Author Archive for David Morris

PuckCast: HockeeNight! Meets Hockey Independent for some hot stove talk on hot topics

Thanks to our good friends Fork and CT at HockeeNight! in Chicago (hockeenight.com), we’re pleased to bring you this two hour podcast recorded Tuesday, July 22.
Featuring NHL on XM Radio’s Hawks correspondent and HockeyIndependent.com columnist Al Cimaglia; Dave Morris, also a feature columnist at Hockey Independent; and hosts ForkLift and CT, it’s a lively, and [...]

UFA Daze: Hawks Play Hardball

The UFA Frenzy has passed. As the experts survey the after-effects, the front page news has alternated between ‘The Ilya Affair’ and ‘The Chicago Fire Sale’. The drama set off a few more fireworks on Canada Day and the Fourth of July, while the beer flowed and the barbecues sizzled.

The spice was laid on liberally to disguise the lack of meat in the stories. The blogosphere buzzed about Kovalchuk, but no one knew anything. As for the foofaraw about Chicago, it seemed everyone forgot there isn’t a single Stanley Cup winner since the lockout that hasn’t, following their victory, overhauled their roster. So why should this year’s Champion Blackhawks be any different?

BLACKHAWKS’ 2010 DRAFT: THE KNOWN UNKNOWNS

“We’ve said all along that the key to sustaining a team is bringing up young players year after year.” That was how Stan Bowman viewed the Chicago Blackhawks’ posture going into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. As a Stanley Cup Champion, the Hawks executives clearly felt they could afford to look at prospects who would pay off long term, rather than focusing on immediate returns. The choices also reflect some of the new trends in player development.

Cup Vs. Cap: What’s Next For the Chicago Blackhawks?

The confetti has barely been swept up from the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup Championship parade, and already salary-dumping scenarios for the Hawks are being concocted. While Islanders great Mike Bossy suggested the Hawks can become a dynasty, some observers say the party’s already over as The Cap, in their eyes, crushes all hope. Where the truth is, perhaps, only Chicago GM Stan Bowman knows. At least, Hawks fans hope he does.

HAWKS-FLYERS CUP FINAL 2010: “IF”

Like the playoff series preceding it, this year’s Stanley Cup Final is making predictions obsolete.

At mainstream outlets like ESPN, RDS, TSN, Yahoo Sports and the NHL Network, many experts were picking the Blackhawks to win, though some hedged their bets by saying we would see a seven game series. Dissenters were favoring the Vegas underdogs from Philly.

Few expected that each game thus far, would be decided by a single goal (the empty netter in Game Four notwithstanding).

HAWKS-FLYERS STANLEY CUP FINAL 2010: HISTORY WILL BE MADE

As the curtain rises on the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, the stories and connections that surround and link the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers are rich with hockey lore. This has provided, and will continue to provide, ample material for commentators, scribes and fans alike. The romance of ‘Original Six’ versus ‘Original Expansion Six’ also fuels the conversation. What confounds the soothsayers is the saw-offs in skill between Chicago and Philadelphia. Scanning the usual suspects in the hockey media, the predictions appear to be running about 60-40, advantage Hawks, as if predictions were worth anything after this year’s slew of upsets. The pundits do agree this Final has the makings of a modern classic.

BATTLE STATIONS: BLACKHAWKS-SHARKS WCF ‘10

When Troy Brouwer scored the first goal of the Blackhawks’ 5-1 series clincher, he put the game of hockey in perspective. With his father recovering from surgery to alleviate a blood clot in his brain, Brouwer showed courage, coming back from his absence while he stayed with his father, and getting his game in focus. “It feels great,” he said. “Sitting out those couple games gave me a little bit of perspective and thankfully the coaches stuck with me. I didn’t want to disappoint them or the team or my dad.” Now the perspective switches to the Hawks’ second consecutive WCF and a first playoff meeting ever with San Jose.

This Conference Final brings together the number one and number two Western powers, whose final standings were separated by a single point. Tough to imagine two clubs more evenly matched.

The history between the Hawks and Sharks, then, is limited to their regular season contests, though there are some interesting relationships.

THE NARROW MARGIN: BLACKHAWKS-CANUCKS’ GRUDGE MATCH 2010

“Whenever you can win a playoff series, it feels good. I don’t know who said it was going to be an easy series or we were going to get upset. It was two teams that played hard going back to the regular season. It was a very tough series. I give them a lot of credit. It could have really gone either way.”
This was Patrick Sharp’s summary of the series against the Predators, but it could have been a preview of the rematch between the Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks. The ingredients for a classic combat are there. Two talented teams with a history of hate; two teams who match up in a variety of areas; two teams who have been anointed as legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup.

Playoff Ugly: Hawks-Preds Round One

When the final horn sounded at the United Center in Chicago on April 16th, one sensed the sagging hopes of Blackhawks faithful as the Nashville Predators wrested Game One from the favorites. Though the game had been decided by a single goal, the last two empty netters must have felt like a punch in the gut, not only for the crowd, but for the players as well.

It didn’t take long for the hockey pundits to sound the alarm.

Like A Hawk: Troy Murray on Chicago’s Cup Chances

As the Chicago Blackhawks prepared to honor former centerman and current WGN Radio Hawks color commentator Troy Murray with a Heritage Night on January 14, 2010, at the United Center, they were celebrating a player who embodies, perhaps as much anyone in the Hawks’ eighty-four year history, the spirit of the team. If the audience and the media have romantic notions of the hockey player as professional warrior, Troy Murray knows the realities, being one of the few who reach the summit of the Stanley Cup.

Nemo Rising: Antti Niemi, The Hawks’ Best Hope?

At the end of the Hawks’ 2-1 shootout win over New Jersey Friday April 2nd at the Prudential Center, Stanley Cup winning goalie and Devils TV color commentator Chico Resch spoke his mind. “Antti Niemi just made a believer out of me. They’ve found the goalie who can carry them far in the playoffs.”

Who Will The Blackhawks Face in Round One?

Counting down to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Hawks are currently hovering between 1st and 2nd place in the West. Depending on their performance and that of their presumed opponents between now and season’s end, the Blackhawks will likely face Detroit, Colorado, LA or Nashville. What are their chances?

Are The Blackhawks Ready For The Playoffs?

The Chicago Blackhawks are, barring unforeseen cataclysms, poised to enter the post season in consecutive years for the first time since 1997. From 1998 through 2008, missing the playoffs was the norm, save for a quick exit in 2002. While the euphoria of last year’s resurgence may have carried the Hawks along with their talent, expectations have now been ramped up to the maximum. But are the Blackhawks ready for success, or is too early to think Stanley’s silver is within their reach?

Felonious Assault: Hawks Hunted

Hockey is an ugly game. And isn’t that the way fans want it? The battling, the bashing, the bruising, the body checks, the broken noses and the blood have been part of the spectacle as long as the sport has existed. It’s the law of the frozen jungle. The Blackhawks got not one, but two unequivocal reminders of that fact in the last two games: first Brian Campbell, and now Brent Seabrook, knocked out of action. So what do they do now?

Blackhawks Down: Campbell Done For The Season

Brian Campbell smashed into the end boards, breaking his clavicle and ribs, courtesy of an Alex Ovechkin hit during the Hawks-Caps NBC Game of the Week Sunday March 14th. Blackhawks fans might have been thinking at that moment that their team’s Cup hopes were done, along with Campbell, for 2010.

The Last Days of Huet The Hawk?

The career of Cristobal Huet as a Chicago Blackhawk may be coming to a close. For some, it can’t come soon enough. When Huet gave up four goals on seven shots in six minutes in the second period of the Hawks’ game versus Detroit, Sunday, March 7th, the home crowd at the United Center seemed to issue their final condemnation. The internet fan forums reverberated with anger and frustration directed at the French-born netminder. The failed efforts to trade him, widely speculated upon in the press, appear to confirm his departure is just a matter of time.

Blackhawks Post-Deadline: Cup Or Bust?

Blackhawks fans were holding their breath, waiting for the big deal that never came. Now that Deadline Day has passed, many wonder about the Hawks’ Cup chances, especially as rivals have upgraded their personnel.
Instead of the move pundits predicted–for a goalie– Stan Bowman made some minor deals. So, was he right to stand pat, or has he missed the window of opportunity?

Blackhawks’ March Deadline: Countdown To What?

The rumor mill loves the Chicago Blackhawks. From the buzz over their looming cap crunch to the endless scuttlebutt over their goalie controversy, and with the countdown to the March deadline, everyone wants to know—or seems to think they know–what Hawk GM Stan Bowman is going to do.
Or not.
I’ve taken a look at the Hawks’ [...]

The Great Blackhawk Goalie Controversy

The Chicago Blackhawks, as of the Olympic break, have the number one goaltending tandem in the NHL according to their goals against average; and they are also tied for first in wins. Yet, perhaps no team in the NHL has its goalies under the microscope more than the Blackhawks. Are changes afoot?

Bowman’s Blueprint: Who’s Next in Blackhawks Trades?

Stan Bowman just pulled off his first major trade for the Chicago Blackhawks, and while the proverbial ink is still fresh on that page, the prevailing opinion seems to be that the young GM has scored big on several fronts.

Blackhawks: Dialing for D-Men?

As the Pre-Olympics roster freeze and March trade deadline get ever closer, there is debate about the Hawks’ perceived need on defense. From the Chicago hockey media to Blackhawk fan boards, the questions are being asked: does the team need a d-man; what kind; who; and how much should they pay for this rental player?
While [...]

What Do The Blackhawks Need NOW?

With less than two weeks to the Olympic break, a little over twenty games left, and a winning percentage of .709, the Chicago Blackhawks are on track for 116 points, their best season since 1971-72.
But is it good enough? Fans’ anxiety is rooted in almost fifty years of waiting for another Stanley Cup.
Those who remember [...]