consequences. 

Option “B” is he never plays full time for the Hawks and is traded. 

Right now my money would be on option “B”, mainly because the Hawks have many 3^rd and 4^th line players in their system. If Skille was a more complete player he would be on their third or fourth line now. Even with all the injuries he still couldn’t find a spot so it might be better for him to go where he can get a chance to play. 

The longer Skille stays in Rockford the more likely scouts around the league may consider him no better than a 3^rd or 4^th line player. His trade value may be higher now than later. 

Niemi starts tonight versus the Canucks. Those boys will be dialed up for this one as the Flames were last week. 

Coach Quenneville came here to win; he chooses the lineup with little or no influence from the front office. A different Hawk coach at a different time may have come back with Huet against the Canucks hoping to get him on a roll. That was then, now Q. plays who gives him the best chance of winning. Contract size is not factored into his decision making. 

After the game on Saturday Huet looked like a beaten man. He even hesitated when asked if he wanted to play tonight. It might be best for him to take a few days off to regroup. As long as the Hawks keep winning the majority of the time, Huet will have a chance at redemption. The real trouble for him will take place if the goal scoring falls off and losses start to pile up. 

Niemi might be the answer, and all’s well that ends well…. 

For now my optimism on Niemi is luke warm.  Let’s face it the Blackhawk organization has had a brutal record when it comes to drafting foreigner born players as well as signing them as free agents. The franchise has new people involved in scouting, so things appear to be different.

Niklas Hjalmarsson looks like a great find but he doesn’t make up for all the mistakes. 

For example Tony Salmelainen, he was a real gem.  Trent Yawney was told by management Salmo was the second best player in Europe after Malkin…..yikes. 

The human cork screw was not here for long and fortunately the Hawks got out of his contract. Salmo was a free agent acquisition, like Niemi,  but many foreign born draft choices have been no better. 

Alexei Ivanov, Johann Andersson, Anton Babchuk, Alexander Kozhevnikov, Kevin Kantee, Vladimir Gusev, Alexei Zotkin, Mikhail Yakubov, Pavel Vorobiev, Jonas Nordqvist, Igor Radulov and Olli Malmivaara represent a list of bad Blackhawk  memories. 

There were more, but only 4^th round selections or higher were considered and the names mentioned were all drafted in this decade. The vast majority never saw the ice for any length of time in the NHL. 

Niemi seems to be different. The Blackhawk nation can only hope so.

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