A scan of the hockey media, whether in the mainstream or the blogosphere, reflects that confusion. Though the rationale, and the proposed solutions, may differ, all seem to agree that the basic core of the Blackhawks should mean they are both a playoff team and qualified to defend their Championship with some credibility.

But the roller-coaster ride of inconsistency wears thin, and after the Hawks dropped another two points in the third period, on home ice, this time against the Dallas Stars, nerves are justifiably frayed. Make no mistake: the Hawks’ front office has no intention of letting this team miss the playoffs. Unless, that is, they have suddenly changed their agenda of driving revenue and growing the fan base.

Owner Rocky Wirtz was candid about the choices management would have to make this year, saying in an interview with the Chicago media, “You have a core of players you need to secure long term, and the rest of the roster, you fill in.”

In principle, sound thinking, and the kind of thinking Cup winners like Detroit and Pittsburgh have applied in recent years. The Wings and Penguins have seen important, and role, players, leave through free agency, and have had to cope with injury and the inevitable changes in ‘team chemistry’ that has seen them stumble at times during the regular season. Last year, both Detroit and Pittsburgh got humbled in the playoffs as well. So the idea, and the reality, that the Hawks would suffer through what they are now, should not come as a surprise.

But of course, an organization as high-profile as the Chicago Blackhawks, can’t just stand pat. Stan Bowman has said the team has two obvious needs: a quality centerman, and an upgrade to the bottom pairing on defense. This is clear to observers, and probably at the root of the Hawks’ up-and-down performances.

The lack of that second centerman behind Jonathan Toews could be mitigated last year because the Hawks, deep at all the other forward positions, could roll four lines, and slot in players like Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Tomas Kopecky, none of whom is a Top 6 center, but all of whom could serve on an interim basis.

This year, the Hawks have a hole in the middle of the lineup. As the season goes on, the nature and the extent of that hole has become more obvious. Like the mysterious rattle in a car the mechanic can’t identify until it become serious enough to be seen, the Hawks’ squeaks and rattles have elicited all kinds of diagnosis.

An astute diagnosis came in a comment by my Hockey Independent colleague Al Cimaglia and a response by a reader: the Hawks have too many players at forward who have the same profile. Not skilled enough to be Top 6, not gritty or responsible enough to be Bottom 6.

If one concedes the ingredients of a winning hockey team are Skill, Smarts, Snarl, Speed and Size, the combination of those in one player being rare means a GM needs to be the chef that finds, and implements, the balance of those ingredients in his roster.

To my mind, Ray Shero represents one of the best examples. His Penguins have a variety of players, some of whom are top-end, many of whom perform specific roles with the ability to create an element of surprise when facing an opponent. And Shero, having learned from his father, the legendary Philadelphia Flyers coach Fred Shero, knows hockey is about “Arriving with a sense of ill humor”. In other words, nastiness or ‘snarl’. Penguins like Kunitz, Dupuis, Kennedy, Cooke, Adams, Rupp, Engelland, Godard, for example, are all players who bring considerable snarl, and some of them have some of the other ingredients.

Paul Holmgren knows that as well, having been a player under Shero’s guidance, with snarl; he has built his Flyers with enough skill and more than enough snarl to take them to the Finals last year, and quite possibly, this year.

Do this year’s Hawks have enough ‘snarl’? The short answer is ‘no’.

The Stanley Cup Championship team had that perfect balance of the ‘Five S’ (Skill, Smarts, Snarl, Size and Speed), and, the benefit, as Stan Mikita said about his ’61 winner, of “putting it all together at the right time”.

The current team has plenty of skill at the top end. What it doesn’t have in the mid-range, and this is only truly evident at the halfway point, is the right combination of necessary ingredients.

As anyone in management will tell you, it is extremely difficult to know exactly how a new worker, or a worker who is promoted, will pan out once they are on the job. Potential within the organization, a great interview, the successful execution of pilot projects, may all say, ‘this one’s a keeper’. But when the pressure is on, and applied constantly, the true character of a worker emerges.

Troy Brouwer, Bryan Bickell, Jack Skille, Viktor Stalberg, Tomas Kopecky and Jake Dowell are the ‘middle of the roster’, and except for Dowell, no one can say that any of them have performed optimally this year. Not one of them has enough of the ‘Five S’ to make them essential. Would the Hawks miss any one, or even two of these players, if traded for an asset the Hawks really need? That is a question Stan Bowman may be asking. It is a question Hawkey writers and fans have been asking.

Like the aforementioned ‘new worker’, all these young men have skills that suggest they could be promoted. But none of them have proven to be the answer.

When a prospect like Jeremy Morin shows up and displays almost all of the ‘Five S’ qualities, one or more of the other aforementioned players will, logically, be displaced. There is another prospect who, it has been suggested, may also bring this skill set to the Blackhawks, first round pick and World Juniors Team Canada defenseman Dylan Olsen. They may be kids, but both Morin and Olsen represent the kind of dynamic, game-changing player the Blackhawks need more of right now.

Players like Dave Bolland, Fernando Pisani and Ryan Johnson all do their jobs as veteran defensive players well enough, though Bolland’s salary will continue to make him a magnet for criticism.

In a previous article, I mentioned that Marian Hossa would need to take a greater role in leading the team. After watching the Stars defeat the Hawks at the United Center Wednesday night, January 5, it’s clear that leadership, even by the top end players like Hossa, as well as Sharp, Duncan Keith and even Jonathan Toews, won’t be enough to get the Blackhawks to the post season.

There a few things to like about the Hawks at the half. Corey Crawford has been better than anyone could have hoped; Patrick Sharp’s goal production establishes him as a premier forward.

But the warning signs are flashing.

There have already been some demotions on defense, as Nick Boynton has been scratched, and Jassen Cullimore sent to Rockford.

To be in the pack of ten teams fighting for five playoff spots, with four points between them, is not a disaster; it is, however, increasingly precarious.

Sitting in tenth place, playing little better than .500 hockey, spinning their wheels, in a ball of confusion, is not the tune the Hawks should be dancing to.

With seven weeks to go before the NHL trade deadline, that tune has to change. Either it comes from within, or it comes from the Blackberry of Stan Bowman.

(Photo of Tomas Kopecky, Associated Press)

Ahead of the Christmas break, Hawks head coach Joel Quenneville sounded like a man whose hand was ever ready to reach for the antacid tablets. “Every day you’re looking at what it’s going to take,” he growled. Those who watch him explode behind the bench, berating his team for inexplicable lapses, wonder, as he no doubt does, whether the Stanley Cup Champions will even make the playoffs this coming spring. The season may be a marathon, but trying to run in the middle of the pack is a dangerous place to be. As Quenneville added after the latest disappointment: “If we want to become a playoff team and a better team, these are the points we have to have.”

December has done nothing to qualm the fears of those who expect the worst. Six wins, five regulation losses, one overtime loss: barely a .500 record, though a four-game win streak in the second half promised the Hawks had ‘turned the corner’, as the cliché goes.

That glimmer of promise was before Captain Jonathan Toews got slammed into the boards by the Blues’ Matt D’Agostini in a 3-1 December 28th defeat in St. Louis, putting Toews out of action for the next two weeks and seven games at least, with what was called a shoulder injury. And installing a black cloud over Hawk Nation.

Thoughts of putting distance between themselves and other teams in the race and their Division, possibly making up ground on the leaders in Detroit, suddenly evaporated. ‘Managing expectations’ became the operative phrase as Blackhawks TV color commentator and former star Ed Olczyk ominously intoned, “Without Jonathan Toews, this team has to be concerned at staying one game above .500.” Not a thought with which to celebrate the New Year.

Add to that gloomy perspective the news that newly designated starting goalie Corey Crawford, suffering from the flu, would be absent from the net for an undetermined time, as would for the same reason, underrated and valuable checking forward Fernando Pisani. Hot prospect winger Jeremy Morin suffered an injury in the World Juniors. Some Hawks fans were saying it was time to “think about baseball season”, as one put it in a Hawkey web forum.

For the players, such thoughts bring no relief.

Their recent loss in San Jose was replicated at the United Center on December 30, with Antti Niemi serving up the same bitter prescription for his third consecutive win over his former employers.

Though the game was close, the outcome had the feeling of inevitability once the Blackhawks fell behind 3-1, and a brief comeback could not be turned into a lead, Joe Thornton getting his revenge with the game-winning tally for having been stifled in the Hawks’ playoff sweep of the Sharks. The sound of San Jose GM Doug Wilson, ironically one of Chicago’s most revered former players, now rubbing his hands at the Hawks’ travails, could be heard as well.

If expectations must be managed, the fan still seeks explanations. And why not? The supporters invest themselves, and their earnings, taking a stake in the team’s fortunes. How can the Champions have the look of a sputtering jalopy as the dead of winter takes over? How can the Blackhawks, who were so deep at all positions just months ago, be reduced to playing two defensemen on the forward lines? How can the club that powered its way to a record-setting hundred and twelve point campaign and the Cup last June, be projected to little more than ninety by next April? To make matters worse, Hawks fans glance at the hated Red Wings, who without Pavel Datsyuk, appear to be marching onward, to the delight of their faithful who taunt Chicago as the ‘little brother’.

Reality paints a slightly different picture. The 2010-11 NHL season has been marked by wild swings in performance by clubs in both Conferences. Teams go on winning streaks and losing streaks seemingly at the drop of the puck. While a cluster of clubs already look ready for the golf course, another gaggle is battling for berths, and the standings change from week to week, sometimes day to day.

Where Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have established themselves in the East, the other squads in the Top 8 pinball around the standings. While in the West, Detroit, Vancouver and Dallas have managed to perch themselves in front, the pursuers, from fourth down to twelfth, battle over a four-point spread. So any combination of a pair of wins and losses can shuffle the deck. And anybody can beat anybody.

This tests the mettle of the fan who wants consistency, and irritates the stomach walls of the coaching staff, who just want their troops to ‘keep it simple, stupid’. When the clichés are so worn they have the consistency of used Kleenex, coaches age with each passing shift.

Looking beyond the microscopic view of the Hawks’ struggles, the bigger picture indicates that the transition undertaken by management is going about more or less as anticipated. Critics of the Blackhawks crowed that Chicago would look like an “AHL team” after the summer re-tooling. There are still those pining for Dustin Byfuglien, among others the Hawks couldn’t afford to keep. Many are wondering how the glory so long in coming, could be so fleeting.

The relative weakness of Chicago’s bottom defensive pairing, and the ongoing problem at center, has Stan Bowman looking for solutions. That won’t be simple when the entire league is up to its neck in overpriced players with no-trade clauses, and contenders are cap-strapped. But there are short-term upgrades to be found.

Combing through the depth charts for d-men, names like the Flames’ Anton Babchuk (ironically a former Chicago first round pick), the Islanders’ Milan Jurcina, and Montreal’s Alex Picard emerge. All are around or below the million-dollar cap hit the Hawks can credibly consider.

Centers are much, much more difficult to find in that price range. Everybody wants a Jordan Staal-type; good luck finding one. Among pending FAs who might be available, defensive specialists Rob Niedermayer (BUF), the Flames’ Craig Conroy (solid but aging), the even more aging Doug Weight (NYI), the physical Todd Marchant (with Anaheim acquiring Max Lapierre) could augment the bottom six. Perhaps the Oilers’ Andrew Cogliano (offensively gifted but smallish), might be on Bowman’s shopping list. But could any of them deliver the desired impact, and are they worth the transaction?

Those who lament the Hawks’ dilemma might look at the situations with the Ducks, Flames, Hurricanes, Devils, Oilers and Senators, all teams that were considered ‘elite’—four of them, Cup finalists, one a winner—just scant seasons ago; none can lay claim to that, now. Blame the cap? Blame the CBA? Blame ‘parity’? Not that such things comfort Hawkey people.

Blackhawk fans might decide to be patient with their heroes, or they can spend this season gnashing their teeth, pulling their hair and uttering expletives. Nothing is easy for a Champion, and few things more frustrating for the follower who wants more. Building a Cup winner is a tenuous process, and hanging on to that status is an art few have ever mastered; none in the last dozen years, never mind the post-lockout era.

The Blackhawks are defending their title with difficulty. They must soldier on without three or four key players, as they have had to, throughout the current campaign, though the names have changed. For now, those ‘missing in action’ are Toews, Crawford, Pisani and Morin. Come the New Year, their return can make a difference. Might a premium prospect like World Junior d-man, top pick Dylan Olsen, ascend from Rockford? Stranger things have happened.

In the meantime, the spotlight shifts to a superstar like Marian Hossa, who becomes by default the Hawks’ finest player. Hossa is one of the league’s best two way forwards, but the question of whether he can lead a team remains to be answered. He will have to lead, until Toews, who may be the best center in the NHL along with Sidney Crosby and Pavel Datsyuk, recovers from his injury. Hossa is, arguably, the lynchpin in the Chicago core comprising Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell: a core as good as any in the NHL. That logic suggests Hossa was the final missing component that allowed the Blackhawks to go to the Cup Final and capture the crown they had been seeking for half a century.

Hossa has shaken the ‘big game’ demons that dogged him through his time in Ottawa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Detroit, and he has his Cup ring. But these are desperate times in Chicago. Time for him to show he is the franchise player that Rocky Wirtz signed to the equivalent of a lifetime deal. The Hoss Man has to be the Boss Man, if the Hawks are going to be there when the roll is called for the springtime prom of Lord Stanley’s Dance.

(Photo: Marian Hossa; NHL)

December started poorly for the Hawks, with a blanking by the Canucks at the United Center, and the seeming banishment of Marty Turco to the backup goalie role. If the Blackhawks thought Corey Crawford would save them after taking the next two, they got a stiff reprimand as they dropped three straight to San Jose with back-to-back collapses against the Avalanche, surrendering eleven goals in those two games. Something had to give, and Hawk fans were waiting for the roof to fall in as the ‘mighty’ Red Wings came to Chicago. But a funny thing happened.

The Blackhawks began to play defense as a team.

The Hawks de-feathered Detroit, and it was as if a switch had been flipped, a light had gone on, call it what you will. But without Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane and Viktor Stalberg, the Blackhawks suddenly realized they already had the components to win games.

And as the Wings, Kings and Predators found out recently, when a team realizes that winning hockey games is about executing the fundamentals instead of putting on a show, that team can beat any other team in the NHL.

If there is anything remarkable about the 2010-11 season, so far, it is the observation that the difference between teams on a nightly basis is minimal in terms of talent. What appears to be the determining factor is the willingness of a team to play within ‘The System’. When interviewed, NHL coaches will cite the same things over and over again: the importance of forechecking and backchecking, gap control, the ability to protect ‘the house’, low-risk plays, puck protection, limiting turnovers, the elimination of lazy penalties, and so on, all of which have become clichés. Not very interesting to listen to for a fan, and probably not very interesting for a brash young hockey player who wants to show off his skills.

But as veteran hockey players discover, these ‘boring’ aspects of the game are essential to winning with any consistency. On teams where the balance favors experience, like a Detroit or a Philadelphia, watching them, validates the theory that simplicity and execution are more important than pure talent. Not to say those teams don’t have talented players, but their modus operandi under coaches like Babcock and Laviolette is predicated on their Cup-winning formula, the now-hackneyed but persistently accurate phrase, ‘do the little things’. In the early part of the season, and in their recent losses, the Blackhawks’ failures can all be traced to the failure to ‘do the little things’. While that may seem simplistic to the hockey writer or the fan, the reality is that in a game as fast as hockey, being able to do ‘the little things’ may be the most difficult part of the sport.

With the departure of so many players, the big question for the Hawks this year was how their replacements would fare. Looking at the roster, a few things have become clearer in that respect.

One is that the Blackhawks are still auditioning the sixth man for their ‘Top 6’. Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp and Bolland have both the salaries and the qualifications; below them, there is a dramatic drop-off in compensation, and ability to apply skill effectively.

So far, neither Troy Brouwer nor Tomas Kopecky have established themselves as Top 6 forwards. At about a million dollars each, both slated to be free agents next summer, both are playing for their jobs.

Below them, Bryan Bickell, Jack Skille, Viktor Stalberg, and when he has been called up, Jeremy Morin, have all taken their turns at playing on the top lines. With the exception of Stalberg, none has yet played a full NHL season; so patience can be deemed reasonable. In the case of Stalberg, his time with a dreadful Leafs organization whose collective performance was less than AHL level, can hardly be called quality schooling, so he also needs more time to fulfill his potential.

Skille and Bickell appear to have found the ‘touch’ recently, scoring goals at key times. If Bickell can keep his pace, he is on track for 20 goals. Jack Skille, whose draft position is too often cited (Dan Cleary was also a Chicago Number One pick, and there are many other such stories), is finally playing with poise and patience. With Bickell and Skille on task, the Hawks’ forward depth is augmented.

The so-called ‘bottom 6’ has been better than expected, with Jake Dowell, Fernando Pisani and now Ryan Johnson all demonstrating they are solid supporting players. Jordan Hendry and John Scott, pressed into duty at forward with the spate of injuries, have performed adequately.

With the Hawks being as cap-strapped as they are, the latest results, with Hossa, Kane and Stalberg still ailing, provide encouragement not only to fans, but to management. Trades will not be easy to make this year, so if the solutions can come from within the existing personnel, all the better. As Quenneville’s philosophy of rolling four lines has proven successful in the past, the improved play of his new guys is a major boost.

On defense, the answer seems to be a more equal distribution of ice time among the Top 4: with a healthy Brian Campbell, Quenneville can now rotate both pairs, which has reduced the factors for error that come with overwork. Nik Hjalmarsson’s play has improved noticeably as well, with Campbell using his speed and puckhandling to throw opponents off-balance. With greater cohesion, the play in the defensive zone, long a weakness of the Blackhawks, appears to have been transformed. Exits are cleaner, the slot is well-covered, and loose pucks are being retrieved from in front of Corey Crawford.

Though I had reservations about Jassen Cullimore, he seems to have found suitable form as a 5/6 man, as has the often-bashed Nick Boynton. Playing within their limitations and given defensive support from the forwards, both these veterans can get the job done until prospects like Nick Leddy are ready, or if Stan Bowman trades for an upgrade .

Crawford’s emergence has to be the big story so far for Chicago. Some are still not ‘sold’ on the young netminder; but as my Hockey Independent colleague Al Cimaglia and I observed at the beginning of the year, Crawford has become the Hawks’ equivalent of Jimmy Howard.

Like Howard, Crawford paid his dues for a long time in the AHL, and both of them faced skepticism when moving into the starting role. But both have an excellent grasp of the position, and both can make game-changing saves. In my view, Crawford is superior to Howard at this stage. If Marty Turco has become, as Al and I both agreed would probably be the case, the backup by Christmas, Hawks fans should not be disappointed or perturbed.

With five games to go, as of this writing, before the halfway point, the Blackhawks find themselves in a position not unlike the Red Wings last year; and the Penguins the year before. If some question the relevance of comparisons, these analogies are nonetheless instructive. Both Pittsburgh and Detroit, following consecutive trips to the Finals and respective Cup wins, had to re-shape their personnel significantly due to salary cap constraints. Both of those teams found themselves either in the pack jockeying for playoff position, or even on the outside, as Christmas arrived and New Year’s loomed. Both teams (like the Hawks this year) had to deal as well, with injuries to key players in the first half of the season; as the hockey world saw, both of those teams went on to recover from their setbacks.

Whether the Blackhawks do indeed make the playoffs in a dogfight that is extraordinarily tight, with six points separating first from ninth, and three points separating fifth from twelfth, depends on their willingness to play so-called ‘boring’, efficient hockey, going forward.

And with Detroit’s recent struggles compounded by the loss of Pavel Datsyuk for the next four to six weeks with a broken hand, even the Division Crown may be up for grabs.

One thing is for sure: if the Hawks can achieve consistency, and maintain that when Hossa, Kane and Stalberg return, they have a credible and unique opportunity to defend their Stanley Cup Championship.

But as Quenneville reminds his team and all Hawk watchers, it’s about looking at every day, what it’s going to take to win that day, that game, that period, that shift. And playing every one for keeps.

With three big games coming up, two against Division rivals, and all against teams as desperate for points as they are, there are no ‘gifts’ for the Hawks this Christmas, just the sound of Crunch Time.

(photo: Bryan Bickell, Jack Skille; NHL/Yahoo Sports)

The Jekyll-Hyde persona the Hawks were assuming showed its face in the first half of the Western ‘road trip’ as Chicago dominated in Edmonton, got smoked in Calgary, then nuked the Nucks before getting chomped by the Sharks (following a team party in Vegas that made headlines in the Sin City gossip columns). Whatever the reason, the squad was not playing smart defensive hockey in front of Marty Turco, who dropped six of his eight starts in November. With Corey Crawford, who plays a more conservative style, in net, the Blackhawks appeared to return to sound execution and sustained effort. Beating Anaheim at the Honda Center, stifling the Ducks’ top line of Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan was critical. Coach Quenneville stayed with his young netminder and Chicago won a tight battle in Los Angeles to attain their objective of eight points out of twelve on that leg.

Something else happened on that road trip. John Scott has become something of a controversial figure among Hawk fans and bloggers. His supporters and detractors square off even more often than he does. But for those who accept management’s decision to add the towering (6’8” 258lbs) Scott to the roster, they were delighted to see him demolish the Kings’ Kevin Westgarth as the Hawks won in Los Angeles. There are plenty of discussions as to whether an enforcer is needed in the NHL, but the fact is John Scott is the best value, at $500K per year, as a ‘physical utility player’ (as Faceoff.com puts it) in a group that includes George Parros, Derek Boogaard, Cam Janssen, Raitis Ivanans, Darcy Hordichuk and Chris Neil, all of whom are paid more, some, like Neil and Boogaard, much more. And Scott, apparently, doesn’t ever lose a fight.

Is there a psychological advantage to having such a player on board? The debate is more heated than the bouts themselves. But Hawks fans who have longed for such a sheriff since the days of Bob Probert and Stu Grimson are satisfied. As long as the Blackhawks continue to win games, Scott remains the nuclear weapon held in reserve to be deployed strategically, as the Blues’ Cam Janssen discovered to his dismay Tuesday night.

More importantly, the Blackhawks’ main arsenal is now firing again. Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews all scored important and timely goals during the recent three-game win streak and now have 16, 11 and 11 respectively.

Marian Hossa’s absence due to injury is a gap in the lineup management hopes will be filled in part by 19-year old prospect Jeremy Morin. Called up for a second showing, Morin showed his worth: he is a skilled, tenacious player whose ability to ‘play both sides of the puck’, creating opportunities in offensive and defensive mode, augur well for his and the Hawks’ future. The young man has also showed his readiness to scrap, check, block shots, in other words, do whatever it takes to win. Refreshingly, he seems also to be rather humble. His talent and energy evoke a former number 27, another American-born Jeremy. Will Morin follow in the skate tracks of Roenick as a new Hawkey hero? Stay tuned.

The rest of the forward contingent appears to finally be playing as units rather than individuals. Viktor Stalberg continues to improve his two-way play, and has added hitting to his menu. Troy Brouwer picked up his play as well, with smart hits and goals resulting from determined effort and good decisions. Tomas Kopecky, who seemed to be on the edge of taking a seat in the press box, delivered a four-point performance against St. Louis that resembled his Olympic and playoff form. David Bolland’s checking is less obvious, but keeping the big guns in Anaheim and LA quiet showed he might be back on his game. Dowell, Skille and now Bickell are blending well into the mix. Once Fernando Pisani comes back, he adds to the group. Consistency will continue to be the main issue; every one of these players has to put himself on notice.

After experiments with a variety of defensive pairings had mixed results, Coach Quenneville re-united the Top 4 that led the team to the Championship. The time apart appears to have been beneficial; during the recent uptrend, Keith-Seabrook and Campbell-Hjalmarsson have played with the assurance and precision the Hawks need if they are to defend the Cup.

The bottom pairing is vulnerable, however, and questions remain as to whether Jassen Cullimore and Nick Boynton can deliver reliable minutes. Garnet Exelby is apparently on deck in Rockford, but Exelby’s strengths are his pugnacious play rather than his defensive tautness. This is where Brent Sopel’s versatility is clearly missed, though his cap hit is not.

The goaltending, at this stage, stands in good stead with Crawford and Turco. Crawford is proving to be Chicago’s equivalent of the Wings’ Jimmy Howard, which can only be good if he continues to win the way Howard has been for his club. With Turco on the other side of the ledger, if the former Stars goalie hit a rough patch, he appears to know that he just has to be ready when called upon. The Hawks need wins now, however they get them.

Hockey is an ugly game, and winning ugly is what separates Champions from also-rans. The Blackhawks have had more than their share of ugly losses so far this season; hopefully the bad taste of those defeats spurs them forward.

A ‘winning ugly’ mindset will be mission-critical in December and beyond. The Western Conference standings are a traffic jam. Only four points separate 4th and 11th spots. The Hawks have played more games than anyone, and their winning percentage is inferior to the teams chasing them. So they have no margin for missteps.

As Joel Quenneville reminded everyone after the Blues clawed back to make what should have been a romp at the UC, a nail-biter, “It’s always tough, no matter what you try to do or say. We got a little bit casual there. You’ve got to stick with it mentally in games like this.”

Those words of wisdom from a veteran warrior like Quenneville should, and must, be heeded, by the Blackhawks, for every game, from now on.

Logically, the questions begin with the play of the Blackhawks’ elite.

Duncan Keith not only has a new ‘lifetime’ contract, the most lucrative ever given a Blackhawk, a shiny Cup ring, a Norris Trophy, new teeth and a new love, he also has the hottest spotlight on him.

NHL Network TV analyst and former NHL GM Craig Button made an observation recently that fans may want to consider. “People have been talking about the mistakes Duncan Keith has been making. And Keith’s going to make mistakes, because he has the puck so much. But you want him to have the puck because he does so many good things for you.”

My Hockey Independent colleague Al Cimaglia asked the question in one of his columns this past month, ‘Which player, could the Hawks least afford to lose?’ My answer, and I suspect the answer many would give, is Duncan Keith.

As is the fashion and fickleness that goes with sports talk, yesterday’s hero is today’s goat, and there are those who are ready to proclaim that Mr. Keith is suffering a major drop-off. Never mind that he leads the team in assists with 12 (all quality assists), part of being the 4th leading shooter on the team (and with many attempts blocked), as well leading in average time on ice by a wide margin. At 28:30, he plays three minutes more than Brent Seabrook, which translates into four more forty-five second shifts, though one imagines Keith probably plays longer shifts than anyone. That his plus-minus is a ‘shocking’ -6 , his giveaways have been glaring at times, and that Coach Joel Quenneville benched him for several minutes during a game, would all appear to support the ‘drop-off’ theory.

There is, however, another view. Hockey players being what they are, when a superior teammate is on the ice, there is a tendency for the less diligent to say, ‘Oh, he’ll take care of it.’ Just as this is true in the neighborhood shinny game, it’s even more the truth, on the NHL ice surface. After all, human nature is what it is. You let the guy with more talent and making more money shoulder the load.

When forwards don’t provide adequate puck support or back checking, and the opposition knows that the talented Mr. Keith is likely to end up with the puck, they will key on him relentlessly, and will anticipate what plays he might make.

Opposing coaches, who study game video, will instruct their forecheckers to cut Keith off at the pass. So the pressure is turned up, and turnovers increase.

When Hawk GM Stan Bowman took a pair of garden shears to his roster in order to get under the salary cap, he slashed away at the fat contracts his predecessor Dale Tallon handed out to Brent Sopel, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Cristobal Huet, ranging from 2 million to 5.625 per year. Chop, chop, chop and off they went to Atlanta, Toronto and Fribourg, Switzerland. More chopping followed, as FAs Andrew Ladd, John Madden, Colin Fraser, Ben Eager and Adam Burish all found new homes. Even Antti Niemi, ex-Zamboni driver turned titan tending the twine, became history.

Imagine coming to work the morning after your summer vacation and finding half the people in your office have been replaced. That’s what happened to the Hawks.

Whatever their flaws, the players jettisoned all had character, and while one can replace productivity, the character that certain people bring to an organization cannot. At least, not overnight.

The stars are expected to do their bit, game in, game out, but what helps them deliver is the ability of the supporting cast to take the pressure off them.

Players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith, as well as Brian Campbell, will always get the attention of the opposition’s most tenacious and punishing checkers. What most of the departed Hawks did, among other things, was to provide relief and to similarly harass the opposition. This is something that does not show up on a scoresheet.

Hockey is as much a mental game, and a game of physical punishment, as it is a game of skill. Like the school yard fight, it is merciless, and disrespectful. Hockey players may talk about ‘respect’, but watching these guys try to take each others’ heads off (Corus Sports reports the frequency of concussions remains alarming), respect is nothing more than a word. The players, especially Andrew Ladd, (though a case can be made for, and against, each of the others) who brought mental and physical toughness to the Blackhawks, gave way, for budget reasons, to new players who have yet to make their mark.

This puts an added burden on five specific members of the Cup-winning team. Tomas Kopecky and Troy Brouwer are thrust into Top 6 forward roles; Brian Bickell, a late season call-up who had flashes of productivity in the playoffs; Nik Hjalmarsson, whose offer sheet from the Sharks landed him a huge raise and resulting responsibility; and Nick Boynton, a depth defenseman who now takes a turn with Duncan Keith.

Of these five, it can be said that only Boynton has exceeded expectations. A reliable 5/6 man, he has been asked to do much more, and has improved in areas like shot blocking. No one questions Nick’s willingness to defend his mates in a scrap.

But Hawk fans were spoiled by Brent Sopel, who was actually a Top 4 d-man, at least in principle, relegated to 5/6 status. Sopel’s salary was as much as that of Boynton, and the other three reserve defensemen (Cullimore, Scott, and Hendry) put together.

Brouwer’s glaring lack of scoring (after a 20-plus goal season) and net presence; and Kopecky’s dearth of offense, propensity to make lazy passes and take bad late game penalties, have made them more of a liability than an asset for the Blackhawks. “One Goal” may be the Hawks’ marketing slogan, but being million-dollar men, more than a single goal so far won’t cut it for these two. After a hot start, Brian Bickell reverted to aimless hitting and a tendency to forget to back check, which got him benched. With prospects like Jeremy Morin and Ben Smith, and the specter of the already controversial Kyle Beach hovering, job security is not a given.

Last year, with their unparalleled depth, the Hawks could make up for these gaps. This year, they need all hands on deck, every game, every shift. Especially when Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland are less than one hundred per cent due to injury, which is currently the case. It is suspected Hossa’s repaired shoulder is hurting; Bolland’s ribs and back are apparently, the source of his woes.

Toews, Kane and Sharp have to deliver, but again, they will be keyed on at all times.

The new guys up front, Stalberg, Dowell, Skille, Pisani, are all fitting in. Stalberg is on pace for 20-25 goals; Leaf GM Brian Burke is ruing the day he made the trade that made the big Swede a Hawk . Dowell is the bull terrier that was hoped for; Jack Skille’s hard work finally paid off with his first two goals of the year; and Fernando Pisani has settled in as a shutdown man.

Nik Hjalmarsson may be overpaid at 3.5 million, and having to pick up the slack during Brian Campbell’s absence didn’t help his cause.

In goal, not only are Marty Turco and Corey Crawford playing well, despite their teammates’ gaffes, they appear to be the solid tandem the Hawks will need if they expect to defend their Championship. Turco is entertaining to watch, if sometimes nerve-wracking with his puck movement; but he is a battler and holds the Hawks in games in which they might otherwise have been embarrassed. At the time of this writing, Crawford actually has the better GAA and appears to have matured into a steady netminder. His performance Sunday (as seen in the photo above) , November 14th against an Anaheim club, who saw their six-game win streak halted by the Hawks, was truly impressive.

When all is said and done, the Hawks’ .500 record is about what one could expect from them at this point. And as has been pointed out by ‘Third Man In’ Hawks blogger Chris Block in his excellent article “Comparing the Hawks to recent Cup Winners’: “four Stanley Cup winners in the past ten seasons have started their following season with similar records as this year’s Hawks, all went on to win their division, or exceed 100 points. And all earned a spot in the postseason.”

The NHL season is, as we are so often reminded, a marathon, not a sprint. Whatever happens in the regular standings, it’s a whole new series of cage matches for those who strut or scratch their way into a playoff berth.

The Blackhawks may not be swaggering their way so far through the 2010-11 campaign, but their play since finally getting a full line-up on the ice was encouraging.

Coach Quenneville, who measures his words, was uncharacteristically effusive: “I thought that was arguably as good a game as we played all year as far as consistency in the game, offensive-zone time, good habits, changes, things that lead you to win good power play and penalty-kill.” In Q-Speak, he was pleased.

So what’s next? Now comes the famous ‘Circus Trip’, the extended series of away contests due to the presence of the Barnum & Bailey Circus at the United Center. After his OT game-winner on Sunday, Viktor Stalberg said it well: “It can be a really good chance for us to bond as a team.”

With the Oilers, Flames, Canucks, Sharks, Ducks and Kings all waiting to tear a strip off the Champs, this is ‘put up or shut up’ time. Play .682, (their percentage last year) and come back with eight of twelve points, and the Hawkey world is a better place.

Not impossible, if every man pulls his weight. The Hawks current 4-2-2 road record suggests it is realistic.

Those who falter may not be Blackhawks much longer, as Stan Bowman is probably preparing his Plan B.

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche will not be found in many hockey books, but his maxim, “What does not kill me, makes me stronger” can be applied to this year’s edition of the Chicago Blackhawks.

If the Hawks can find strength in their recent adversity, and come back from their road trip with a solid harvest of points, December will look a whole lot better.

Old Hawk, New Hawk: John Madden Vs Viktor Stalberg, October 30 in Minnesota. (Photo: NHL)

Seeing a Hawk lead the league so far in goals (in this case, Patrick Sharp with 10) is something many Hawks fans can’t remember. And while the club clearly has some adjustments to make regarding consistent two-way play, their 7-5-1 record so far compares favorably to last year’s 8-4-1 mark at the same point. Much as they did at the beginning of last year, the victories and losses have been mostly by narrow margins, except for the poor showing against a hungry Oilers team at the United Center Friday the 29th.

But then, there’s something about playing at home that seems to rattle the Hawks. How to explain a mere .500 performance, and so many points left on the table? It’s as if they want to give the customers a show, rather than just take care of business. On the road, however, the Blackhawks play a tighter, more focused game, as reflected in their 3-1-1 record. It may also be worth remembering the Hawks won their Cup away from home, both last year and their previous Championship in ’61. Maybe the hometown crowd needs to cut their heroes some slack and cheer a little louder.

Especially considering the Hawks are where they are, while missing three of their top stars in Brian Campbell, Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland.    

Speaking of the Hawkey heroes, how are the new and semi-new guys doing? Herewith, a few snapshots.

On the blue line: Nick Boynton qualifies as a new face because he joined so late last year, and only became a regular this season. Jassen Cullimore returns to Chicago after his exile in Florida. John Scott (who seems more effective as a 4th line forward) evokes memories of King Kong Korab. Jordan Hendry (a part-timer since he signed in ’06) has once again been plugged in to the rotation. Nick Leddy showed he is a future asset.

Boynton gets criticized by some for his ‘decision-making’, but he’s leading the team in blocked shots. Sounds like Brent Sopel. And he is 3rd among the Hawk d-men with 17 shots on goal. Cullimore doesn’t do anything fancy, but he’s tough, delivers an average of 15 minutes a game and is an even plus-minus. Hendry keeps showing why he’s good value $600K a year. Scott takes heat for his lack of foot speed, but used strategically up front, he can be an effective physical presence while crashing the opposition net.

So has the Hawks d-corps been significantly diminished by the exit of Sopel, Barker, Wisniewski and Walker over the past two seasons? Hawks fans can judge for themselves. And maybe Brian Campbell finally gets appreciated as a key component, his contract simply being what it is.

The new faces at forward have bigger skates to fill. Ladd, Byfuglien, Versteeg, Madden, Burish, Eager, Fraser were all what is known as ‘character players’, not necessarily leading in any particular area, but capable of making a difference when the cage matches got down and dirty last year. Bickell, Dowell, Skille, Stalberg, Pisani, and the Rockford call-ups like Smith, Pirri, Potulny and one expects, Jeremy Morin and perhaps Igor Makarov at some point, have to learn to fit in to the Bowman-Quenneville-And-Company Plan.  

As NHL Network analyst Craig Button pointed out last night on “NHL On The Fly”, Blackhawks hockey is about attacking in waves as five man units, along with the puck possession game they are now known for. This was consistently in evidence in the 3-1 victory against the Wild, probably for the first time this season.

Bickell has been tabbed to replace Big Buff and/or Ladd as the big man in the corners and front of the net; but he was scratched against the Wild. Bickell has the tools; he needs to show hunger, combativeness and in-game smarts to fill the void left by Ladd and Byfuglien.

Jake Dowell is showing why he was named captain of the Hawks’ AHL affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs: his determination and responsible play can pay dividends for the Hawks. In the late moments of Saturday’s game, Q put him and Pisani out to defend the one goal lead against the Wild’s six-man push, and Dowell got the insurance marker. He could pot 20 goals if he keeps up his current pace.

Jack Skille seems to finally be finding out what kind of hockey player he needs to be: fast and physical. He’s shooting the puck with regularity (31 SOGs so far, right behind Toews), and once he finds the range, he can add to the attack.      

Viktor Stalberg is another big, fast young forward who may be emerging. His three goals also put him on pace for 20. His scouting report underlines that improving his d-zone coverage is key.

Fernando Pisani has been recruited to replace John Madden, and so far is fulfilling a similar shutdown role, though he doesn’t have the bite that ‘Mad Dog’ Madden brought.

Jeremy Morin not only made Hawk fans forget about Kris Versteeg, he inspired favorable comparisons to another Jeremy, Roenick, in his brief initial stint.  As the season progresses, this young talent may get another turn. This year’s version of The Rockford Rotation has already shown that kids like Brandon Pirri, and Ben Smith can acquit themselves adequately. Utility forwards like Ryan Potulny (inserted Saturday) and Jeff Taffe may also see some Hawk ice.    

Finally, to the goaltending: one can compare Marty Turco and Corey Crawford’s numbers to Cristobal Huet’s and Antti Niemi’s in a few ways. The most important is the massive reduction in the cap hit.

The second factor is that Marty Turco has a mental toughness that Huet lost somewhere along the way. Watching Turco play may include some anxious moments as the spectacular saves mix with some frustrating flubs, but there’s no question Turco is a pit bull. And he has held the Hawks in some games they would have otherwise lost.

Corey Crawford appears to be progressing exactly as management would hope. He has played quite well in most of his contests, and should continue to get better under the mentoring of Turco and goalie coach Stephane Waite.

As Turco pointed out after the win against the Wild, the recent injury adversity can help the Hawks in their transition and integration of new personnel. “Sometimes it helps not having a full line-up in there, knowing you have to be more of a team. Everyone has an important role.”

Coach Joel Quenneville, who always stresses methodology and execution, also underlined his satisfaction with his team’s work in an interview with the Chicago Sun Times. “We checked well. We had a lot of puck-possession time in the offensive zone. There was a purpose when we did have the puck, and we supported the puck well. We had cleaner exits out of our own zone.”

WGN Radio Hawks analyst and former star Troy Murray concurred with that view in his recap. His philosophy, as described in his interview last year on Hockey Independent (“Like a Hawk”, HI April 16/2010), and one he preaches as a formula for success in his Hawk radiocasts, is all about attention to detail and relentless effort. He praised the Blackhawks’ work against the Wild as being emblematic of the type of team Chicago has to be this year. “They are a different team, so they have to make sure they take of the little things,” he added.

That may sum up where the Blackhawks are so far in 2010-11. No longer the so-called ‘stacked’ squad that was playing, as Patrick Kane conceded, and so many hockey writers trumpeted, a “Cup Or Bust” season, all the Hawks really need to do this year, is take care of business. The rest takes care of itself.

The Blackhawks' Cup Champion ring. (photo: Jostens)

There’s something about the Chicago Blackhawks being Stanley Cup Champions that rubs some people the wrong way. As the Hawks enter the 2010-11 season, the chatter about how many roster players and how much depth are gone fuels off-season discussions. But chatter doesn’t matter. What matters is how this team deals with higher expectations and greater challenges.

Stan Bowman actually started re-tooling the Hawks the minute Dale Tallon left the GM chair. We know this, because interviews with Bowman as far back as a year ago indicated that changes were going to be made, and even which changes were going to be made.

The decision to phase out Cristobal Huet in favor of Antti Niemi was just part of the budget cutting that would take place. Any player whose salary was deemed to be out of line with their contribution was the subject of trade talk: Cam Barker, Dustin Byfuglien and Kris Versteeg were those most mentioned in the rumor mills. Patrick Sharp, Brian Campbell and even Marian Hossa were cited by so-called experts in the mainstream media and the blogosphere as candidates to be moved in order to alleviate the so-called ‘Hawks Cap Crisis’.

The reality of the cap-ceiling NHL, however, is that every team that wants a legitimate shot at winning a Stanley Cup has to spend so close to the cap that they inevitably generate a ‘cap crisis’. And as Stan Bowman pointed out, when players play for winning teams, they almost inevitably want more money, and often price themselves beyond a team’s budget. The simplicity and clarity of this observation still eludes some commentators and partisans.

In Bowman’s case, he inherited a payroll inflated by Dale Tallon’s fiscal freedom. The message sent to the players, if one believes Patrick Kane’s 2009 preseason statement, “I guess it is Cup or bust for us this year” was that no one on the roster, save the core players, had long term job security.

Happily for Rockwell ‘Rocky’ Wirtz, the boys delivered the pizza last spring, and both his grandfather and his father are now suitably honored. It isn’t easy being the scion of a family that has owned an Original Six Franchise since the 1950s. The Chicago Blackhawks, for those who care to know, boast the longest continuous family ownership of any NHL team. Legacies do still mean something.

Okay, so what about this year?

No NHL team has won back-to-back Stanley Cups since the well-heeled Red Wings and their sky’s the limit band of mercenaries pulled off the feat under William ‘Scotty’ Bowman back in 1997 and 1998. With the business of hockey today being all about number-crunching, that decade is calcified in the Paleolithic Era. That does not, presumably, stop a man as obsessed with winning as Scotty Bowman from thinking about how he can pull it off as a member of the Blackhawk tribe. After all, he is one of the few executives in NHL history who has.

History, and his place in it being, logically, a motivating force, one can expect that Bowman father and son had more than a few chats about how they might accomplish this.

The NHL season is a marathon followed by a series of cage fights against equally desperate opponents. So, not only is it Last Man Standing, it’s Armageddon Meets Thunderdome meets the Thrilla In Manila, it’s the toughest trophy to win in all of professional sports, with the exception of being a chariot driver or gladiator at the Roman Colosseum, and who remembers all the way back then?

As Hawk head coach Joel Quenneville has said in a recent interview in The Chicago Daily Herald, “the objective is to win the Division.” Sound thinking, after all, as the only guarantee of a playoff spot is a division title.

So when all is said and done, how do the Blackhawks this year stack up against their Division rivals?

The preseason tells us very little. Teams are icing squads that rarely resemble a regular season roster, as they want to get through the exhibition games with as few injuries as possible, while auditioning the prospects. Goaltenders are rotated in and out of games, sometimes in and out of periods. New faces, nervousness, unfamiliarity with systems, and in some cases, long layoffs especially for those coming from non-playoff squads, may be factors.

But breaking down the talent according to the depth chart and conservative evaluation, here’s a snapshot of the Hawks, Wings, Preds, Blues and Jackets, from where they finished last year to what they might do this year.

Columbus: a cash-strapped organization, some are beginning to wonder if the Blue Jackets aren’t a candidate for relocation. Scott Howson and Scott Arniel will do their best to put a brave face on the situation, but Howson didn’t make any significant off-season moves. A very difficult team to evaluate going forward, they do not appear to have made any improvements.

St. Louis: another team reported to be facing severe budget constraints. Letting the very dependable Chris Mason leave and taking on Jaroslav Halak, whose career record isn’t visibly better, looks like window dressing. Davis Payne did not do anything to demonstrate he has the tools to be a top-drawer NHL coach last season. One wonders if keeping him, while excellent bench bosses like Ken Hitchcock and Bob Hartley are out there, isn’t a money decision.

Nashville: again, a team hampered by its ability to spend. David Poile and Barry Trotz keep finding ways to get this team to the playoffs, but they don’t get beyond Round One because they don’t have the money to attract the talent that would take them further. Losing Dan Hamhuis and Dan Ellis won’t make them a better team in 2010-11.

Detroit: Red Wings fans found out last year what happens when the roster ages and injuries start to tear big pieces off a team’s hopes. This year, Mike Modano joins the Geritol Gang. Jimmy Howard had a great season, but if he falters, who’s the reliable backup? Jiri Hudler returns from Russia, which should be good for another 20 goals. But Jonathan Ericsson’s aura as the heir to Lidstrom has apparently vanished, Nik Kronwall has knee problems, and the ‘new Wings’, i.e. Abdelkader, Helm and Filppula, have to produce more than they have, if Detroit wants to aspire to its own myth. The Red Wings play tough, and smart, and they can be expected to challenge for the Division crown.

Chicago: For all the moaning and groaning about Versteeg, Byfuglien, Eager, Burish, Madden, and Sopel being gone, those with short memories might remember these were the very players whose inconsistencies were the subject of complaint. Everyone misses Andrew Ladd. No one misses Cristobal Huet.

The departure of Antti Niemi is not unprecedented (Mike Vernon and Nik Khabibulin being two other Cup-winning tenders who did not return to their Cup teams), though the circumstances of his departure may be. Again, Niemi  had his share of bashers.

That said, is Marty Turco still a dependable Number One goaltender? If he isn’t, Quenneville will probably do what he did last year, which is to rotate his netminders; and Corey Crawford could be this year’s Jimmy Howard. The hard-working Jake Dowell, Bryan Bickell and Jack Skille have paid their AHL dues and get their best shot at becoming NHLers. Viktor Stalberg gets a chance to show what he can do with his size and skill.

Two very talented 19-year olds are already creating hopes in the Hawkey world. Forward Jeremy Morin wears Jeremy Roenick’s old number; Morin has the goods, the gumption and desire to make fans forget about JR and cheer for JM. D-man Nick Leddy steps into the injured Brian Campbell’s skates as Campbell recovers from a knee sprain, and so far, appears to be acquitting himself well. Leddy has something that can’t be taught: poise. How he holds up to prime time pressure will be seen.

To reiterate what has been said previously and elsewhere, the core of the Champions is still there, and one year better for it. The Blackhawks’ Top 6 forwards (along with the Top 4 on defense) are, as a group, among the best, if not the best, in the league.

So, when Patrick Sharp says he feels the Hawks’ chances are as good as anyone’s, there’s little reason to doubt him.

Predictions, as the great Toe Blake once said, are for gypsies. So no predictions here. But the Chicago Blackhawks enter the 2010-11 season being who they are, and, per all indications, ready to be who they are: the Defending Stanley Cup Champions. Leaner, certainly. Meaner, maybe. Definitely, not to be underestimated.

Lou, Devs prez Jeff Vanderbeek, Kovy and John McLean enjoy the PuckCast.

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 often provocative, ’hot stove’.

Among the topics:

>the Kovalchuk Conundrum, and why the NHL may be between a rock and a hard place;

>why mainstream hockey journos are struggling as the blogosphere takes the lead;

>the inside story on the Antti Niemi deal

>debating the perception that the “Blackhawks are screwed”;

>and much, much, more. Even Brian Burke gets mentioned.

Hoping you find it informative, and enjoy its informal irreverence.

Click the player below to hear the podcast

Stan Bowman: Hawks' Cup-winning GM...and poker star on UFA Day. (photo: NHL/Getty Images)

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?

“Okay, they’ve lost six or seven guys from their team. But don’t forget they’ve still got thirteen guys who are pretty damn good.” These words were exchanged on XM Sirius Radio’s Prime Time Sports on Friday, July 2nd, 2010, by panel of Toronto-based hockey observers, debating the effect of the salary cap on Championship pro sports teams; not only in the NHL, but in the NFL and NBA. The bottom line in their view: “the Blackhawks are going to be pretty good next year.”

In contrast, TSN, also broadcasting from Toronto their UFA Draft Day Frenzy programming, carried in the US on the NHL Network, was all hand rubbing and doomsday scenarios.

The irreverent James Duthie did his best as host to punctuate the proceedings with some humor, while the panel pronounced itself, predicting winners and losers not only UFA Day, but for the coming year. Pierre McGuire’s perennial favorites, the Vancouver Canucks, having gotten “over the hump” were now poised to pluck Stanley’s stein from the Tallon-less talons of the Hawks. Former Flyer Keith Jones lauded the moves of Paul Holmgren, his eyes misty with the thought of the Cup being hoisted in the City of Brotherly Love. Bob McKenzie, obviously eager to start his summer vacation, took a deep breath, glowered at the camera and delivered his judgments with the gravity of an envoy from the Vatican.  TV with testosterone, to keep us all on ‘the edge’. 

And to think the season doesn’t start for another three months.

With all the drama generated around the salaries and contracts of players, in today’s showbiz world of the frozen biscuit, we rarely get the unadorned facts. Instead, we see hockey journalists strutting on stage like rock stars, casting aside their objectivity to inundate us with opinion, thrusting their expertise at us like an open-ice body-check.

In the hazy heat of the off-season, some may pine for the era of carefully crafted hockey writing, when masters like Kenneth Rudeen, Gerald Eskenazi, Jim Proudfoot, Scott Young, Trent Frayne, Dick Beddoes and Stan Fischler penned often funny and unusual tales of the men who don the pads and the blades. In those days, hockey writers were smuggled onto sleeper trains by buddies on the clubs they covered; withstood the withering profanities of toothless superstars; and risked the ire of managers who banned them, not only from the dressing room, but from the rink.

Today, hockey journalists tweet, and cap geeks rule.

As Kurt Vonnegut might say, “So it goes.”

Before the next faceoff can be taken, there is already a flood of forecasts on the fate of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Never mind that the event itself was momentous; that two million people poured into the city’s streets to celebrate a triumph almost half a century in the making.

As long as it has been in coming, the moment is even more fleeting. But the collective pleasure Blackhawks fans have now will be savored for as long as they can, and far beyond the year they wear the crown. Owner Rocky Wirtz has paid homage to his grandfather Arthur, and his father Bill, who kept the Hawks as a family business even when the bad times could have made it easy to sell them off.

Meanwhile, the media machine talks of dynasties and dismantling, though the truth is, of the few teams who win the ultimate prize, few repeat and almost none in subsequent seasons.

As Jonathan Toews hoisted not only the Stanley Cup, but the Conn Smythe Trophy, the victory was filled with history. Those who had won the Cup in 1961 tasted the champagne again, and slaked the thirst that had lasted more than a generation.

If it meant taking risks, and maybe even bending a few rules, along the way, the numbers on the balance sheet are, after all, incidental. In the business of pro sport, the winners do whatever it takes.

The roll call of Stanley Cup Champions does not include their salaries. One can rummage to find the figures, and if diligent enough, what juggling General Managers might have had to do afterwards.

When there is lack of diligence, there is always convenient cleverness. Likening the Hawks to ‘one and done’ teams, Greg “Puck Daddy” Wyshynski, glibly called the Hawk trades “the worst dismantling”, adding “The Florida Marlins comparisons are starting to inch toward validity.” Mr. Wyshynski’s allusion to Jeffrey Loria, whether accidental or intended, is spurious at best.

In the meantime, many clubs in the NHL who are still ‘none and done’. They’re Cup-less in Vancouver, LA, San Jose, Phoenix, Minnesota, St. Louis, Columbus, Washington, Atlanta, Florida, Nashville, Buffalo and Ottawa (though some Sens fans will valiantly argue the point). Many of those teams are managing their budgets without accusations of being careless, and without being painted as ‘victims’ of the dreaded ‘cap crisis’.

These teams also don’t have to deal with counting up the revenue and other fringe benefits that come from being Number One.

Would they trade the pain for the ecstasy, however brief, of being a Champion? Ask their fans.

Fact is: every NHL Champion since the lockout has had to confront some kind of fiscal fallout. That’s when hockey executives face their stiffest test.

General Managers who play hardball, and make the tough decisions following the celebration, give their organizations a chance to replenish.

During an interview on Montreal-based Team 990 radio, CBC hockey reporter Elliote Friedman recently quoted Red Wings GM Ken Holland as leaning on the book “The Blueprint”, for reference and inspiration.

According to Friedman, Holland shared the main lesson he took from that chronicle of the New England Patriots’ success, an understanding that a winning team seeking longevity as a contender could keep only a small core of key players; and that the rest had to be both interchangeable, and value-priced.

So if Detroit—and Pittsburgh, if one applies the same objective view—have seen the salary cap, at least in part, stifle their short-term hopes for a Stanley Cup repeat, it stands to reason that Chicago would face its own version of the same dilemma.

“The Blueprint” insists that pro sports executives must forsake sentiment in favor of ruthlessness.

On the surface, Hawks GM Stan Bowman doesn’t fit the profile of the ruthless executive. He’s no ’Neutron Jack’ Welch, slashing costs as he snarls at adversity, implementing his Six Sigma credo of organizational excellence like a Marine Drill Sergeant.

But Stan does play hardball.

Hardball is what Champions must play. The salary cap obliges them to do so; principles of good management compel them to do so. The Red Wings roster for 2009-10 is missing 10 members of the Cup winning team from two seasons before. The Pittsburgh Penguins started their housecleaning earlier, after their trip to the 2008 Finals, and finished last year having changed over twenty roster players since then, at least eight of those after they won the Cup in 2009.

So where is the clamor over the moves made by Ken Holland and Ray Shero? There is none, perhaps because there is nothing to clamor about.

Yet when the Blackhawks trade six men, the Church Ladies of the hockey world shake their accusing fingers.

The moderator of the aforementioned Prime Time Sports’ hockey discussion made another point: in the age of the salary cap, trades aren’t made based on talent. They are made based on contracts.

In Stan Bowman’s case, he contends, as he has since the day he took the job, that the organization was going to examine what needed to be done to bring the Hawks’ budget into line. He also made it clear he would take whatever steps necessary without compromising the team’s competitiveness.

“When you have success, guys want raises. That’s normal,” he says. “And we understand that.”

He also understood that paying three million dollars a year to role players was not good business. So Byfuglien and Versteeg joined Cam Barker as ex-Hawks, followed shortly by Andrew Ladd whose agent, it was reported, was seeking a hefty raise to a similar level.

Brent Sopel, having been down that road before, was philosophical and gracious in his departure, thanking the team and the fans. Ben Eager and Adam Burish, in and out of the lineup with injuries or as healthy scratches, get fresh starts in their new homes.

The so-called “Stanley Cup Hangover” never gets a chance. The party is over. A page is turned.

So what has Bowman achieved, and how does next year’s edition of the Blackhawks compare with the Cup winners?

Seeing how the Red Wings and the Penguins lost key players to free agency and cap issues with zero return, Bowman set about getting tangible assets in exchange for the bodies he would ship out.

The term ‘salary dump’ is casually used, as if GMs were trying to find a secret place to toss sacks of ill-gotten cash.

The correct description, however, is ‘salary reduction’.

In the NFL, nobody bats an eye if players with multi-million dollar contracts are simply cut from the roster. In the NBA, teams have a multitude of ‘exceptions’ whereby they can exceed the cap for players who may meet varied criteria. The NHL, however, is lambasted constantly by a contentious segment who can’t find enough things wrong with the league, and that includes moralizing about what ‘the right way’ is to run a hockey team.

Bouquets are thrown at the feet of Ken Holland and Ray Shero, even though players like Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler, Dominik Hasek, Hal Gill, and Rob Scuderi, among others, left, with nothing coming back.

Giving Stan Bowman credit for obtaining four current or former first round draft picks, a former high second rounder, several NHL-ready prospects and a budget-priced veteran two-way center, while trimming nine million dollars from his payroll and saving more millions in possible raises, might be in order. Going from a salary mass of almost $63 million down to just under $56 million since right before the March trade deadline, and about to shed another five and a half million with the presumed exit of former starting goalie Cristobal Huet, Stan Bowman has shown he can not only crunch the numbers, but also swing a workable deal under pressure.

According to the Chicago Daily Herald’s Tim Sassone, Bowman will have about $9 million dollars in cap room if, and once, Huet is gone, which should be more than enough to fill out the roster.

Still, the question remains: will the Blackhawks be as good a team in 2010-11 now that Byfuglien, Versteeg, Ladd, Eager, Sopel, Fraser, and Burish have departed?

With Top 6 forwards in Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Bolland and Brouwer, a Top 4 defense of Keith, Seabrook, Campbell and Hjalmarsson, and Niemi in goal (assuming Bowman signs the two RFAs, though Niemi had filed for arbitration as of this writing), it’s hard to accuse, with any credibility, the Hawks of being ‘a shadow of their former selves’.

On the contrary, the Hawks’ core is equal to most any in the NHL.

Yes, the ‘bottom six’ and six/seven d-spots are up for grabs. The argument is also being made that the Blackhawks have “lost their depth”.

That argument may not hold up, though, if the new arrivals have anything to say about it.

Former AHL’ers who have paid their dues, Brian Bickell and Jake Dowell, are products of the Hawks’ system: two young, hard-nosed hockey players who will scrap for a puck and engage in a scrap. The 6’4”, 223-pound Bickell brings brawn as well as skill. He got three goals including a game-winner during his brief visits to Chicago, including a few playoff appearances. Not flashy, but responsible and ready to crash the crease, with the potential to become the power forward Byfuglien was hoped to be, and that Ladd and Eager never were. Currently Rockford Ice Hogs Captain, Dowell, a 25-year old stocky six-foot 200-pounder, provides leadership, defensive strength, energy and aggressiveness. He got two points in his three-game stint with the Hawks last year.

Another Hawk farmhand mentioned is 2007 first round pick winger Jack Skille, who has taken more time to develop than might have been wished for, but has the tools and speed to step in and step up.

On defense, former OHL star Shawn Lalonde has graduated to Rockford. He played in one exhibition game for the Hawks last year and is reportedly in the Duncan Keith/Brian Campbell mould, a fast d-man who can bring a physical element along with good decision-making. Brian Connelly is similarly sized and performed well in Rockford; he may be more of a reserve defenseman like Jordan Hendry. Both were part of the “Black Aces” on hand for the Hawks in the playoffs.

Also highly spoken of is 2008 first rounder Kyle Beach, a 20-year old 6’3”, 205-pound winger who potted 52 goals in the Western Hockey League while racking up 186 penalty minutes.

There are a few more ‘wild cards’ in the deck, and these bear further examination.

Viktor Stalberg is a 24-year Swedish left winger with an imposing 6’3”, 200-pound frame and, apparently, the kind of blazing speed that puts a smile on a coach’s face. With nine goals in 40 games on a poor Leafs team, Stalberg can be realistically projected as a 20-goal scorer in Chicago. If he has the toughness and ‘hockey IQ’, which watching him play suggests he does, he might just carve out a spot opposite Marian Hossa.

Defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy is interesting for a number of reasons. His name is the Russian version of Wisniewski, as in James, the brawny former Hawk d-man who gained notoriety as a Duck after his vicious concussion-causing charge last year on Brent Seabrook. Vishnevskiy, a smooth-skating, puck-moving blueliner from the ancient Siberian city of Barnaul, is the polar opposite. Stan Bowman believes the former Dallas Stars first round choice has a chance to challenge for a regular spot next year. Watching the 5’11”, 176-pounder play as a Star in a few games, he exhibited poise and potential. His scouting report from The Sports Forecaster tags him as a future power play quarterback.

Marty Reasoner is not a superstar, but the ex-Blues, Oilers and Thrashers stalwart was also a first-round pick back in 1996. Reasoner is a robust 6’1”, 205, and delivers value as a smart, dependable checking line center and penalty killer, for half the price of John Madden.

Other players who might surprise include Jeremy Morin, who came in the deal with the Thrashers. At 19 years old, he may need more seasoning, but his 47 goals last year in the OHL are evidence of his talent. At 6’1”, 190, he can reportedly use more strength, but won’t be pushed around, as his 76 PIM indicate.

The Hawks’ draft picks have already been discussed in previous articles, including my own here on Hockey Independent (“Blackhawks’ 2010 Draft: The Known Unknowns”). They appear to be well-considered selections. Among them, Ludvig Rensfeldt, a 6’3, 190-pound 18-year old Swedish winger chosen in Round Two, who patterns his game after Vincent Lecavalier, is an intriguing package.

The only UFA signing being hulking defenseman John Scott, confirms Bowman’s statement that the team would be looking for “low dollar guys to fill in” as necessary.

At about a half a million per year for two years, former Wild man Scott is a 6’8”, 258-pound heavyweight enforcer who can play defense and forward. Is he the second coming of Jerry ‘King Kong’ Korab, or the ‘new Buff’? If Hawk head coach Joel Quenneville, one of the smartest defensemen in his day, and who transmits his knowledge well, can help Scott polish his game and use his frame, the Blackhawks might have themselves more than a fan favorite.

Since Johnny Mariucci fought Detroit’s Black Jack Stewart in one of the NHL’s longest fights ever, a fifteen-minute mano a mano back in 1946, Hawks fans have showered their policemen with affection. Scott inherits the blood-stained cape of Reggie Fleming, Dave Manson, Stu Grimson and Bob Probert.

Another way of Stan Bowman ‘playing hardball’? A statement that the Blackhawks won’t stand for any nonsense from opposition goons? It remains to be seen.

Looking at the talent coming from the Hawks’ trading partners in Toronto and Atlanta, it is worthwhile noting that Bowman didn’t let any of his assets go to Western Conference rivals, or even teams that could pose a threat to the Hawks.

This recalls the tactics of his father Scotty’s mentor Sam Pollock, whose savvy in Montreal as a wheeler-dealer General Manager saw Sam funnel excess talent to struggling clubs and expansion teams. Pollock built relationships as he sent players that could help his partners now in return for players, prospects and picks that could help his own team in the future. Pollock also opened up spots for up-and-coming players eager to prove they were worthy of his, and the coaches’ confidence.

Two historic hockey families—the Wirtzes and the Bowmans—who know how Pollock worked, have gotten together. Their meeting of minds can bode well for the future, if the faith they show in their young, hungry Hawks bears fruit.

Before the experts and fans of rivals turn their noses up, they might want to remember how those ‘in the know’ slandered the Colorado Avalanche prior to the start of the 2009-10 campaign. They had the Avs living in the basement; too young, too raw to keep up, from GM on down. Greg Sherman, Joe Sacco, Matt Duchene and company proved them wrong.

Likewise last year, the doom-and-gloomers ripped Bob Gainey to shreds for daring to give his team a radical facelift. The only thing the Canadiens did was go to the Conference Finals, dethroning the reigning Penguins after winning a trench war against Comrade Ovechkin and his Capital Gang.

Those who snipe at the Blackhawks, might find themselves eating crow. Or not. The astute Paul Kukla (of Kukla’s Korner and NHL.com) , tweeted on July 1st to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks that Chicago would be “like an expansion team next year, with all new players”.

Not that Stan Bowman cares what the critics say.

Before and throughout the 2009-10 season, the talk about how much was ‘expected’ of the Blackhawks permeated discussions about the Chicago franchise.

Now that the Hawks have won it all, the talk will shift to whether or not they can do it again.

Stan Bowman might simply respond, “We’re comfortable with that.”

Hawks' no. 1 pick Kevin Hayes towers over management in LA. Will he stand head and shoulders above others as a future player? (Photo NHL)

“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.This year’s draft set records for high school players chosen—twenty-two; as well as US-trained players chosen, eleven in the top 30.

Whatever the outcome, Hayes will have time to mature while being guided by the organization. The team is also relieved of the burden of carrying him on their minor or major league rosters; while delaying his exposure to free agency. When the Hawks have a cap situation as tight as theirs is, every advantage counts.

Nowadays, when one watches high school and minor midget hockey, one can be astonished to see so much skill and poise on the ice. The ‘pro moves’ are there from 17 year olds down to 14 and even younger, and not just in a few players.

The high schools in the US also appear to be developing a competitive environment analogous to that of basketball and football, which in turn feeds an expanding system of college and university hockey.

If one can judge by their demeanor during media interviews, many of today’s budding talents have a sense of direction and purpose in their desire to make hockey their professional future. The possibility of earning millions of dollars playing the game they enjoy is a unique motivation.

The Blackhawks have had success developing their own prospects, with nearly half the Cup-winning club being built through the draft.

Toews, Kane, Seabrook, Keith, Bolland, Brouwer, Byfuglien and Hjalmarsson are the most notable standouts among the players Chicago has selected, going back to the days of Bob Pulford and Mike Smith as General Managers.

Between them, Smith and Pulford selected Seabrook, Keith, Bolland, Byfuglien, Burish and Brouwer, as well as other draft picks currently in the organization, like Corey Crawford, Jake Dowell and Brian Bickell. This contradicts somewhat the popular perception of Dale Tallon as ‘architect’ of the Hawks’ Championship team (though his choices of Toews, Kane and Hjalmarsson were undoubtedly key).

A look at the Hawks’ draft history prior to 2010, going back all the way to 1963, can be found here: http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr00005218.html

Over the years, the names of high round aspirants who never lived up to their status are more numerous than the ones who made the grade.

Remi Royer (1996), Mark Bell (1998), Steve McCarthy (1999), and Mikhail Yakubov (2000) never set the NHL on fire; Tuomo Ruutu (2001) and Anton Babchuk (2002) crept out of the Windy City quietly.

Some number ones, like Dan Cleary (1997), were busts as Blackhawks, only to return later in the garb of hated rivals (ironically, the Red Wings) as a nemesis to their original employers.

Before he left the GM post a year ago in June, Dale Tallon gave a clue to the direction of the team: “We’re going to get younger.”

Observing the tendency for teams to increasingly bank on youth, the trend paid dividends for the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche last season, with the ultimate prize going to the Hawks, one of the youngest teams to capture the Cup in years.

The Stan Bowman Era begins with the Blackhawks addressing a different kind of challenge: being saddled with the final pick in each round, instead of the first or top 5 (as from 2004 through 2008). The Entry Draft being a calculated gamble as it is, the importance of first-class scouting asserts itself, especially when other teams have an earlier shot at the prime targets.

But not having to ‘fill holes’ immediately, as had been the case in previous years, but instead choosing and grooming talent at a more measured pace, is not a ‘gimme’. Staying at the top is just as difficult, if not more so, than getting there.

Scotty Bowman’s decision to join his son in Chicago brought the knowledge of how to draft while a Stanley Cup Contender and/or Champion. The elder Bowman, schooled by the legendary Sam Pollock, architect of the Montreal Canadiens’ perennial powerhouses, refined that knowledge during his time in Montreal, St. Louis, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Detroit.

In the fifteen years following Scotty’s arrival, Detroit has become particularly respected for its ability to find talent in later rounds and turn those players into Cup winners, like Nicklas Lidstrom (round 3, 53rd overall), Henrik Zetterberg (round 7, 210th overall), Pavel Datsyuk (round 6, 171st overall), and Tomas Holmstrom (round 10, 257th overall) just to name a few.

Today’s Hawks have been compared to the Wings of the Bowman years, for their puck possession game and system-first play; they may also eventually be compared for their ability to sustain contender status, if The Bowman Blueprint is implemented according to plan.

One of Stan Bowman’s post-season priorities was to trim the bloated payroll of the Blackhawks, while minimizing ‘salary dump’ trades.

The skeptics waited for the sky to fall in on Bowman.

Instead, his moves opened up the cap room to tender qualifying offers to Restricted Free Agents like goaltender Antti Niemi, the unexpected playoff hero; Niklas Hjalmarsson, who has already become a Top 4 defender; and Andrew Ladd, who has become a well-rounded two-way forward who brings robust play and clutch scoring.

Not only did Bowman meet his immediate objectives—in the face of the clamoring of those who insisted the team would have to be ‘dismantled’—but Bowman obtained an additional first round pick along with some valuable prospects in return for shipping out role players.

The transaction that sent Dustin Byfuglien (round 8, 245th, 2003), Brent Sopel (signed as a UFA by Tallon in 2007), Ben Eager (acquired in trade by Tallon in 2007), and former 3rd round pick (by Tallon in 2007) Akim Aliu to Atlanta in no way diminishes the Blackhawk roster.

While Byfuglien proved his playoff usefulness, his role as a big, net-crashing forward can be filled by less expensive players like Brian Bickell and Troy Brouwer. Brent Sopel’s shot blocking and penalty killing is already being assumed by Hjalmarsson. Eager’s pugilism will be replaced as well, by some of the bruisers in the pipeline, or a budget price free agent. Aliu’s reported discipline issues saw him demoted from the AHL to the ECHL; the Hawks’ patience had evidently run out.

It appears just a matter of time before another Tallon signee, goaltender Cristobal Huet’s $5.625 hit and remaining two years, are erased from the Hawks’ salary cap, even if he might be paid by the organization to toil in the minors.

According to ESPNChicago, Bowman has said “the Hawks have some ‘situational needs’ and that they need to fill them with ‘low dollar-guys.’” Other local sources like the Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald confirm this stance, reporting that Bowman feels he doesn’t need to make any more moves at the present time to reduce the salary mass, but will monitor opportunities as the free agency period begins.

The scuttlebutt from national reporters like ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun is that Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd are ‘being shopped’, but Lebrun admits he is just guessing.

Stan Bowman has shown that he ‘plays poker’ with the same straight face we’ve become accustomed to. The acquisitions he has made may be relative unknowns, but that may just be another aspect of Stan’s poker hand.

So who are the ‘known unknowns’ who are now members of the Blackhawks’ asset base?

Not only did Bowman get the 24th overall pick from Atlanta (used to select Hayes), he received a former first round choice in Marty Reasoner (14th overall, 1996) and a former 45th overall pick (2009) in Jeremy Morin.

Assuming he stays with the Hawks, Reasoner’s ability and experience should make him a fit for the spot occupied by John Madden, who is not expected back, for less than half of Madden’s $2.5 million price. A fast skater and excellent penalty killer, the 33 year old

Reasoner, at 6’1” and 205, is a tenacious competitor honed in ‘two-way play’ by the coaching of Craig McTavish (having spent six seasons with the Oilers) and John Anderson.

American Jeremy Morin has been praised by Bowman as “having the skill to play with Toews and Kane. Simply put, he’s a scorer,” he told NHL.com TV in a recent interview. Bowman feels the 6’1”, 190-pound 19-year old has the pedigree: being nearly a goal per game player in the highly competitive Ontario Hockey League, a second team OHL All-Star, and a point per game player at the World Juniors for Team USA.

After picking Kevin Hayes on Day One, the Hawks selected ten players during Day Two of the Draft. These are:
–35th pick 6’3” WJC Team Sweden left winger Ludvig Rensfeldt, who says he patterns his game after Vincent Lecavalier;
–54th pick Justin Holl, a 6’2” American high school d-man, one of the ten finalists for the Mr. Hockey Award for outstanding high school players;
–58th pick Canadian goalie, 6’3” Kent Simpson from the Western Hockey League Everett Silvertips, coached by former Hawks bench boss and all-star NHL defender Craig Hartsburg;
–60th pick Stephen Johns, a 6’3” USHL under-18 Gold medalist from Western Pennsylvania who will attend Notre Dame, Stan Bowman’s alma mater;
–90th pick Joakim Nordstrom, a 6’1” Swedish junior center ranked 37th by NHL Central Scouting;
–120th pick Rob Flick, a fighting 6’ 2” Canadian center from the Ontario Hockey League;
–151st pick 6’ center Mirko Hoefflin, a selection obtained in the trade for Colin Fraser, who is already playing for Mannheim, one of the top clubs in the German league.
–180th pick American Nick Mattson, a 6’1” defenseman from the US under-18 Development Program;
–and 191st pick Matt Carruth, a 6’2” US-born goalie from the WHL Portland Winterhawks, the same franchise that produced this year’s premium picks Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Johansen. Coincidentally, the Winterhawks wear uniforms that echo the Blackhawks, and also once had a promising young player named Marian Hossa.

Running down the list of prospects, it should be remembered that Stan Bowman expects them to get significant time to develop before joining the NHL squad. Again, this echoes the approach of the Red Wings (and Pollock-era Canadiens): get the young talent into the system, educate them in the ways of the organization, and upload them only when they are deemed to be ready.

Taking the long view, one supposes that ‘bad habits’ acquired in their youth can be modified through careful coaching, and that they will arrive, if that day comes, thoroughly familiar with the tactics and mind-set of the big club.

Players can also learn to function in a variety of situations and can thus be slotted in wherever they are needed with little adjustment, rather than the club having to adjust to them. The so-called ‘team chemistry’ thus remains consistent.

It also means that turnover does not adversely affect the team, but is part of the normal process of the team’s progression.

From a return on investment perspective, it is also important for a team to manage its assets so that players currently in the system have a chance to pay off. Letting a player go too soon means another organization reaps the rewards; not filling the pipeline sufficiently means that the level of competition within the organization is not enough to drive the hunger for jobs.

Again, the Canadiens of the 60s and early 70s set the tone. They constantly had youngsters pushing the veterans; and could afford to jettison quality players like Ralph Backstrom, Bobby Rousseau, Andre Boudrias, Jim Roberts and Claude Larose, without missing a beat. The Red Wings were able to do the same years later, when players like Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov and Steve Yzerman left.

In a nutshell, the philosophy being advocated is, “Winning teams built for the long haul, keep on winning”.

Simplistic as it sounds, it requires a buy-in from the top. This comes back to Rocky Wirtz’ statements in his July 2009 Chicago Tribune interview: “Everything we said we’re going to do in terms of building this into an elite franchise, we’re on the road to doing. My dad, my grandfather, my uncle…the Wirtz name used to be synonymous with successful hockey in this city. I want to bring that back.”

That statement was pooh-pooed at the time by Detroit-based Advance Newspapers’ George Malik, who called Wirtz’ words “self-aggrandizement”. One wonders if Malik’s disdain has now been muted by the Hawks’ dethroning of his favorite team.

The vision of the Wirtz family , and the current reality, also contrast sharply with the critique penned in February 2007 by ESPN’s Scott Burnside, who proclaimed “The litany of problems facing the Chicago Blackhawks, on and off the ice, is so great, it appears to have created a kind of paralysis.”

In retrospect, it appears the word ‘paralysis’ could not have been more misused by Mr. Burnside. Three years after his scathing review, the Blackhawks, one of the most dynamic teams in the NHL, are Champions.

The Wirtzes, however, were prescient. As Rocky’s brother Peter stated at the time of Burnside’s broadside : “We’re not going to take a Band-Aid approach to this. We’re going to take a long-term look at this organization. There is no question that there will be a 100-percent commitment from my father, my family and everybody in our organization to do everything in our power to turn this around.”

Having turned it around, the crop of young men harvested at this year’s draft may or may not be worthy of becoming members of an elite franchise.

Stan Bowman’s assessment is to the point. He admitted it was a long shot for any of the eleven draftees to be Blackhawks in 2010-11. “The key was filling the pipeline again. And we did that.”

Antti Niemi savors his first Stanley Cup. Are he and the Blackhawks poised to win more?

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.

Based on his statements, Bowman has made the salary cap issue a priority for some time, and is weighing his options. “There’s not one way to approach it. We’ve been preparing for this for a long time. It’s not something that caught us off-guard. We’d love to have everybody back, but that’s just not a possibility. So, we’ve got to move on.”

That said, where are the Blackhawks now, and what might the direction of the team be in the off-season?

The quandary starts with figuring out what ‘The Cap’ really is. The two Internet sites devoted to monitoring NHL teams’ cap-related activity, and often quoted in discussions of the subject are NHLNumbers.com and CapGeek.com. These offer different versions of teams’ budgets and the attendant restrictions.

Attempts to explain the complexities of negotiating the salary cap, and the management thereof, are often less than clear. Teams are allowed to spend a maximum amount over the course of a season; however, this not a hard number, but a total amount calculated according to the days that players actually spend on the active roster. So while the amount of the annual payroll constitutes an overall parameter, the cap hit is revised on a daily basis.

When Stan Bowman shuffled players like Jack Skille, Brian Bickell and Jacob Dowell in and out of the AHL farm team in Rockford this year, it was noted that every day they were off the roster produced incremental savings that eventually added up.

The complexity of the calculation was apparently also a factor in why Bowman didn’t replace injured players with ‘rentals’ at the trade deadline; and affected the status of players like Dave Bolland and Adam Burish relative to Long Term Injury Reserve, which also affects cap fluctations.

The Blackhawks’ announcement this past year of the signing of their marquee stars, Captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith to extensions, touched off a flurry of forecasts. Canada’s TSN network, in particular, was certain that ‘tagging issues’ (the impact that future monies committed have on current cap levels) would scupper the Hawks, and that players Patrick Sharp and Brent Sopel would be traded. TSN fueled the rumor mills accordingly. However, when nothing of the sort happened, TSN maven Bob McKenzie had to wipe the egg off his face, admitting on Twitter he didn’t really understand how tagging worked.

In 2009-10, the Blackhawks, according to the information available from NHLNumbers.com, played with a roster that had a total cap hit of $62.9 million dollars. But if the so-called ‘cap ceiling’ for 2009-10 was $56.8 million, the number most often referred to in the hockey media, how does that add up?

And if, as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman suggested recently, the cap number is rising for next season by two to two and half million, what is the real operational ceiling for salaries and bonuses for 2010-11?

Depending on who you believe, the budgetary guidelines for 2010-11, may be anywhere from about just under fifty-nine to over sixty-four million. This presumably includes what NHLNumbers.com and CapGeek.com, refer to as the ‘bonus cushion’.

Unless one has access to the proprietary information of NHL GMs, the guessing game on cap management is just that.

There is no question the executive branch in Chicago has plenty of work to do. Both Hawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz and Stan Bowman have made it clear, for many months now, the Blackhawks have adopted a philosophy of securing a core group, while, as Wirtz said in an interview in the Chicago Sun Times, “filling in the rest of the roster.”

Rather than attempting to predict how the Blackhawks may re-tool their lineup for next year, let’s examine the assets they have on hand; the value of these assets in potential transactions; and the impact these moves may have on the performance of the team.

One of the keynotes of the Chicago Blackhawks’ approach to developing its players is versatility. Coach Joel Quenneville sprinkles his statements with the phrases “plays in all situations”, “Lots of options”, and “different looks”.

In practice, the movement of Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg from wing to center, and Dustin Byfuglien between the defense and forward positions provided some of the more dramatic examples.

This emphasis on versatility was demonstrated as Quenneville shuffled his lines, defense pairs, and even his goaltenders, throughout the season. In the playoffs, he didn’t hesitate to switch up his combinations while facing different opponents. This earned him some criticism, but with a Stanley Cup now in the house, the nay-saying is muted.

Another issue that was raised during the season, especially in view of the targeting of star players by other teams, was that of the need for physical players. The acquisition of the veteran Nick Boynton for playoff duty; the signing of prospects like Brendan Bollig and Ryan Stanton; and the speculation about up and coming agitator Kyle Beach as a latter-day Al Secord, combining scoring punch with throwing a punch, all spoke to that issue.

How do the Hawks see the development of the team, relative to their stated objective of remaining a contender for years to come?

We have already seen how the coaching staff has grown the talent on hand.

Patrick Kane has substantially improved his game, as has Dave Bolland, and Dustin Byfuglien; Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg have gone from being spare parts on their former teams to clutch performers. Youngsters like Niklas Hjalmarsson (becoming a legitimate Top 4 d-man) and Troy Brouwer (scoring over 20 goals last year) have become valuable components. The previously unknown Antti Niemi, who wrested the number one job from the highly paid Cristobal Huet, is the first Finnish netminder, and one of a handful of rookies, to win a Stanley Cup.

It’s reasonable to expect these players to continue their improvement.

The Hawks are built for the future: the majority of the team is less than 27 years of age. Barely into their twenties, Conn Smythe and Olympic Gold medalist Toews, and silver Olympian Kane are already all-world. Being signed long term along with Norris Trophy nominee Keith, and cornerstones like Hossa and Campbell secure for years to come, those five alone are a starting line-up as impressive as any in the NHL. Backstopped by Niemi, the Hawks have a solid core around which to continue as contenders.

Beyond that, Chicago’s depth is cited frequently. When asked why the Flyers were beaten by the Hawks, Philly captain Mike Richards was blunt: “They rolled four lines. We could only roll three.”

The Blackhawks being very conscious of marketing their players to their audience, it’s probably no accident that the ‘Black Aces’ (players brought up for the playoffs who are held in reserve) were introduced individually by former Hawks star, and current TV broadcaster Ed Olczyk during the Cup parade on June 12th.

Among the prospects who were singled out: defensemen Brian Connelly and Shawn Lalonde; forwards Bickell, Dowell and Beach; and goalie Corey Crawford. Are these kids being groomed for a shot at the big club next year?

During post-victory interviews with ESPN Chicago and the Chicago Daily Herald, Stan Bowman made no secret of his intention to make changes. The players concurred.

With Cam Barker’s $3 million leaving in the trade that brought Kim Johnsson, albeit briefly, and more importantly, former first round pick defenseman Nick Leddy, from Minnesota, Bowman began the process of paring down the salary mass while migrating the team to a more equitable balance between premium priced and less expensive players.

It should be noted here that Bowman’s management style represents a significant shift from that of his predecessor Dale Tallon, who spent liberally on free agents, many of whom did not deliver full value. Adrian Aucoin, Martin Lapointe, Robert Lang have already been forgotten. Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin also ate up massive chunks of salary cap, yet were uneven in the overall picture.

The Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet contracts were the most severely criticized signings, and may have contributed to Tallon’s eventual exit from the GM chair.

The resolution of Huet’s situation appears imminent. Says Bowman: “Obviously, the goaltending is a situation we’re going to have to look at and figure something out. But we’re going to work on that. We’ll get it straightened out by October.”

Hawks radio announcer John Wiedeman seemed to concede, in a recent interview with The NHL Network, that Huet may have played his last days in Chicago.

The elimination of his $5.625 million from the cap number could be a foregone conclusion.

Whether than means sending the French-born goalie to the minors, waiving him, attempting to arrange a transfer back to the European Leagues or even the KHL, remains to be seen.

The impact of Cristobal Huet’s presumed subtraction is significant. NHLNumbers.com pegs the current cap hit for the Hawks at $57.56 million; post-Huet, that hit is 51.95. If the cap rises by two million or more, and the operational number is equal or superior to the 2009-10 number of $62.99MM, that would already give Stan Bowman anywhere from eleven to thirteen million dollars to work with.

Meanwhile, Campbell has shown he is a central cog in the Hawk machine, and posted an impressive plus-11 during the playoffs, setting up a number of game-changing goals, specifically Patrick Kane’s OT Cup winner.

Much is made of Marian Hossa’s contract; but the annual cap hit ($5.233MM) is in fact lower than that of Havlát’s previous $6MM deal. Few would dispute Hossa is a major upgrade.

Using the online calculator at CapGeek.com, one can plug in any number of potential rosters for one’s team.

Doing the exercise with the Blackhawks in mind, a variety of results is achieved. Depending on what cap ceiling number one accepts as being credible, the cost-cutting transactions assumed necessary to assemble a 20-22 man roster can be easily illustrated.

Running the Cap Geek calculator, using a number equal to the $63 million the Hawks operated with last year, very few changes were shown as being necessary. In that theoretical model, Niemi’s and Hjalmarsson’s salaries were adjusted to $2.5 and $2 million respectively; prospects like Kyle Beach and Brian Bickell filled spots left by departing free agents.

In a ‘worst case’ scenario, what does Stan Bowman really need to do? Would the trading of a Sharp or Versteeg cripple the Hawks? Given that they were once deemed expendable, yet became Cup winners in Chicago, it is still possible they could be replaced.

In the business of hockey, sentiment gives way to the bottom line.

For those who want to slice and dice the roster, many hours can be spent on sites like Cap Geek. These virtual mechanisms are, at best, approximations, but they begin to give us an idea of just how difficult—or easy, depending on your point of view—it is to be a GM.

In the real world of possible trades, Stan Bowman is in the best posture. Every one of his players is a Stanley Cup winner, and other teams are always in the market for Stanley Cup winners.

Names mentioned include Sharp, Versteeg, Byfuglien, Kopecky and Campbell. Their annual salaries range from one point two million, to seven million. Looking at the money paid to similar players at their positions, all of them, even Campbell, are in the range of the current market price (witness similar numbers for d-men like Chara, Niedermayer,Bouwmeester, Boyle, Phaneuf, Jovanovski and Redden, to name a few). To underscore that, all one has to do is look at how the overheated UFA market has driven GMs to shell out major dollars and no trade clauses.

Teams looking for Cup-winning talent along with cost certainty can look to Stan Bowman as a trading partner. Any one of the aforementioned players would have an immediate and positive impact.

Would the Hawks be ready and able to deal for first or second picks in the upcoming draft?

The 2010 crop of UFAs is being described as ‘thin’ by a number of observers including Yvon Pedneault, recognized in Canada and Quebec as one of the sport’s most eminent analysts.

In his recent radio broadcast on Corus Sports in Montreal, Pedneault asserted that the discussions between General Managers have already been taking place and that we can expect substantial trading leading up to the amateur draft and free agent market, both just two weeks away.

Lest anyone argue that the Blackhawks front office is in ‘panic mode’, the fact is that the cap ceiling for 2010-11, whatever it might be, does not come into effect until opening day in October. Between now and then, there are more than three months for wheeling and dealing.

Contrary to the cynical view of the Chicago Blackhawks being a ‘one hit wonder’, the current situation reflects the reality of change as part and parcel of professional team sports. As has been proven time and time again, the sum of the parts is always superior to the individual.

The Blackhawks showed that a team, playing within a well-thought out system, and each man executing his task, can make its way to the top. Staying there is another matter; succeeding as back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, is something no team has done in more than a decade.

The last team to do so, the Red Wings, and the one previous, the Penguins, were led by a certain William “Scotty” Bowman. That same Mr. Bowman, already inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder, is now advising the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bowman may say publicly that he stays in the background, but as Sun Media reported during the playoffs, the elder Bowman is actively involved in strategy sessions. Son Stan, named for the Cup Scotty won nine times as a coach also acknowledges his influence. “I mean, why wouldn’t you take his advice?” says Stan.

Hockey’s longest serving writer and commentator, Stan Fischler, who was present when the Hawks won the 1961 Cup, refutes the cynics. “This team has better balance, but not Glenn Hall.” He cites three reasons why the Blackhawks will continue to be a force: “One, they won the Cup. Two, they have a smart front office which knows what to do. Three, Scotty.”

Chicago’s organization seems to have taken a few pages from the Scotty Bowman book of team building. Like the Montreal Canadiens of his era, the team is stockpiling young talent that can be slotted in if and when roster players need to be replaced. Like the Detroit Red Wings during Bowman’s tenure, the Hawks are instituting a ‘system-first’ approach that allows players to be interchangeable components in a method that maximizes their skills.

As for his perceived surplus of talent, and the challenge of making the numbers work, Bowman’s typically unruffled demeanor is evident: “There’s a lot of things that are going to have to work out, but it’s certainly a good problem to have. We’re Stanley Cup champs and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The odds-makers already have the Hawks as favorites to repeat. Bodog, the leading hockey betting site in Canada, has posted Chicago at 11-2 to win the Cup next year.

Toe Blake once said, “Predictions are for gypsies”, but it’s a good bet the off-season for Blackhawks fans will be as exciting as the season they just witnessed. It might also be a good bet that the Blackhawks will be as exciting, and successful, a team next year, as this.

Patrick Kane Vs Chris Pronger: two future Hall of Famers do battle for the Cup. (Photos: Rick Stewart/Bill Wippert, Getty Images)

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).

But as the Vancouver Province’s Cam Cole pointed out in a recent article, the all-time winning coach in hockey, Scotty Bowman, put the pundits in their place. “You know what Toe Blake used to say about the media, don’t you?” Cole reported Bowman as saying, “‘when you’re losing, they can’t help you. And when you’re winning, you don’t need ‘em.’”

Cup winner and ex-Flyer coach Ken Hitchcock presented another hockey professional’s perspective in his forecast on the NHL Network. He studiously avoided ‘the predictions game’, saying, “These contests will be very close, and I expect at least one in overtime.”

Four games in, Hitchcock appears to have confirmed that hockey people see things very differently than the rest of us. For them, prognostication is meaningless. Reality bites you when you least expect it.

So much was made of an ‘epic battle’ to be held between the mountains of manhood named Pronger and Byfuglien; but a much more interesting duel has taken place between Pronger and Patrick Kane.

But such skewing of our viewpoints speaks to the Age of Infotainment. ‘The media’ , as they have for ages, feeds on constant drama in events, complete with heroes and villains, crises and turning points. The volume is amped up so we are hypnotized with a consistent tremor of urgency.

Games become ‘must-wins’ played with ‘desperation’; sequences are re-played over and over and over again until every drop of meaning is squeezed out of them. Commentators become psychologists, telling us ‘what’s going on inside the locker room’, though none set foot there. In-game body language is interpreted by ‘color men’ (and increasingly, color women) who stand between the benches, or buttonhole the athletes between periods, before and after games.

One wonders sometimes if the players wouldn’t rather just play hockey instead of having to be diplomats and rock stars.

Meanwhile, the guys go along, as is expected of millionaire entertainers, complete with the canned responses and the occasional deviation. One of the non-conformists is Pronger, who relishing the ten-gallon black hat he has earned and been awarded permanently by hockey writers, amuses himself by verbally rag-dolling reporters in press conferences.

There’s no business like show business, and that’s good for the NHL’s profit margin. There is also a more substantive side.  Thanks to B.D. Gallof at Hockey Independent, I was invited to participate in a pre-series NHL conference call where some of the sport’s most prominent observers were on hand: Don Cherry, Mike Milbury, Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Pierre McGuire and Keith Jones, whose expertise augments the coverage by CBC, TSN, NBC, and Versus.

Without having to compress their thoughts to fit the constraints of the broadcast world, they each presented comprehensive, and varied, viewpoints.

It was both illuminating and humbling to see how, away from the circus atmosphere of television, all of these hockey men demonstrated, in a clear and unassuming manner, their encyclopedic knowledge for the eager listeners and questioners. It was as if they put away their on-screen ‘characters’ to share their insights with us.

The overriding theme was how closely matched the Blackhawks and Flyers are in this year’s Final. The affirmation that anything and everything could hinge on a series of ‘ifs’ was repeated throughout the conference call.

Watching the first four games, the ‘ifs’ emerged. For each team, the top lines suddenly failed to produce; the secondary and tertiary players asserted themselves. Bad ice, strange bounces, broken plays, iffy calls and wonky line changes changed the ebb and flow of the games, and made momentum a passing fancy.

The momentum, if there ever was any, changed from period to period, often from shift to shift. The Blackhawks surged at home, and then hung on to win the first two games; the change of scene in Philadelphia saw the Flyers do the same as they held serve.

For the first time in many years, we see two teams so closely competitive that it becomes impossible to know which one has the so-called ‘best chance’ to win Lord Stanley’s prize.

As for ‘desperation’, how can two teams be hungrier for the win than they are, their last Cup coming in 1961 and 1975, for Chicago and Philadelphia respectively? Both having reached the Finals four times since, only to fall short?

The oft-repeated maxim that this Cup is the most difficult Championship to win, in all of professional sport, is validated.

Watching the teams playing each other in the spring of 2010, one could easily be reminded of the Blackhawks and Flyers teams of the early 1970s. Though the names and faces have changed, the character of these clubs has not.

This can be attributed in part to the unique continuity of ownership that graces the Chicago and Philadelphia sides.

The Wirtz family has been the proprietors of the Hawks since 1961 (Arthur Wirtz actually having owned at least a share of the team as far back as the early 1950s). The Flyers have been owned by Ed Snider since their inception in 1967.

Rockwell ‘Rocky’ Wirtz, who succeeded his father Bill who had succeeded his father Arthur, is the smooth, urbane salesman who sits in the nosebleeds during games to get the pulse of the people and promotes ‘the family’ of the Blackhawks. Ed Snider’s demeanor suggest a polar opposite: lean, crafty, who seems to be all business; though Snider’s philanthropy is highly reputed. The impression they leave is of men who know exactly what they want, and get it.

If one believes a professional sports team is the mirror of its patriarchs, the Blackhawks and Flyers also mirror the images their cities have garnered. Chicago’s mystique is flavored with the Guys And Dolls world of  Sinatra’s “My Kind of Town”; Philadelphia, if you believe the stories, embraces the blue-collar pugilism of Rocky Balboa. The images of the pro athletes who defend each city’s pride are imbued with toughness and showmanship.

Both cities have their share of mythical figures. Walter Payton, Ernie Banks, Bobby Hull, and Michael Jordan are Chicago sports gods. Norm Van Brocklin, Richie Ashburn, Julius Erving and Bobby Clarke are enshrined every time they are mentioned.

In this kind of atmosphere, the young men who put on the uniforms are already expected to carve out their own place in immortality.

‘Blackhawks hockey’ and ‘Flyers hockey’ are, regardless of the season standings, what they have been for decades.

Reading through Stan Fischler’s 1972 large format hard cover book “Chicago Black Hawks”, I let the black and white photos of the Hawks and Flyers doing battle, take me back to the hockey I had watched then.

Hard-nosed Ed Van Impe, Joe and Jim Watson patrolled the blueline in front of Doug Favell while Clarke, Dornhoefer and Clement crashed and banged; Bobby and Dennis Hull, Jim Pappin, Stan Mikita, Bill White and Keith Magnuson, among others, powered the team in front of Tony Esposito. Jerry Korab (who played defense and forward a la Dustin Byfuglien), Doug Jarrett, Bob Kelly and Dave Schultz were guys you didn’t want to mess with.

You could go down the rosters of the present day teams and see which players now match up with the players then; but whatever the similarities and differences, the sum of the parts is much the same as today.

The Hawks are the flashy, explosive team some call cocky; the Flyers have the swagger and meanness of a street gang. Both smart; both tough. Both beat up on opponents when they have the chance. And neither one will quit when the chips are down.

It is entirely fitting that they meet at the summit of the mountain and treat us to a battle royal, which is what they are doing.

On the ice, we see not only hockey skill, but intense physical and psychological battles. Off the ice, the verbiage is a continuation of the same gamesmanship.

Where the Hawks may be missing some components is in the assets that veteran players bring. At this time of year, the ability to harness emotion and experience is something learned only through the pain and pleasure of losing before you know how and why you win.

The Flyers decidedly have the edge there. Pronger, Timmonen, Laperriere, Gagne, Briere, Hartnell, Asham and even Leighton have seen the highest and lowest more than once, some for over a decade.

Some of that suffering was part of GM Paul Holmgren’s plan to build the Flyers back into a powerhouse after stumbling for several seasons. Underlining the consistency of the organization, Holmgren is the same kind of no-nonsense pragmatist as an executive he was as a player. Holmgren wants to win, and he’ll do whatever it takes. This ruthlessness may have been at the root of his decision to swap coaches, exchanging the affable John Stevens for the hard-core Peter Laviolette. One expects that Mr. Snider approves…as long as they win.

The Blackhawks, like the Flyers, are a study in accelerated development, rocketing from the bottom of the standings back to the penthouse.

The Hawks do not, however, have the same amount of gravitas as the men from Philly, the majority of the roster being 26 years of age or less. And managing one’s emotions when in one’s early/mid-twenties is not always easy.

The Hawks are the product of a ‘brain trust’, blending the influences of former GM Dale Tallon, current GM Stan Bowman, Senior Advisor Scotty Bowman, and the ‘hands-off’ guidance of team President John McDonough; as Rocky Wirtz watches, the portraits of his father and his grandfather, watching him.

Chicago has some grizzle to go with the sizzle: Madden, Hossa, Sopel and Campbell have all been around for a while. But the rest of the crew are riding a wave of talent turbocharged with hype. When times are good, the Hawks have been flying, and they’ve made it through a few storms to get further than any Chicago hockey team since 1973.

Now, with a best two of three starring the warrior tribes from the Windy City and the City of Brotherly Love, the words of Rudyard Kipling’s great poem “If” can be heard. “If you can keep your head, when all those about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…”

The pundits will pontificate, telling fans what they should think about the games unfolding before them. Meanwhile, the players will suit up for war on ice, where it all happens in the blink of an eye, contrary to the magic of slow motion.

Kipling’s work seems fitting as we approach the climax of what may be a classic in the making.

“If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same.”

Game on.

A Tale of Two Bobbys: Clarke and Hull, enduring icons who inspire both teams.

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.

Tales of the Chicago Blackhawks abound, as long-suffering partisans try to mitigate their hope for a fourth Championship, the Hawks having won three since their 1926 debut.

The Philadelphia Flyers, born forty-one years later, have snagged but a pair of processions in a brief flirtation with glory in the mid-seventies. Since then, a generation and a half has passed, and facts become folklore.

The Flyers were, in principle, the successors to the Quakers, who were the successors to the defunct Pittsburgh Pirates NHL franchise. The Quakers’ one-year existence (1930-31), an exercise in losing, was aborted by the league’s financial struggles during the Depression Era.

When the franchise was re-launched in the fall of 1967, the draft allowed the newcomers to pluck talent from the established teams. In those initial years, the migration of players from ‘old guard’, via draft or trade, to the freshly minted squads often meant new life for those involved. Hawks, who later became Flyers, include Lou Angotti—the expansion club’s first captain; bruising defenseman, Ed Van Impe; and Reg Fleming, who scored the deciding goal for Chicago when they won the Cup in 1961.

A long list of factoids has made the rounds during the down time between the Conference Finals and the kick-off to the Cup.

It has been oft repeated that both teams are entering the Finals desperate to end the so-called ‘drought’ that has persisted in Chicago since 1961 and Philadelphia since 1975.

Having seen both those Cup victories, albeit as a television viewer, I nonetheless remember them vividly, as well as the excitement felt throughout the hockey world.

Both teams have distinctive, dynamic personalities that have earned the loyalty of fans far beyond their cities. Both logos and team colors have achieved iconic status. Many of their stars have become legend.

The Hawks and Flyers also return to the SCF after a protracted absence: Chicago losing to Pittsburgh in 1992, and Philadelphia losing to Detroit in 1997. Coincidentally, they were both swept by clubs coached by Scotty Bowman, now a senior advisor to the Blackhawks.

The teams share an unenviable record in Stanley Cup Finals, tying the Bruins in losing five straight SCFs.

Mike Keenan, who coached the Flyers as they bowed in 1985 to the Oilers, was the coach of the Hawks in their most recent Finals loss.

Jeremy Roenick, having played in that series in his original Chicago colors, recently declared he is cheering this year for the Flyers, in whose jersey he could do no better than two first round and one second round playoff exit.

Since the 2004-05 lock-out, the two teams have played each other on just four occasions. The Flyers won both games in Philadelphia (including last year’s 3-2 victory) and split the games in Chicago. Neither enjoys a recent historical advantage, and both teams have made considerable changes to their roster during that time, as well as coaching changes.

According to TSN, only Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp (who was traded from the Flyers to the Hawks the first season after the lockout), Simon Gagne, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter have played in each of those four games.

Current Hawks Ben Eager and Kim Johnsson (out indefinitely with a concussion) are former Philly regulars. Eager was the Coyotes’ first round pick in 2002, obtained by Philadelphia in 2004 and sent to the Hawks in 2007 for Jim Vandermeer, who now plays for Phoenix.

Johnsson was a Top 4 d-man during his years in Philly, before going to the Wild as a free agent. Traded to Chicago just weeks before, he suffered his season-ending concussion in a collision in the second period of the Hawks-Flyers tilt in March of this year.

Both of the Flyers’ goaltenders are former Hawks backups. Brian Boucher wore the Indian Head for the 2006-07 season; Leighton did spot duty after being picked by Chicago in the 6th round in 1999, playing parts of the 2003-04 and 2004-05 campaigns.

This is only the second time in their history that Chicago and Philadelphia face each other in the playoffs.

In the 1971 quarterfinals, the Flyers were swept by the Blackhawks.

A snapshot of those rosters pulls up many hockey memories.

The legendary Bobby Clarke was just 21. His teammates included the vindictive Van Impe, bruising Bob Kelly and garrulous Gary Dornhoefer; twine tandem Bernie Parent and Doug Favell; skilful Serge Bernier; Rick McLeish; and journeyman Jean Guy Gendron, among others. They were coached by former NHL hard man Vic Stasiuk.

The Hawks were stacked up front that year with the likes of Bobby and Dennis Hull, Stan Mikita, ‘Pit’ Martin, Chico Maki and Jim Pappin, who scored from 22 to 44 goals apiece. Lou Angotti had made his way back to Chicago. Magnuson, Jarrett, Stapleton and White were blueline bulwarks, with ‘King Kong’ Korab as part of the supporting cast. Tony Esposito was ‘Mister No’ in net. Billy Reay was the bench boss.

The teams’ regular season records showed a sizable gap: the Hawks had captured the Western Division with 49 wins and 107 points; the Flyers had managed just 73 points on 28 victories and 17 ties.

In those days, the disparity between the established clubs and the expansion clubs was the polar opposite of the parity that predominates today.

Perhaps that only served as motivation for the Flyers and their brethren. Four years later, they were drinking champagne from Stanley’s mug, led by Clarke, their most feted Captain.

As for this year’s editions, there is a gap, similar on the surface to that in 1971. The 2010 Blackhawks set franchise records for wins and points with 52 and 112 respectively; the Flyers snuck into the playoffs in a shootout, clawing their way to 41 wins and 88 points.

Philadelphia, ironically enough, had been a preseason Cup favorite of a number of observers; while the Hawks have been the poster boys for media hype, a sexy pick coming out of the West.

If the Blackhawks are sometimes accused of having ‘swagger’, the Flyers welcome the label. Flyers Hockey is all about being brash and even brutal. The ‘Broad Street Bullies’ image shapes the identity of the team, and is reflected in the tone of media and fan comments emanating from the “City of Brotherly Love”. The Flyers play hockey with a decided nastiness, and they seem to relish being the ‘most hated opponent’ in the NHL.

From their inception, the Flyers have been known as a tough team. From Larry Zeidel and Forbes Kennedy to Dave Schultz and Derian Hatcher, the Gordie Howe maxim “Hockey is a man’s game” is their mantra. Cup-winning coach Fred Shero coined the phrase, “Take the shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor.” Bobby Clarke is still celebrated by some for breaking Valeri Kharlamov’s ankle in the Canada-Russia summit.

The Blackhawks have had more than their share of rambunctious rogues. They were called “The Big Bad Blackhawks” on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1964, with a gap-toothed Bobby Hull squaring off against an adversary. A stout donnybrook was always welcomed by the Chicago Stadium crowd, and the audience at the United Center seems to enjoy the prospect of a slugfest. The exploits of Reggie Fleming, Al Secord, Stu Grimson and Bob Probert still thrill a segment of Hawkophiles.

But all this fascination with feistiness unfairly ignores the fact that both of these teams have displayed a high level of skill for decades. Blackhawk powerhouses and the elite Flyer squads have terrorized the opposition at different times.

Now they get to settle some old scores between them.

In the flurry of connections cited, a few more stand out.

Former Red Wing teammates Marian Hossa and Ville Leino find themselves returning to the Cup Finals in successive years, now as adversaries on different teams.

Andrew Ladd played for Peter Laviolette when they won a Cup in Carolina; Chris Pronger played for Joel Quenneville for eight years in St. Louis.

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.

Ken Hitchcock, the former Flyer coach who has visited the Finals twice and come away with a Cup once, and was on Canada’s gold medal hockey coaching staff , now provides his insight to the NHL Network, its TV program “NHL Live!” and in his exclusive web column.

There may be few people as familiar with the players and executives from both teams.

Given his recent experience with Chris Pronger, Mike Richards, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook at the Olympics, his thoughts on their upcoming competition for the ultimate prize are notable.

“The Hawks are using the knowledge they gained last year from losing to the Red Wings, and that works to their advantage. In terms of dealing with Pronger, I think Joel Quenneville will change things up; throw speed at him, to make him skate for that entire thirty minutes Pronger plays. A key will be to make Pronger turn and go get the puck.”

To underline Hitch’s point, that kind of thinking was employed by Jacques Martin in the Canadiens’ 5-1 ECF victory over the Flyers.

While Montreal did not have the depth to sustain the forecheck and skating that was so effective, the Hawks do.

On the other side, Hitchcock sees Captain Mike Richards as the focal point for the Flyers. “He’s the lead dog. We saw that in the Olympics, where he just rose up the depth chart as the games got more important. That’s the kind of player he is.”

Hitchcock believes there will be close games, and overtime games, and that the netminders will be the determining factor. “One of the two goalies will be the story here.”

Add another chapter to the enigmas of Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton.

When asked for a prediction by the network hosts, Hitchcock declined firmly, adding simply: “We will see an unparalleled level of desperation from both teams from the first puck drop.”

Looking at where Chicago and Philadelphia are right now, the compilation of statistics and intangibles seems to confirm the challengers are separated by mere increments.

There are no evident weaknesses on either side, no easy to spot advantages; both play an aggressive, up-tempo, superbly executed brand of hockey, in buildings that will be bursting at the seams.

Neither should be shamed should they come up short, though nails will be bitten and hearts will be broken.

Supporters in both camps have good reasons to believe their heroes will prevail.

Like an Ali-Frazier fight, each round, each feint, each blow of this Armageddon On Ice will be etched in the memories of those who experience it.

To echo the NHL’s motto…History will be made.

Two Number 19's lead their teams: Toews and Thornton.

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 in his return from his absence staying with his father, and getting his game in focus: “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 Western Conference Final and a first playoff meeting ever with San Jose.

This series 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.

Doug Wilson, a former star on the Hawks blueline (traded to San Jose in September ’91 for the little-hailed Kerry Toporowski), and Trent Yawney, a former Hawk head coach (prior to Denis Savard), now wear Shark teal; Wilson as GM, Yawney as assistant coach.

If that weren’t enough, the Sharks have more former Hawks, Dirk Graham and Bryan Marchment in the organization as scouts, and former Hawk assistant coach (and former NHL goalie) Wayne Thomas as SJ’s current goalie coach.  

Jeremy Roenick, once a Blackhawk hero, finished his career in San Jose.

Agitating center Scott Nichol had a one-season stint as a Hawk after signing as a free agent back in 2003-04; and defenseman Kent Huskins was originally drafted by Chicago, though he didn’t play any regular season games for the Hawks.

Brian Campbell, who Sharks fans feel deserted them to sign with Chicago (even though he spent only a few months there in the spring of 2008), gets roundly booed in the Shark Tank.

In a parallel story line, Marian Hossa and Dany Heatley were traded for each other in the fall of 2005, with Hossa sent to the Thrashers as Heatley went to the Senators. Both have gone to the Finals and suffered defeat.

Not to be neglected is the fact that the Hawks, with six Olympians (Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Kane, Hossa, Kopecky) on their roster, and the Sharks, with eight (Boyle, Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Pavelski, Murray, Nabokov and Greiss), already know each other as ultra-high-level hockey players.

Looking at the 2009-10 season, the results seem to indicate Chicago having the edge overall.

November 15, the Hawks pulled out a closely fought 4-3 OT win at the United Center on a crowd-pleasing goal by Brent Seabrook following a late game goalie duel between Evgeni Nabokov and Cristobal Huet.

They stormed into the Shark Tank a little more than a week later and carpet-bombed Nabokov with a 41-shot barrage in a 7-2 thrashing, with Huet in goal for the Hawks.

The Sharks got a measure of revenge a month later, upsetting the Hawks 3-2 in Chicago, victimizing Huet even though they had just 14 shots, while the Hawks launched 47 at Nabokov.

In January, the Hawks got another OT win in San Jose, a 4-3 squeaker after staking themselves to an early 3-0 lead, again with Huet and Nabokov tending the twine.

But as we have seen so often, the ‘second season’ has little or no respect for the regular season. Based on the Sharks’ impressive line-up throughout, and their strong play against Detroit, the Blackhawks have to be wary.

The postgame comments after defeating Vancouver by Coach Quenneville and his players indicated they are well aware of the quality of their forthcoming foe.

Patrick Sharp made his observations about the Sharks’ defeat of the Red Wings: “That was inspiring hockey. They (Sharks) played awesome from top to bottom. They were playing great hockey, as good as I’ve seen in a while.”

Duncan Keith added, “We know they’re a confident group right now. Obviously to beat a team like Detroit in five you’re doing something right. They have a big, strong group of forwards that can skate as well as some of their defensemen. They were first in our conference for a reason.”

The prevailing opinion from the mainstream hockey media suggests this series will be a heavyweight bout, with the victor favored to win it all.

The Vegas line from Belmont Sports Thursday morning, May 12, had San Jose and Chicago leading the contenders at 9-5 odds, followed by Pittsburgh at 5-2.

At time of writing, the potential Finals opponents were still to be decided; Boston, Philadelphia and Montreal are less esteemed by the bookmakers.

The two teams’ entrance and goal scoring music provide a few clues to their self-image. When they bury the biscuit at home, the Hawks are serenaded by The Fratellis’ “Chelsea Dagger”; the Sharks, Gary Glitter’s “Rock N’ Roll”. The Sharks step onto the ice backed by Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” or Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle”; the Hawks have Rage Against the Machine’s “Testify” atop their theme song playlist.

Both home crowds fill, and electrify, their buildings.

Here’s a breakdown of the Hawks-Sharks, summarizing their head-to-head play and observations from watching them in the post-season thus far.

Season record:
As previously stated, Chicago had the upper hand in the regular season, though two of their wins were in OT. Both teams won games in the other’s building.

Their offensive/defensive totals are very close, with Chicago is slightly better in goals for (271-264), and also slightly better in goals against (209-215).

Forwards:
Much has been made of the Sharks’ power up front. Thornton, Marleau and Heatley are vaunted weapons. Thornton has finally confounded his critics. The emergence of Joe Pavelski, flanked by power forward Ryan Clowe, and dangerous Devin Setoguchi (20 goals in the regular season, five in the playoffs so far, second only to Pavelski’s nine), gives the Sharks an added dimension. Beyond that, the Sharks serve up a mixed bag. Malhotra is an excellent two-way man; bruiser Torrey Mitchell, grinder Nichol, plus rookies Couture, McGinn and Helminen are all solid players; what impact they will have in the Conference Final remains to be seen.

The Blackhawks continue to show they have scoring balance throughout the roster. Led by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, their playoff numbers confirm their elite status. Toews tops all playoff scorers as of this writing. Some may speculate Marian Hossa’s surgically repaired shoulder may be feeling the pain and limiting his goal production, though he has been a complete two way player. Patrick Sharp has scored some spectacular and timely goals. Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien and Dave Bolland have all found the net when needed, with Versteeg and Bolland also being pesky checkers, and big Byfuglien making life miserable for opposing goalies. Big Troy Brouwer’s key marker against Vancouver suggests he might be ready to return at a critical time. And even the supporting cast, like Tomas Kopecky and Andrew Ladd, can light the lamp. John Madden is bringing his Cup winner’s experience; Adam Burish and Ben Eager are abrasive and effective.

Edge: Chicago

Defense:
The Sharks’ Top 4 of a pair of Cup-winners (as an Av) Captain Rob Blake, (as a Lightning ) Dan Boyle; the versatile Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and hulking Swede (6’ 3”, 240 lbs) Douglass Murray, will do their best to contain the Hawk attack. Huskins, rookie Jason Demers and late season addition Niclas Wallin round out the defense depth chart.

The Hawks’ Top 4 looked much better against the Canucks than against Nashville. The Keith-Seabrook pairing met the lofty expectations; Brian Campbell appears to be recapturing his pace and timing, and Nik Hjalmarsson improves with each game. Veteran Brent Sopel and sophomore Jordan Hendry have their flaws, but Sopel is still a bulwark on the PK and as a shot blocker.

Edge: Chicago.

Depth:
Reiterating the maxim stated by Hawks legend and former coach Denis Savard is appropriate: “In the playoffs, your stars usually cancel each other out. So your supporting cast has to make the difference.” How Malhotra, Nichol, and company fare against Bolland, Madden, Versteeg, etc. will be a key element to their respective clubs’ result.

Edge: Chicago.

Physical play:
Neither the Hawks nor the Sharks will back away from the rough going. That said, these teams will probably pit skill vs. skill.

Edge: even.

Special teams:
Again, the margin between Chicago and San Jose is close. Playoff power play efficiency has the Hawks at 21.6%, the Sharks at 19.3%.

On the PK, Chicago is 88.7% effective; San Jose, 84.2%. Beyond the numbers, the teams have the ability to get the job done, so the special team battle should be exciting to watch.

Edge: even.

Goaltending:
Evgeni Nabokov may not have the Hawks in his head the way Roberto Luongo does, but he has found himself on the receiving end of a relentless opponent wearing the Indian Head. If and how Chicago exploits their past ability to solve Nabokov will be a key to the series.

On the other side, Antti Niemi will be new to the San Jose shooters, and them to him. Can the Finn out-duel the Russian, as he did Rinne and Luongo, and continue to surprise those who claimed the Hawks’ weakness is between the pipes?

Their respective playoff records so far, again, tell a very similar tale: Niemi, 8-4, 2.57 GAA, .909 SV%, 2 shutouts; Nabokov, 8-3, 2.43 GAA, .907 SV%, 1 shutout.

Edge: Even.

Intangibles:
The Blackhawks and Sharks may not ‘hate’ each other, but both franchises face the realization that a Cup chance doesn’t come often.

The Hawks are looking for their first trip to the Finals since 1992, amidst an almost fifty-year Cup drought. They are still smarting from their elimination by the Wings in last year’s Conference Finals, and the taste of what could be is probably still fresh. Virtually all of that squad returns, and the experience may work to their advantage.

The Sharks who entered the NHL the same year the Hawks last went to the Finals, have yet to capture Stanley silver in their twenty year existence. San Jose has never played in a Cup Final, losing to the Flames in their only WCF appearance in 2004. Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov are the only Sharks remaining from that pack. Both are UFAs after this season.

The Hawks have three players (Madden, Kopecky, Ladd) with Cup rings; the Sharks, four (Blake, Boyle, Huskins, Wallin).

And the Olympians—especially the Canadian ones—on both squads, have a motivation to add another ultimate honor to their resumes.

So it may all come down to, ‘Who wants it more?’

Edge: Even.

Coaching:
The excellent Todd McLellan has proven himself with successive Conference titles; he has implemented a robust system, which owes much to his time with the Red Wings organization. He has a Cup ring as an assistant in Detroit.

Joel Quenneville has the confidence of his troops, and has shown he and his staff can make the necessary game-to-game adjustments. He has more post season experience than McLellan, and also has a Cup ring as an assistant.

Edge: Chicago.

Keys to the series:
With the level of skill being so high, and the advantages for each side minimal, consistent execution and effort make the difference.  As is the norm in playoff hockey, and especially at this stage, mistakes and unpredictable events will play their part.

With two such dynamic teams, the battle should be fast and furious.

Likely result:
Both teams have the ability to win a game on the road. This series could easily go seven games.

Chicago now finds itself on the other end of ‘home ice advantage’, which appears to be none at all if this year’s playoffs are any indication.

If any factors can be spotlighted,  it will be goaltending; and the teams’ ability to limit the damage by their respective snipers.

‘Expert’ predictions have also been shredded.

Still, if the Blackhawks can do what they have done against Vancouver, and what they did against San Jose this year, it might tip the scales in their favor.

The Hawks will be looking for the split in the first two meetings at the Shark Tank. Should they accomplish that, the goal they have set for themselves is within their reach.

Hawks-Canucks: nose to nose, two years in a row.

“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.

This spring’s rendezvous is the fourth Stanley Cup Playoff Series between Chicago and Vancouver.

Though the Canucks had home ice advantage last year, the Hawks overcame them in six. In the 1995 Semis, Vancouver was swept. In their initial tilt, the 1982 Campbell Conference Finals, the Canucks prevailed four games to one.

Long time fans will remember the 1982 series for many reasons. Among them, the performance of Canucks goalie Richard Brodeur; the presence of ex-Hawks Bobby Schmautz, Ivan Boldirev, Darcy Rota and future Hawk Curt Fraser on the Vancouver roster. An interesting piece of hockey trivia is that Colin Campbell, current NHL Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations, played defense for that Canucks team.

That year, the Blackhawks were coached by former d-man and team captain, the late, Keith Magnuson, no stranger to the muscular side of the sport.  They featured the pugilism of  Al Secord, and the rambunctiousness of Terry ‘Rosco’ Ruskowski–a captain who led his team not only on the ice, but in readiness to drop the gloves–Greg Fox, and Dave Hutchison, as well as the testy and talented Darryl Sutter, to name a few.  Those who enjoy sifting through hockey history will take note of Florent Robidoux, whose brief moments as a Blackhawk–and an NHLer–were also marked by his willingness to bash and crash. 

The Canucks were coached by the irascible Harry Neale. They had a few robust characters of their own, including the infamous Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams; Harold Snepsts; and Stan Smyl, all of whom racked up massive penalty minutes, Williams having the dubious distinction of 343 PIM that year.

It is fair to say the belligerent tone between the Blackhawks and Canucks was set almost three decades ago.

In 2010, the regular season saw a split. Each won a pair in regulation; each won in the other’s building. The scores reflect an even dynamic: the Canucks stole the opener in Chicago 3-2, with the Hawks coming back to stone the Canucks 1-0 Nov. 22 at GM Place. Vancouver responded with a dominating 5-1 home win January 23rd, with Chicago being equally dominant in their 6-3 close out March 5th at the United Center.

Hawks captain Jonathan Toews couched his view in customary understatement: “I’m sure they’re going to be looking forward to getting back at us. You don’t have to say much about it. There is a history. We don’t like each other too much, I think everyone knows that. And these are the types of games that you live for and look forward to.”

If the rivalry needed to be stoked, the hit delivered last fall by Nucks blueliner Willie Mitchell on Toews, knocking the star captain out for several games with a concussion, might be enough. The irony in Mitchell now being sidelined with post-concussion symptoms, only adds to the controversy.

The war has already started in the minds of the media. The Chicago Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom and the Vancouver Province’s Tony Gallagher exchanged salvoes, Rosenbloom calling out Roberto Luongo and Gallagher saying Luongo nemesis Dustin Byfuglien was “already getting his butt enlarging pads ready.”

The trash talk from all sides will increase in volume.

Some will focus on the characterization of Vancouver as ‘Canada’s team’. However, both clubs have an equal number of Canadians on their roster (including four Hawks from the Vancouver area, whereas the Canucks have none); while Chicago has more Canadian hockey Olympians. Flag-waving fervor colors the coverage by the Canadian media and the commentary by fans above the 49th parallel. This, in an age where hockey has never been more international, and where the NHL’s “Hockey Is For Everyone” charity efforts are creating new converts around the world.

But all of this makes for great theater, and hockey is spectacle as much as it is sport.

The spectacle of the brash Blackhawks battling the cunning Canucks, in a festival of flash and feistiness, may deliver the best series of the 2010 NHL Playoffs. The sparring was fueled even during the Olympics; when, during the handshakes after the Canada-USA Final, Roberto Luongo told Patrick Kane, “See you in the playoffs.”

Stripping away the partisan perspective, the facts, and the season record head-to-head, tell us these rivals are ready to pit strength against strength. How do these break down?

Rather than elaborate on extensive statistical comparison, here are snapshots of both teams, with a focus on their first round play.

Season record: As previously stated, the teams split their series, and both proved they can win in the other’s building. Their offensive totals are nearly identical; Chicago is slightly better in goals against.

Forwards:
Ex-Red Wing Mikael Samuelsson has been a very strong addition to the Canucks, doing what the much more expensive Mats Sundin could not. He’s currently leading Vancouver in playoff scoring. Not much needs to be said about the prowess of Henrik Sedin, this year’s Art Ross Trophy winner; and his equally able twin brother Daniel. While the Sedins will draw the checking attention of John Madden, Dave Bolland and Jonathan Toews, Samuelsson, along with the mercurial Pavol Demitra and big Steve Bernier, will be players to watch. Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond, Alex Burrows and Kyle Wellwood all have a ‘nose for the net’.

On the other side, Marian Hossa is a major upgrade to the Hawks team that dive bombed Luongo last spring. Toews, Kane and Sharp are threats the Nucks already know. While Troy Brouwer has been finding his game again after an absence due to his father’s illness, a Brouwer at full power can break games open. Tomas Kopecky, who struggled all year, is finally rounding into form. The disruptive Dustin Byfuglien may see his time split between defense and forward. Kris Versteeg is one of the most offensively creative players on the Blackhawks. Both he and Bolland score clutch goals. Rockford call-up Bryan Bickell has added ‘net presence’ playing with Toews and Kane.

Edge: even

Defense:
Even without Willie Mitchell, the Vancouver defense appears to have improved over last year. Ex-Shark Christian Erhoff and the emerging Alex Edler are smart, sizeable d-men; Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo are steady veterans. Andrew Alberts, Shane O’Brien, and Aaron Rome (currently day-to-day) add the nasty factor.

The Blackhawks are breathing easier since Brian Campbell returned to the lineup, though the absence of Kim Johnsson is a handicap. The Top 4 of Norris Trophy finalist Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Campbell and Nik Hjalmarsson is among the league’s best. Former Canuck Brent Sopel’s skills are well known to Vancouver fans, and Sopel is coming off an outstanding series against Nashville. Whether Byfuglien or Jordan Hendry (who can also play forward) are in the rotation, the Hawks have options, including the serviceable and boisterous Nick Boynton in reserve.

Edge: Chicago.

Depth:
To paraphrase Hawks legend and former coach Denis Savard (who played in the ’82 series), “In the playoffs, your stars usually cancel each other out. So your supporting cast has to make the difference.” That in mind, how players like Vancouver’s Tanner Glass, Michael Grabner, Rick Rypien, Jannik Hansen and Darcy Hordichuk; and Hawks Adam Burish, Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd, Colin Fraser and John Madden play their respective roles, can tip the balance. Madden’s Cup-winning experience is an intangible that is already paying off; his penalty killing skill in OT helped saved Game Five against the Predators.

Edge: even.

Physical play:
Both teams like to mix it up, and both teams have the bodies with which to do it. As previously illustrated, the blood has boiled between them for many years: Hawk great Troy Murray still remembers the intimidating presence of Harold Snepsts. And finding classic fights between Chicago and Vancouver crews is a pastime that delights donnybrook-loving denizens of YouTube. The hair-pulling incident between Alex Burrows and Duncan Keith still propels hockey forum debates. The recent sparks that have flown between Andrew Ladd and Ryan Kesler may ignite anew.

Edge: even.

Special teams:
Vancouver’s power play is far superior to Nashville’s, so Chicago’s excellent playoff penalty killing will have a major challenge. While the Hawks have been less effective with the man advantage, the Canucks showed significant weakness when a man down against the Kings.

Edge: even.

Goaltending:

On the heels of his Olympic gold, Roberto Luongo assures everyone he’s ready to take the Canucks to the next level. But he was shaky in the early going against Los Angeles, even getting yanked in Game Three after allowing four goals on sixteen shots. Questions about his mental toughness, particularly against the Hawks, will persist in part because of his own statements. Speaking post-game about his meltdown in Chicago this past March: “I don’t think we had a great period and I don’t think we were ready to play. Unfortunately, I felt good. That’s the sad part. I felt ready. I felt sharp. And the goals kept going in.” Is the memory of Patrick Kane’s playoff hat trick still haunting him?

At the opposite end of the ice, Antti Niemi put up two shutouts in Round One, but the skeptics refuse to be convinced that an unproven, undrafted Finn with an unorthodox style can carry the Hawks deep into the post season. Niemi may give up the occasional errant goal; however, he seems to keep pucks out when it counts the most, as he did in the Game 6 cliffhanger against the Predators. On statistics alone, he’s outperformed Luongo so far; but he’ll have to be at his best against an explosive Canuck offense.

When asked the question, “Whose goaltending do you worry about most?” recently on “NHL On The Fly”, TV analysts Cup winning d-man Larry Murphy and former Flames GM Craig Button replied, “Both.”

Edge: Chicago.

Intangibles:
The Blackhawks and Canucks share the weight of massive expectations. Both have been tagged as Stanley Cup contenders. Chicago has the recent experience of going to the Conference Final.

The Hawks have been accused of inconsistent play, and even the local journalists maintain that Chicago played less than its best hockey in Round One.

If there’s any truth to that viewpoint, the Canucks will make the Blackhawks pay dearly. As they showed in their crushing victory back in January, Vancouver will jump on each and every Hawk mistake and hammer them. So the Hawks have to be ready from the first puck drop.

The Canucks appear to be more than ready. Alex Edler, from the April 26th article in the Vancouver Province: “I think Chicago has a little more skill than L.A., which had a lot of big, strong guys. It would be fun to play Chicago again. They have been good all year and they are a really good team.”

Vancouver also has more to prove than just getting revenge for last year’s series defeat. In their thirty-year NHL history, they have advanced past the second round just twice, in 1982 and 1994.

Edge: Vancouver.

Coaching:
Alain Vigneault and Joel Quenneville are both excellent coaches who know the value of balancing offense and defense.

Edge: even.

Keys to the series:
Execution and effort make the difference in this exciting matchup of elite squads. As talent-laden as these rosters are, the series will hinge on the mistakes and unpredictable events—and ability to respond in kind—that are emblematic of playoff hockey.

Likely result:
Chicago’s home ice advantage is critical to their chances for success. Both teams will probably win one game in the other’s building, so this series could go all the way to the wire.

Should that be the case, the Blackhawks likely win in seven, as the United Center roars.

However, if the Hawks falter at any point, the Canucks might shock them in six before an ecstatic Vancouver crowd.

So one can argue the victor will be the team that demonstrates the most will and killer instinct.

That said, predicting the outcome of this series is a crapshoot: as of this writing, the Vegas betting line at Belmont Sports listed the Hawks as 9-2 Cup favorites and the Canucks at 6-1. Leading Canadian online betting resource, Bodog, has the Hawks as 9/4 favorites to win the Western Conference, with Vancouver at 3/1 odds; their Cup odds have Chicago at 4-1 and the Canucks at 6-1.

That narrow margin is a reflection of the closeness of the competition we are likely to see.

Hockey fans, no matter who they cheer for, will be rewarded.

Predator Vs Kane and The Hawkey Krew: battle royal shaping up.

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 effectively been decided by a single goal, the two more empty netters must have felt like added punches 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.

Chicago writers Tim Sassone and Steve Rosenbloom colored their columns in ominous tones. Focusing squarely on the bouncing puck that eluded the otherwise excellent Antti Niemi to tie the score, Sassone and Rosenbloom underlined the cliché ‘bad goal’ in red crayon. As if there might be such a thing as a ‘good goal’ in the playoffs.

Playoff hockey is, players, coaches, and purists will tell you, the very best hockey, where all the qualities of the sport are exhibited to the maximum. It is, during those Hockey Hall Of Fame moments, beautiful.

It is also ugly hockey. The referees ‘put their whistles away’, as the saying goes, and hockey becomes trench warfare. Every hit can be the one that puts a player off his game, or even out of the game. Every error is magnified to the nth degree. A stumble becomes a breakaway. A supposedly harmless lob—as Niemi and former Hawk Jean Pierre Dumont demonstrated—ends up in the net. Every bad decision, every momentary lapse, every unforeseen circumstance, can mean a game lost, just as the opposite can be true.   

Teams that win Championships are often those who can ‘win ugly’.   

The Blackhawks, with their matinee idol roster, know how to play exciting, stylish, dominating hockey. Do they know how to play ugly?

The Nashville Predators, on the other hand, have, at a glance, a patchwork collection of unknowns, veterans, and some certified world class players. What they know, is how to play ugly, and win ugly.

When I did my analysis of the Blackhawks’ potential playoff opponents a few weeks ago, I suggested the series could see the Predators prevailing in seven games. From the article:

The Predators have given Chicago trouble all year. Even if the Hawks have won more games, they’ve been by the narrowest of scores. Barry Trotz’s guys play a suffocating style, and against the Hawks, it works.

Forwards: Check, check and more check. The Preds’ relentless pressure creates turnovers. Hornqvist, Erat, Arnott, Dumont, Sullivan, Legwand, Tootoo and Ward may not dazzle, but they know how to hurt the Hawks on the scoresheet with timely, if infrequent, goals.

Defense: Weber and Suter are arguably the antidote to Keith and Seabrook. Hamhuis, Klein, Bouillon, Franson and Grebeshkov may not be fantasy hockey picks, but they follow the Nashville pattern of defensive reliability; Weber and Grebeshkov have PP cannons.

Goaltending: Finland versus Finland. Take your pick of Pekka and Antti.

Competitive Edge: Nashville’s persistence and special teams allow them to steal a game in Chicago.

Keys to the series: Does Weber counter Kane? Can the Hawks beat the Preds at their own game?

Link here: http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/david-morris/13447/

There was a crushing irony in Jean-Pierre Dumont scoring the goals that earned Nashville its initial victory. The Montreal native had been drafted first by the Islanders (third overall) while still playing for the Quebec Major Junior League in 1996, but never played a game in New York, instead ending up in Chicago for the 1998-99 season. In 2000, he was sent by then-Hawk GM and Coach Bob Pulford, along with Doug Gilmour, to the Sabres for Michal Grošek. Why, remains a question, as Grošek scored all of two goals for the Hawks before being shown the door.

Dumont is a good example of a hockey player hardened in the cauldron of success and failure. Going all the way to the 2006 Conference Finals only to lose to Carolina, J.P. Dumont was courted as a UFA and made his way to the Music City. With the Predators’ seemingly perpetual uphill battles, one can imagine how hungry he is for another chance to compete for the Cup.

He’s not the only Pred lusting for Stanley silver.

Though Nashville gets dissed as a hockey town by some fans and media, the city was actually a destination for an NHL franchise as far back as 1995, when New Jersey Devils owner John McMullen threatened to move the team to Tennessee. The Predators have an enthusiastic following who are proud of their club, and they seem to relish the underdog role.

Coach Barry Trotz and GM David Poile are acknowledged as two of the league’s finest executives, and have been with the organization since its debut.

Much has been written about the budget restrictions under which they operate. At just over $44 million, the Predators have the 28^th lowest payroll in the NHL.

That said, Trotz managed to take his team to a 49-win, 100-point season, so no one should be shocked if they present stiff opposition for the Blackhawks.

Interviewing WGN Radio color analyst and former Hawk great Troy Murray, I asked him how the Hawks could counter the Predators.

“Troy, you always talk about ‘keys to a game’ in your radio broadcasts. What are the ‘keys to the series’ against Nashville?”

“The Predators play a strict team game. We may see some 1-0, 2-1 contests. Skill being what it is, being able to work as hard, or harder, than they do, is going to be critical. And not creating turnovers, because Nashville knows how to take advantage of those.

“I would say the keys to the series are patience, special teams, and goaltending.

“One, be patient—let your skill make a difference. The Hawks have a higher overall skill level and higher overall scoring ability. So they have to trust that skill and ability.

“Two, special teams, as we know are always important, especially in the playoffs. The Hawks have some definite advantages there, including their ability to score in shorthanded situations.

“Three, goaltending. Rinne against Niemi is an interesting matchup, because they’re both unproven commodities. But that’s the million dollar question for a lot of teams this year.”

Link to the full article here: http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/david-morris/14338/

Watching the opening game, fans may have been frustrated by the evidence of Nashville’s use of the infamous ‘trap’, also known as the ‘neutral zone trap’ or ‘1-2-2’. Basically, with one forechecker and four men clogging the areas between the blue lines, the trap compromises the execution of the transition game by speed-oriented teams, like the Blackhawks.

Long passes are one way of breaking the trap, but with the risks involved, these require a high degree of precision. The Hawks have made the stretch pass one of their calling cards in the past two seasons, so in theory they can overcome the obstacle.

One can logically assume that the acquisition of defenseman Kim Johnsson was made in part because of Johnsson’s experience and versatility, as well as his familiarity with the ‘trap’ from being coached by one of its most successful advocates, Jacques Lemaire, during his time in Minnesota. Johnsson’s injury hurts the Hawks.

Brian Campbell’s absence is also a major factor. Campbell’s speed, passing and offense add another dimension to the Hawk attack, and makes playing the trap more difficult for opponents. 

Still, in theory, the Hawks can win.  

Of course, in the chaos of playoff hockey, theory gives way to the reality of what Hawk coach Joel Quenneville, among others, has called the ‘hard game’.

This description has been used by coaches to include a variety of aspects, including checking, puck pursuit, and presence in front of the net.

The Blackhawks have been criticized at times for playing a ‘soft’ game, relying too much on their ability to make dazzling moves when they should simplify their approach.

The Predators, from all appearances, keep things simple.

As the series unfolds, we are observing a study in contrasts as we watch the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators.

Some may cite the Hawks-North Stars matchup of 1991, but the 1967 opening round against the Toronto Maple Leafs may be a more appropriate comparison.

The 1966-67 Black Hawks were as stacked with talent, one could say more so, than the current team. Led by Bobby Hull—who potted 52 goals that year–Stan Mikita, Dennis Hull, Phil Esposito, Eric Nesterenko, Pierre Pilote, Pat Stapleton, Doug Jarrett and Glenn Hall, just to cite a few, they were first overall in the NHL. But they had the luck to draw the irascible Punch Imlach and the Leafs.

The Leafs, like the Predators, favored a hard-nosed, lunchpail style of hockey. Apart from Frank Mahovlich, whose year had been poor, Toronto had few real superstars. The work of forwards like Captain George Armstrong, Dave Keon, Ron Ellis, ‘Red’ Kelly, Bob Pulford and agitator Eddie Shack, was solid. Tim Horton, Bob Baun, and Marcel Pronovost anchored a tough, experienced blueline, and the iconic Johnny Bower held the fort in goal.

On paper, the Hawks should have thrashed the Leafs. On the ice, it was a different story with Toronto winning in six, after splitting the first games in Chicago. Despite the Hawks’ convincing 5-2 victory in Game One, the rest of series featured low scoring contests, most decided by one or two goals. Bower was brilliant, holding the Hawks to one goal in three of those games.

Can parallels be drawn?  

Should today’s Blackhawks fans reach for a sedative, and should Predators loyalists start dreaming of an upset?

It is far too early to tell.

The other side of the equation, that the Blackhawks’ multi-layered offense can eventually break the attempts to contain it, has merit.

As those who watched the Capitals-Canadiens match Saturday night April 17th, saw that when the gunslingers get loose, the party starts.

The Blackhawks have plenty of gunslingers.

So what advice will the coaching staff and the leaders in Chicago have for their team? 

The words of the eminent British statesman Edmund Burke, and paraphrased by the philosopher Santayana, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it”, might be worthy of note by these Chicago Blackhawks.

But as motivation, they might also put this quote from an old warrior on their bulletin board: “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.”  

Ulysses S. Grant never played hockey, but he knew how to win. And as ugly as he had to.

Troy Murray and Jonathan Toews: two Hawks separated by two decades, with one goal in common.

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.

Being assigned to check Wayne Gretzky as his ‘shadow’ during the epic playoff series between the Hawks and the Oilers, Troy Murray has battled the best of the best. His ability to articulate the nuances of the game make listening to his audio broadcasts an experience as vivid as any television image. His interviews with players give them a dimension as human beings that transcends the cliché.

The candor of his critiques provides for us, a vision of hockey as only a champion can see it.

Troy Murray the player was about intensity. A contemporary of equally intense players like Mark Messier, Denis Savard and Steve Yzerman, Murray evidently values the character of hockey players as much as their ability.

During our interview, he exhibited a graciousness that compliments his passion for the sport. He values the relationships he built during his playing days, and remains close to those he has known over the years. One also senses he is ready at any moment to don his armor again and resume the battle on the ice, and at 47, he appears as fit as ever.

Though clearly a loyal Blackhawk, his even-handed perspective on the team mirrors the rigor that made him a respected and valuable player. One of Murray’s recurring messages is that hard work can often trump talent. Echoing the hit Bob Seger song of his day, Troy Murray holds firm to what he thinks is right.

Born in Alberta in 1962, Troy Murray was a member of the ‘Clydesdale Line’ along with Curt Fraser and Ed Olczyk on the bruising Hawks clubs of the latter 1980’s and early 90’s. With his rugged two-way play and ardent work ethic, he became the first Blackhawk to earn the Frank Selke Trophy as best defensive forward in 1986, while still scoring 45 goals that season.

Chicago’s third-round draft pick in 1980, he had played for the Western Hockey League Lethbridge Broncos, and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. He also captained Canada’s World Junior team to its first Olympic gold medal in 1982, beating the USSR national squad in the process.

Jumping directly to the NHL from  NCAA hockey—a rare occurrence—Murray made his debut in the 1982 playoffs against the Minnesota North Stars with immediate impact, playing in Chicago from 1982 through 1991 and 1992 through 1994.

That era is often evoked as one of hockey’s toughest and most exciting. Murray was part of the century’s last wave of elite Hawks teams, replete with talent like Tony Esposito, Denis Savard, Roenick, Doug Wilson, Steve Larmer, Al Secord, Dirk Graham and Ed Belfour among others. It is an era fondly cited by those whose Hawks affiliation precedes the almost uninterrupted playoff drought from 1998 to 2008.

He won the Stanley Cup, though not as a Blackhawk but as a member of the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, having also played briefly for three other NHL teams, the Jets, Senators, and Penguins. He retired following his Cup win with the Avalanche after fifteen years and five twenty-goal seasons.

Current Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, an assistant coach with that Avalanche Cup team, remembers Murray as “A very reliable, responsible and well prepared player. Very competitive, with a sneaky shot.”

Having established his family home in the area and successful as an options trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, he was asked by the Hawks’ organization to step into the broadcast booth. Now in his ninth year, he commented the games on TV before moving over to WGN Radio where he partners the play-by-play call of John Wiedeman. A member of the Board of Directors of the Blackhawks Alumni, Murray’s personal commitment to Chicago has also manifested itself in continuing community work.

During Troy Murray’s Heritage Night at the United Center, asked to recall his most special moment as a Blackhawk, he replied, “The goal I scored in the last game of the season in overtime against Toronto (1989) to get us in the playoffs. We went on a really nice run after that and lost in the conference finals to Calgary.”

In an intermission interview with Olczyk and Pat Foley, Murray underscored his perspective on the Blackhawks then and now. “What we have here reminds me of what we had in the early nineties.”

Troy Murray has more than a few things in common with today’s Blackhawks, and this comes out in the broadcast conversations with the players. In addition, Murray shares the experience of being a Fighting Sioux and Team Canada World Junior, as well as the number 19, with another centerman who now represents the spirit of the Hawks, Jonathan Toews.

His observations, like his play blend intelligence, passion and competitive fire.

Troy, who were the players you admired, and did you try to model your own game on any of them?

“I grew up with Mark Messier, which was kind of a unique situation, as I knew him in my home town of St. Albert (where Troy and Mark played with the St. Albert Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League). I always looked up to Mark because he was a great all-round player, and thought early on, ‘Man, if I could be anything like Mark, that would be unbelievable.’

“Once I got into the NHL, I looked at a guy like Bryan Trottier, who again, was a great all-round player—a guy who had offensive skills, but also during a critical moment in a game, could be out there to protect a lead or score a goal.”

“I really learned a lot about that even before I got to the major leagues. When I was at the University Of North Dakota with (then-Championship-winning Fighting Sioux Coach, and now Executive Vice-President of the United States Hockey League) Gino Gasparini, he really stressed that you have to be able to learn to play in your own end. I realized that in order to succeed in the NHL, part of that was learning how to be accountable and be responsible inside your own zone. And I thought Bryan Trottier was amazing in that respect.”

You played a robust style of hockey, and the teams you played on featured some equally robust players.  Among those you played with and against, who stand out the most in that regard?

“When I first came up to the NHL, I got a good taste of how intense it was, because in those days, fighting and intimidation were a big part of the playoffs.

“This is not a knock on today’s players, but in those days, everybody was held accountable in those days for their actions. You had to back yourself up and show you were there to compete. It wasn’t just a few ‘tough guys’—everybody had to play that role at some point.

“On the teams we had in those days, we all kinds of players who could be physical: Al Secord, Curt Fraser, Dave Hutchinson, Doug Wilson, for example. I looked at Terry Ruskowski, who was the Captain of the Hawks when I arrived, who had a shoulder that kept popping out almost every time he stepped on the ice. But here he was, going out and mixing it up and being a leader, doing what he was supposed to. I got a real eye-opener coming out of college, seeing how intense it was, and the things you had to do to survive in the National Hockey League.

“And it’s not that way in today’s game. In those days, there was a respect among the players in a different way, in that if you did something, you knew you were going to get challenged on the ice and you had to be prepared to respond.

“From the toughness perspective, one opponent who stands out was (defenseman) Harold Snepsts of the Vancouver Canucks. He was a big guy, but he seemed even bigger because he was so mean. He was a guy who could really hit you and make you not want to be on the ice at the same time as him. (Laughs)”

How did you make the transition after hockey to a career in business, and how and why did you eventually come back into hockey in the broadcast booth?

When I was with the Avalanche in ’96 after winning the Stanley Cup, I had been in four cities in about two years—going from Chicago to Ottawa to Pittsburgh to Denver. I’d just started having a family, and it was very tough, picking up and moving to different cities while renting out our house in Chicago. So that summer, I sat back and thought about what I wanted to do, and decided that I was finished with the NHL. As it turned out, my good friend (and former Hawks teammate) Grant Mulvey was the coach, and my agent Buddy Myers part owner, of the (AHL) Chicago Wolves. They invited me to join the team for a year while I got my feet back on the ground in the city, which worked out great, because they were very accommodating on a personal level. After that, my brother-in-law who worked at the Mercantile Exchange suggested I come down to work with him, so I took my exam, and I ended up being on the trading floor for about seven years.

“Then the Hawks organization asked me to the studio segments for their television broadcasts. At those days, it was the only road games that were telecast, and that was just forty-one nights a year with no travelling as my work was done in the studio in Chicago. So that worked out for my schedule, and wasn’t a burden on my family. When Dale Tallon, who was doing the radio and television simulcast with Pat Foley, moved into the front office, I was asked to take over his spot. Eventually, the broadcast functions were split up into separate television and radio programs, so I went over to WGN Radio with John Wiedeman, and Ed Olczyk joined Pat, which is where things are now.

An aspect rarely talked about is the burden NHL players have when it comes to having a family life, and the impact of being traded, for example. Can you tell us more about that?

“Well, nobody’s going to feel sorry for a professional athlete, especially in today’s day and age, you know, because the money is incredible. So people will say, ‘For that kind of money, you do whatever you need to do’, and that’s the truth of it. But it is hard when you get traded. You get ‘the phone call’, and suddenly you’re no longer part of the organization. You can’t go down to the locker room and hang out with the teammates you’ve been close to; you’ve got to get on the plane and move on to the next city. Maybe you get a chance to come back for a few days and straighten out your financial affairs, get things into moving boxes, and so on, but if you’ve got kids in school, it’s extremely hard for them, especially to be uprooted.  Those are the things that people don’t realize, but it’s also part of what comes with being a pro athlete.”

Given the historical mystique surrounding the Blackhawks, is there a culture within the club that entails a certain kind of emotion attached to wearing the Indian head?

“There definitely is, and in my day, it was very hard core. That came from the players who had worn the jersey over the years, like the Stan Mikitas, the Bobby Hulls and so on.

“(The late) Keith Magnuson exemplified what a Blackhawk is all about. I was lucky to get to know him, because he was such a great ambassador for the Hawks. He was actually the coach of the team when I was drafted, and when he called me, I thought it was a joke for the first few minutes of the conversation, and then I said, ‘Okay, who is this?’—and he said ‘Troy, this is Keith Magnuson.’

“When Denis Savard talked about ‘Committing to the Indian’, he was talking about the pride in wearing the Indian, and being a close-knit group of guys ready to stick up for each other. If you were a rival coming into Chicago, you weren’t just going against one player—you were going against the whole tribe, so to speak. That’s really what Denis was talking about.

“There was a time after I left, and before the time when the new regime came in and turned things around here, that the pride was not there to the degree it had been. Denis saw that, and being a part of it, he knew that pride is what lives inside you. If you look at other sports, and you look at the pride of teams like the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers—those teams have an identity, and you know what that identity is. When you mention the Chicago Blackhawks, that identity is something they are now trying to re-establish.

“It’s important that the players who come into the NHL, who come in to this ‘Original Six’ franchise, understand the rich tradition rooted in the organization which is embodied in the team’s symbol.

“I think that’s what the Hawks are trying to get back to, and they’ve got a really good group of young players that have a lot of respect for the symbol, the game, the tradition and the history of the Blackhawks.

When you look at today’s Hawks team, how do they compare to the one you played for?

“It’s hard to compare. But you can look at the way the two teams were built heavily through the draft. In terms of types of players, if you look down the middle, you’ve got Jonathan Toews now, where we had Tom Lysiak. You have Patrick Kane today; we had Denis Savard. The current team has Brent Seabrook; we had Doug Wilson. Like the current team, we also had a great core of players and a great support group.

“Back in those early eighties, we were all single, and we all enjoyed our time away from the rink and knowing each other—and so, we played hard for each other. That’s another similarity I’m seeing in this young group.

“It’s always unfair to compare different eras. Some people are comparing this team to the Edmonton Oilers from the eighties, as a team built on speed and one built through the draft. And the questions arise whether you can sustain this team, given the economics of the game.

“You look at the old Oilers: they eventually had to trade Gretzky because of a business decision. With today’s reality of the salary cap system, it’s hard to keep a core group of players together, and that’s something Stan Bowman has to deal with in the coming years.

“But I see similarities in this team and our team, in terms of both having young, skilled players. Not that I want to compare Patrick Kane to Denis Savard—it’s unfair because I never played with Patrick, who is in his own way tremendous, to Denis who was an elite player in his day as well.

“The parallel though, in the bond in both this team and our team, is important. When you come to play, and you trust each other on and off the ice, that’s when you have something special. And that’s what we have here.”

When you played, your game wasn’t about your stats, but what you could do to help the team win, how you win and how you play together.  And you see that in some of the Hawks players now.

“That’s right, and it’s something that maybe isn’t taught enough to young players when they’re coming up. A player who makes it to the NHL may have been a great player in the league they came from, but when you get to the big league, it’s not about being an individual, being ‘the best player on your team and leading your team to victory’. You’re on a level playing field; and the coach now dictates that you now be part of a team rather than an individual, and you have to, as the saying goes, ‘check your ego at the door’.

“Very few individuals have been able to completely dominate the game of hockey to the point where ‘that one player can win you the Stanley Cup’.  Certainly you need those great players, but without a great team, you are not going to win.”

How has the game changed, from the way you experienced it as a player, to the way you see it now as a broadcaster?

“It’s much more of a speed game. It’s more of an open game, with the new rules they put in place. The athletes are better conditioned; they’re more aware of what they have to do on a regular basis, all season, and all year round, to make them capable of competing at the NHL level.

“When I came into the league, we did drills in the neutral zone where you clamped on to a player, and you interfered with him. With the new rules, you can’t do things like that, so the tempo has changed. Not that the players then weren’t as fast then; but the way that the game is played now, is faster. And the physical part of the game has changed, because you’re not allowed to battle in front of the net and in the corners, the way you used to.

“That physical part of the game was also part of the entertainment in those days, and it singled out those elite players who were ready to go into those heavy traffic areas from the players that did not.

“There’s no slowing players down now. You go full out for forty-five or fifty seconds, and there’s no reason for you to stop your feet moving. And there’s nobody to stop you from keeping your feet moving.

What is different in how fans watch the game, as opposed to how players observe the game on the ice; and for a player turned broadcaster like yourself, from the booth?

“The main difference from the way a fan sees the game, and the way I see it, is that I have an understanding of how fast it is, on the ice. The fan watching the game doesn’t understand how truly little time these players have to make a decision.

“For a guy like a Patrick Kane or a Wayne Gretzky, they see things at a different speed from even the best players in the NHL. When a fan says, ‘Why did he do that?’ they don’t realize that a player doesn’t have the luxury of time. There may be somebody coming up behind you at a million miles an hour ready to take your head off.

“When you’re in an arena or watching on TV, you’re thinking, ‘There’s all kinds of time and space out there’.  But actually, decisions have to be made in a split second, and sometimes they’re the wrong decisions. If you’ve played the game, you understand why that happens.”

You often use the word ‘discipline’ and its importance in hockey. What is your definition of discipline, and what how does it affect players and a team?

Discipline is really about focus. When the coach tells you ‘this is how you’re going to succeed’, you have to have the discipline to play within that structure. You may want to do something, and you may want to go ‘outside the box’ to do something on your own, but you have to have the belief in what’s going on in the structure. You have to trust the coach to give you a game plan that will be successful.

“Discipline goes into so many areas. Somebody may punch you in the face, and you want to punch him back, but still have to have the discipline to know not to take a penalty. Discipline means preparing yourself for the game—not do like we did in my day, going out at all hours of the night. Discipline means all of these things to the professional athlete, as it means specific things in the context of a particular game and the game itself.

“It extends also to areas like penalties that a team takes or doesn’t take. For so many years, the Hawks were one of the most penalized teams in the league—and it wasn’t so much the fighting. It was an undisciplined way of playing hockey. If you take a bad penalty, it costs your team.  It’s taken a while to change that mentality, and adjusting people’s thinking to be, “What do I need to do to be better and to make the group successful?” Nowadays it’s all about playing smart and playing within the system. It’s not about putting yourself and your ego ahead of the team.

Having won a Stanley Cup, and having come close a number of times, what is the most difficult thing about trying to win one?

“The one thing you take out of it, when you don’t win a Stanley Cup, is how much you had left to give; how much you didn’t give, and how close you were.

“The teams that win are the teams that understand, that though you might not be the ‘better’ team, that you were prepared to do things better than the other team. You go back to that old story of the Oilers walking past the Islanders’ locker room after they lost their first Cup Final to New York. The winners had ice bags all over them, they had black eyes, they were beat up, cut up—well, that was the mentality of the Islanders; that they knew what it took to win.

“For teams that are good teams, and get close, I hope that they realize that they’re not that far off. But they may not get another opportunity. A team that goes to the Stanley Cup Finals may not make the playoffs the next year. They may not realize how close they were to winning it. That’s a major factor in why a team wins, and why it doesn’t win a Stanley Cup.

“And guys who have been there are a factor, as they were in ’96, the year I was with Colorado and we won. I was brought in as an older experienced player to help Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. When we made the deal with the Canadiens for Patrick Roy, we brought in a guy who had a won a Stanley Cup. In that deal, we got Mike Keane, who’d been the Habs’ captain when they won the Cup. We had Claude Lemieux, who’d won a Cup. Those players kept pushing the right buttons to make sure we were on the right path as we were going through the playoffs.

“That experience is so critical to a young team, and that’s why a John Madden is so important; because he can push the right buttons. He can say, ‘Listen. We may be tired. We may think we’ve given everything we can. But there is more. There’s always more that we can give, to win the Stanley Cup.’ And that’s the difference.”

What are the challenges to the Hawks’ Cup aspirations, and what are the keys to success for them?

“You look at what happened last year, and they were close. They were close to beating Detroit, but I honestly believe the ‘mind frame’—that they could beat Detroit—was not there. The mind frame was there when they played Calgary, and I could see it; it was there against Vancouver. But I had a different feeling when I saw the Hawks and Wings play in the Conference Final.

“I think the ‘intangible’ the Hawks have now, is that they saw what Pavel Datsyuk did, they saw what Henrik Zetterberg did, how hard those guys work. They were the best players.

“I already see the difference this year, for example, in the way Patrick Kane approaches the game away from the puck. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are two of the best players offensively, but they’re also Selke Trophy finalists. That’s the mentality that Toews and Kane, and all the skill players, have to have.

“Marian Hossa, I think, has really seen, in the last couple of years, what it takes to win, and he’s seen the difference. He and John Madden are going to be part of that ‘intangible’.

“What the Hawks need to do is to continue their progress. They can’t be satisfied. If they lose their edge, and the desire to be better, then that could make the difference.

“They got Bolland back; and Burish in the lineup for the playoffs—and he was so important there. They have good depth in their top two/three lines. They’ve got good skill on the defensive side. The spotlight will be on the goaltending as they move into the playoffs.

“There are things that need to happen correctly, but as long as you understand how close you are—and I think they have a good idea.

“The Hawks knew how physical those playoff games were against Vancouver and Calgary, but that was a different kind of challenge. It was a different game against the Wings—not so much physical as it was outcompeting them and having the mind frame that you can beat the Red Wings.

“Pittsburgh had that ‘mind frame’ in the Finals against Detroit this time around. They said, ‘We’re gonna play these guys, and you know what? We’re gonna beat ‘em.’ It wasn’t easy, but they looked like they had the same mental edge that the Red Wings did, and then it almost looked like they were wearing down the Wings mentally.”

Considering the long-time rivalry between the Hawks and Wings, what did you find was special about the games and playoff series you played against them?

“Growing up watching the Original Six teams on ‘Hockey Night In Canada’, the idea of rivalry was already part of my hockey culture when I came here. The idea that you hated the Wings or you hated the Leafs, for example, or that when I played at the University of North Dakota that I was supposed to hate the University of Minnesota Gophers, and that I was supposed to hate the University of Wisconsin Badgers. And that was the way it was.

“When I first came up to the NHL, while I knew the rivalry between Chicago and Detroit went back to the early days of the league, at that particular time, the Wings weren’t very good. That is, until a guy named Steve Yzerman came along and revitalized them. The Wings drafted well, and they built the team around him, and suddenly this was a great rivalry once again.

“The wars we had with the Red Wings in their heyday, with players like Bob Probert and Joey Kocur, they were incredible. You were getting ready to play those games a week ahead of time. Even though you had games in between, you knew what was coming up against the Red Wings.

“Later, when the Hawks were in a decline, the Colorado Avalanche replaced them in that rivalry with Detroit. But when you see the resurgence of the Blackhawks and what Rocky Wirtz has done, as well as John McDonough and Jay Blunk, what they’ve done to revive it is nothing short of fantastic. The Hawks-Wings rivalry is back, and it’s alive.

“You saw the results of that last year, when the people started talking about the Blackhawks as a threat to the Wings. The Winter Classic last year was a measuring stick, in that they were still not ready to knock off the Red Wings and showed the Hawks still had steps left to take before they could dethrone Detroit.

To your point that championships are won not only on skill, but on ‘intangibles’: do today’s Blackhawks have the ‘intangibles’ that can help them become Chicago’s first Stanley Cup Champions since 1961?

“I think they do. And I think that if Stan Bowman doesn’t believe that they do at the season’s end, then they will acquire those ‘intangibles’.

“If you look at the intangibles on the upper end as part of the skill, the Blackhawks have that. One of the intangibles that is underrated right now, is John Madden. He’s an intangible that filters into the locker room.

“I think it’s important that Ben Eager came back into the lineup. Adam Burish is an intangible that the Hawks would have loved to have throughout the whole season. They were part of what was so successful on the Blackhawks’ fourth line last year: it wasn’t any one thing, like scoring or any one thing; it was an intangible in what they brought every game. Dustin Byfuglien is an intangible, because he’s a unique player.

“There are so many things that need to happen right. Do I think the Blackhawks have all the ingredients through the line? Yes, I do. I think the potential is there.

“And the most important thing is that the people who have those intangibles, play to their potential.”

“There’s another intangible that the Blackhawks are learning. You remember the comeback game against the Flames (where the Hawks rallied from a 5-0 deficit in October 13, 2009 to win 6-5—Ed.). Who started that comeback? John Madden with his critical goal. That’s an intangible. John Madden doesn’t know when to quit.

“The Blackhawks believe in themselves. They have the belief at any point in a hockey game that they’re still in it, no matter how many goals they’re down. That’s a belief in the locker room, and that’s something you didn’t see a couple years ago—in the players, in the product, in the personnel.

“Part of that comes from Jonathan Toews. He’s a winner. He does not want to be a ‘second place person’—he wants to be a ‘first place person’. That’s part of why they made him the captain even at such a young age. Because he’s a winner. And everyone feeds off that.

“Has he won everything yet? No. But everyone understands what Jonathan Toews is all about. He walks into that locker room, and he doesn’t have to say anything. He’s won at every level, and that’s why he’s the young captain of this team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup.”

“Another intangible this team has now, partly thanks to Jonathan Toews and veterans like John Madden, is leadership. Leadership is not just something you’re born with. It’s something you learn from others who have experience as leaders. That’s something that is being established in the Hawks’ locker room, a core group of leaders, who can learn and pass along what they learn to the others.

“Detroit is a great example. You see the results of their leadership and their hard work. There’s no denying they want to be best.

“The Blackhawks have seen that, and they know that you can have talented players, but in the end, it’s about so much more. And they now understand what that is.”

Looking ahead to the Blackhawks-Predators matchup in the first round…there’s a lot of talk about possible upsets by ‘underdogs’ in this year’s playoffs. Do you see any parallels between this series and ones you experienced, specifically the one against the North Stars (who were considered underdogs by virtue of 38-point regular season gap, but defeated the Hawks in six games) in 1991?

“I’m not sure there’s a parallel. If I remember correctly, the North Stars scored a ton of power play goals in that series; in fact they may have set a record at the time.

“There are some parallels between this year’s team and the 1991 Hawks, in that this team, like that one, was built through the draft. There are some parallels between this year’s team and the 1991 Hawks, in that this team, like that one, was built through the draft. And like this team with Toews and Kane, for example, we had a strong young core group, in our case, with Savard and Roenick.

“As far as being an underdog is concerned, the Hawks were in that position last year. Calgary and Vancouver were favored, and yet the Blackhawks managed to get past them. So they understand what being an underdog means.

“One of the things you do have watch for as a favorite, against an underdog team, is getting frustrated.

“In that series against the North Stars, they were the initiators, and we took a lot of penalties, which hurt us. As a result, we got away from our team concept, and it was individuals trying to make up the difference.”

What about the physical aspect? The Hawks-North Stars battles were intensely physical, and the Preds have some guys who can bring it, like Weber, Suter and Bouillon.

“Last year, the Hawks faced some pretty physical teams in the Flames and Canucks, and they were successful. What they’re facing this year is no bigger.

“The mindset they have, and the one they have to have, is that they have to go to the front of the net. That’s where most of the goals are scored in playoff games.

“When the Hawks did that, they had success: we saw, for example, how they frustrated Roberto Luongo in that series. So that’s what they have to do again, and consistently, this year.”

You always talk about ‘keys to a game’ in your radio broadcasts. What are the ‘keys to the series’ against Nashville?

“The Predators play a strict team game. We may see some 1-0, 2-1 contests. Skill being what it is, being able to work as hard, or harder, than they do, is going to be critical. And not creating turnovers, because Nashville knows how to take advantage of those.

“I would say the keys to the series are patience, special teams, and goaltending.

“One, be patient—let your skill make a difference. The Hawks have a higher overall skill level and higher overall scoring ability. So they have to trust that skill and ability.

“Two, special teams, as we know are always important, especially in the playoffs. The Hawks have some definite advantages there, including their ability to score in shorthanded situations.

“Three, goaltending. Rinne against Niemi is an interesting matchup, because they’re both unproven commodities. But that’s the million dollar question for a lot of teams this year.”

What are your thoughts on other playoff matchups in the West?

“Phoenix and Detroit are pretty interesting. I went to school at the University Of North Dakota with (Coyotes Coach) Dave Tippett. And he’s always had a knack for being successful. So it’ll be fun to watch.”

As Troy Murray stepped to center ice on his Heritage Night, dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff taken by Jonathan Toews, and shook Toews’ hand, it was the passing of the torch between brothers in a warrior tribe.

The hockey world watches the rise of the Blackhawks, some with excitement, others with skepticism.

Troy Murray watches them—like a hawk. The metaphor is truly apt, for he holds them to the lofty standards he set for himself.

Antti Niemi: does he follow in the footsteps of great Hawks goalies? (photo: David Arrigo)

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.”

A few nights later, as the Blackhawks made short work of the Stars in Dallas in a 5-2 victory, the local Fox Sports television crew remarked, “Niemi doesn’t say much, and he won’t win any points for style. But he is effective.”

Stars TV analyst Daryl Reaugh, who played in Edmonton and Hartford, covers the NHL for Versus, ABC, ESPN and Fox. He noted that Niemi grew up in the same Finnish town, Vantaa, as current Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen. “Kari said that Antti’s a fighter. He battled to work his way up to the top leagues in Finland, and he battled to get himself to the NHL.”

A number of hockey observers have noted that there seems to be a factory in Finland where they produce goalies. An overview of the talent currently populating the league reveals an impressive roll call.

Miikka Kiprusoff, Niklas Backstrom, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Kari Lehtonen, Antero Niittymaki, and Niemi are all starters for their respective clubs—that’s almost a quarter of the NHL’s number one netminders.

Writing for NHL.com, Finnish hockey journalist Risto Pakarinen offered this view: “Finnish goalies have always been great. As far as I can remember, goalie has always been the most important player on Team Finland. And even longer than that. In 1967, Finland beat Czechoslovakia for the first time in the World Championships, and the hero of the game was goalie Urpo Ylonen. Finland won the game, 3-1. It was the first time Finland beat any of the “big nations.”

Pakarinen goes on to say how Ylonen became one of Finland’s top goalie coaches, and he adds that there may be something about Finns that makes them suited to play the position.

“Finland has always had great goalies, and probably always will. Being goalie suits Finns well. Infamous for being quiet, stoic, and not very social, it’s like Finns were born goalies. What better position for a Finn than goalie, where he can stand alone in front of the net, covered by a mask, and fight alone against the world? Yes, the pucks hurt, but so what? It only makes the Finns grit their teeth and say: Bring it on. Bring. It. On. You say that goalies are a little crazy? Well, Finns are born a little crazy!”

“Oh. Jani Hurme, Miikka Kiprusoff, Antero Niittymaki, Fredrik Norrena have one thing in common, though. They’ve all been coached by Urpo Ylonen.”

What does this tell us about Antti Niemi, the 26-year old rookie who has seemingly come from nowhere and stolen Cristobal Huet’s job right out from under him and his 5.625 million dollar contract?

What is it about Niemi that has earned him the affection of the Blackhawk fan base?

Most important, does Niemi have the skill and character to become the first goalie since Glenn Hall to backstop the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup?

When Niemi was awarded the first star in the Blackhawks’ shutout win over the Coyotes at the United Center on March 23rd, he stood in the spotlight as the full house roared and Hawks TV reporter Sara Kustok held up her microphone. Niemi’s responses were as understated as his style is unconventional. “It’s good to get a shutout, because nobody gets those too often.” That one being his sixth of the year, he simply went out and got another one in Minnesota a week later.

The last time a Blackhawks goaltender thrilled the fans with this many shutouts, a young man named Ed Belfour was guarding the gate. Before Niemi, only Eddie The Eagle, Tony Esposito and Glenn Hall have posted seven or more goose eggs in the regular season. That Niemi has played less than forty games this year makes his accomplishment even more worthy.

His unpredictable approach has earned him a variety of nicknames, including ‘Tush Save Specialist’ (for his ability to stop pucks with his derriere flush to the ice). But he seems impervious to the praise. He has even admitted to the nervousness that goes with being the last line of defense. Conversely, after letting in a bad goal, he does not appear to stay rattled for long.

Some of his moves are decidedly quirky, such as a boxer’s stance he took in a recent game as he challenged a shooter on a breakaway. His glove hand has been questioned by observers such as ex-Hawk goalie and current TSN and Blues TV commentator Darren Pang; by the same token, some of the grabs Niemi has made when he flashes the leather have left jaws dropping.

Perhaps one of the reasons Niemi has captivated the Hawk fan base is because he reminds some of another unconventional goalie who once wore the Indian Head. Dominik Hasek’s career in Chicago was brief, but he managed to bring the home crowd to their feet more than once with his Gumby impressions.

Niemi resembles more a stocky construction worker than a blue chip athlete. His blonde hair is just wisps surrounding a round face that might be better suited to a couch potato. But this lack of glamour only makes him more appealing to the blue-collar fan.

His even tempered unpretentiousness has also endeared him to his teammates. When Brent Seabrook went out and bought a wrestling championship belt and designated it as the team award for the ‘Hawk of the Game’, Niemi—now christened ‘Nemo’ by his mates—was the first recipient.

It is evident that Antti Niemi has that quality that is both difficult to define, and fleeting: the ability to make the timely save that, in the common parlance, “gives his team a chance to win”.

The confidence it engenders is, at best, temporary. The hope in Chicago is that the time is now.

Being second in the NHL in goals against average right behind countryman Tuukka Rask, and having a winning percentage among the best in the league, the question looming, looms larger and larger.

Can Niemi carry the load for as much as another two months as the pressure increases exponentially?

Unlike Detroit’s Jimmy Howard, Niemi has not been groomed carefully in the minors, learning every aspect of ‘the system’, with occasional auditions to test his level of readiness.

He got thrown into the fire after Cristobal Huet got torched by the Calgary Flames for three goals in sixty seconds in the first period of an October 12th home game that looked like a downer for the UC faithful. Though he allowed two more, Niemi locked it down and made a stunning breakaway save that gave the Hawks the momentum to turn the tide and register the biggest comeback in franchise history with six consecutive tallies on their way to a 6-5 win.

Some might say that Huet lost the Number One job in Chicago—again—that night.

There has been some speculation about Niemi being favored from the outset. Scotty Bowman was reported to have spoken very highly of the Finn before he had played a single game in the NHL. If the opinions of several Chicago writers and bloggers were to be believed, one could assume Cristobal Huet was on the trading block almost as soon as Niemi’s services were secured. Conspiracy theorists might extrapolate events to suggest that Niemi’s emergence was leveraged to oust Dale Tallon and install Stan and Scotty Bowman as the head honchos at Hawkey Central.

Whatever the truth might be in the murk of pro sports front office politics, the facts are frozen in the framework of the upcoming Quest For the Grail.

Chicago is heading into the postseason with an unknown quantity in net, and history dictates that the odds are long. Since 1971, Cam Ward, Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden are the only goalies to capture the ultimate prize in their rookie years.

Tony Esposito came close. In his rookie season, he racked up 15 shutouts and took the Hawks to the semi-finals. The next year, he took them all the way to Game Seven of a devastating Finals defeat against the mighty Canadiens.

History is not kind.

Nevertheless, the Blackhawks have put their eggs in Antti Niemi’s basket. And hockey fans are on the verge of seeing if The Nieminator can whip up a Stanley Cup Soufflé.

The Blackhawks can't be sure who their initial playoff opponent will be.

Counting down to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Chicago Blackhawks 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?

Having clinched a berth in consecutive years for the first time since 1997, and likely to win their first Division title since 1993, perhaps even their first Conference title since 1973, the Hawks and their followers should feel pretty good about themselves.

Right?

Judging by the tone of the Hawkey media and the blogosphere, Blackhawk Nation feels anything but ecstatic. Writers and fans spin scenarios drenched with doubt. Even those who say ‘bring it on’, like the iconoclast Mike Kiley of Blackhawks Confidential at the Chicago Tribune, have a hint of fatalism in their swagger.

The Hawks players themselves reflect the muddled atmosphere and sentiment surrounding the team.

As Patrick Sharp expressed a few days ago, with his usual elegance: “It’s always nice to feel like you’re going to postseason play, but we have to find our game pretty quickly. We can’t go into postseason playing like that.”

Adam Burish was more direct after the Columbus loss: “There were some Chicago fans behind our bench who were screaming at us saying, ‘You guys stink.’ When you hear your own fans saying that, it’s embarrassing. You don’t feel good about it.”

The situation overview does not promote optimism.

The defense corps is truncated, with Campbell gone possibly for the duration; Johnsson out for an undetermined period; Sopel suffering through innumerable contusions; and Seabrook coming back after his second concussion of the year. That said, Dustin Byfuglien, Jordan Hendry and Nick Boynton deserve credit for their work so far.

The forwards waver between hermetic/opportunistic two-way play (as in their recent wins over LA and Phoenix) and every man for himself (as in the humiliation in Columbus).

The goaltending controversy appears to have been settled by default. Antti ‘Nemo’ Niemi has been anointed, the first recipient of the impromptu ‘Hawk of the game’ award: a wrestling championship belt bought by Brent Seabrook.

The award may appear only occasionally if the recent trend continues. As of this writing, the Blackhawks are on track to go .500 in their last nine games.

Will they make it past Round One? The possibilities are varied.

Rather than attempt to make statistical comparisons, these snapshots focus on the aspects that could be determining, or so-called ‘series changing’, factors.

The playoffs have been described by Denis Savard, as being where “the best players cancel each other out; so your supporting cast has to make the difference.” The basic assumption here is that Savard is correct.

The following scenarios are ‘best guesses’, based on watching all the teams below on a regular basis.

Their play in the last few weeks of the season, however, can be a critical indicator: last year, all the first round winners, except for Detroit, won at least 6 of their last ten games.

HAWKS VS. DETROIT
The Hawks lead the season series, but the Wings are back and rolling along. The finale will give us a more precise picture of where these rivals are at.

Forwards: Chicago’s Top 6 (Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Bolland, Brouwer) match up well against the Wings (Franzen, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Filppula). Versteeg, Madden and Ladd may be as good as Cleary, Helm and Williams. How effective are Eager, Kopecky and Burish or Fraser as opposed to Draper, Miller, Abdelkader and Eaves? Does Brad May become a factor? Which of Bickell, Beach, Aliu and Dowell does Chicago call up? Do the Wings, as usual, have a young surprise in waiting?

Defense: Keith/Seabrook, Byfuglien/Hjalmarsson, Boynton/Hendry versus Lidstrom/Rafalski, Kronwall/Stuart, Lilja/Ericsson. Lebda, Meech and the very nasty Tollefsen are in reserve. The Hawks have to hope Johnsson comes back, and Sopel heals up; there isn’t much in the pipeline. Will we see young puck mover Shawn Lalonde as the Campbell substitute he is reportedly being groomed to be?

Goaltending: Niemi versus Howard. Never a dull moment.

Competitive Edge: Wings’ experience, their team discipline, and their healthy roster. If they split the opening games with the Hawks, watch out.

Keys to the series: Does Hossa trump Franzen? Does Lidstrom counter Kane?

Probable result: Wings in six.

HAWKS VS. NASHVILLE
The Predators have given Chicago trouble all year. Even if the Hawks have won more games, they’ve been by the narrowest of scores. Barry Trotz’s guys play a suffocating style, and against the Hawks, it works.

Forwards: Check, check and more check. The Preds’ relentless pressure creates turnovers. Hornqvist, Erat, Arnott, Dumont, Sullivan, Legwand, Tootoo and Ward may not dazzle, but they know how to hurt the Hawks on the scoresheet with timely, if infrequent, goals.

Defense: Weber and Suter are arguably the antidote to Keith and Seabrook. Hamhuis, Klein, Bouillon, Franson and Grebeshkov may not be fantasy hockey picks, but they follow the Nashville pattern of defensive reliability; Weber and Grebeshkov have PP cannons.

Goaltending: Finland versus Finland. Take your pick of Pekka and Antti.

Competitive Edge: Nashville’s persistence and special teams allow them to steal a game in Chicago.

Keys to the series: Does Weber counter Kane? Can the Hawks beat the Preds at their own game?

Probable result: Predators in seven.

HAWKS VS. COLORADO
Craig Anderson and the young Avalanche have also proven to be difficult foes for the Blackhawks. Again, Hawks lead the season series by virtue of shootout wins. Though Milan Hejduk and Adam Foote lived the glory days in Colorado, this is uncharted waters for most of the men from Denver. 

Forwards: Chicago’s depth and experience may be too much for the Avs’ speedy talent. Duchene, Stastny, Mueller, Galiardi and O’Reilly are exciting, but Toews, Hossa, Kane, Sharp and Brouwer have the edge.

Defense: Even with the injuries to the Hawk blueline, Chicago hangs in. The Avalanche play a system game but don’t have the standout players that make the difference.

Goaltending: Ex-Hawk Anderson has something to prove. He’s carried the Avs, but he’s played so many games and stopped so many pucks the cracks may begin to show.

Competitive Edge: Chicago’s firepower, depth and experience.

Key to the series: Is Anderson vulnerable?

Probable result: Hawks in six.  

HAWKS VS. LOS ANGELES
This year, Chicago has beaten LA both at home and on the road. The Kings are a rising tide; similar to where the Hawks were a year ago. The question is how the team responds to being in the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Forwards: Kopitar, Brown, Frolov, Justin Williams, ex-Hawk Michal Handzuš and the evergreen Ryan Smyth make for a strong front line; but probably not strong enough against Chicago. 

Defense: Behind the ultra-talented Drew Doughty, the Kings’ blueline is effective. They haven’t shown so far this season, however, that they can bottle up the Blackhawks’ multi-layered attack.

Goaltending: Jonathan Quick is impressive. How does he hold up in the post season?

Competitive Edge: Again, Hawks’ depth and experience; plus the ability to win decisively in LA.

Key to the series: How physical will the Kings be?

Probable result: Hawks in six. 

Summary:

The Red Wings and the Predators appear to have the best chance of beating the Blackhawks in Round One.

But will they even meet in the quarterfinals? The playoff picture is far from clear, as positions are not settled, and may not be until the last day of the season.

We have seen this year that there is no clear favorite in the West.

Every team has at least one evident weakness that can be exploited. Whether citing Jimmy Howard’s playoff inexperience, Nashville’s lack of scoring punch, Colorado’s reliance on Craig Anderson, or the Kings’ presumed nervousness—along with a variety of supposed reasons why the Blackhawks will sink or swim—the x-factors make it tough for the forecasters looking at Chicago.

No one can say, with certainty, who will win Round One in the Western Conference. The unexpected is to be expected. Last year, the top seeds in East and West were toppled by the eighth.

As of today, Vegas odds makers still had the Blackhawks as a 4-1 Stanley Cup favorite—along with the Washington Capitals.

Stay tuned.

Stan Mikita makes sure he has the sharpest edge. Do today's Blackhawks have his championship spirit? (Photo: Time-Life, 1963)

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?

“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp; or what’s a heaven for?” wrote Robert Browning. Hockey experts and enthusiasts may not quote poetry as often as they quote statistics, and those who cite facts and figures will insist the Blackhawks are a team with more questions than answers.

Their 4-4-2 record in their last ten contests, however, reassures no one.

With ten games to go after their home ice rematch with the Phoenix Coyotes Tuesday, March 23rd, the Hawks are less than the picture of health. Three of their top defensemen have been lost to them in little more than a week. Even worse, Brian Campbell, Brent Seabrook and Kim Johnsson are out just when the Blackhawks need to be tightening up evident, and persistent, flaws in their defensive game.

As the mainstream media fulminated, some of the prominent players in the Hawkey blogosphere convened to commiserate over recent events, particularly the Hawks’ propensity to lose after giving up leads with as little as seconds to go.

Sam Fels, whose Second City Hockey website and newsletter ‘The Committed Indian’ have earned him pedigree among Hawkophiles, offered his view when presented with the question, “Does Saturday’s 3rd period collapse portend to a defensive frailty, or was it more the result of having 3 d-men on the shelf?”

“In my mind, it’s the latter,” Fels replied. “Though none of the goals can be specifically attributed to one of the fill-in d-men, having Johnsson, Seabrook, and Campbell in the lineup would have resulted in more and better possession for the Hawks. In turn, the Coyotes would have created less with limited possession. Obviously, Campbell won’t be back for a while and they’ll need to get used to that, but missing both Seabrook and Johnsson creates a vacuum which just can’t be filled right now. While one superior effort in LA gave us all hope, that sort of outing is hard to replicate with spare parts and against a (shockingly) far superior team. I for one am not worried.”
http://www.secondcityhockey.com/2010/3/22/1384867/hawks-blog-round-table

Having to manage until further notice with a blueline corps that consists of Keith, Sopel, Hjalmarsson, a re-converted Byfuglien, and reservists Boynton and Hendry, the final ten games of the season suddenly look less like a tune-up than an episode of The Weakest Link.

The deeper question addresses the collective psyche of the team. Are they tough enough from an emotional perspective to overcome the absence of key personnel?

Adam Burish’s comment before the fateful loss in Anaheim was ominous: “The last seven or eight games are the most important games of the year if you’re going to make playoffs because that sets the tone of what you’re going to do. If the playoffs were tomorrow, I wouldn’t feel real good about where we’re at right now.”

The issue that has provoked the most passionate debate, is that of physical toughness.

While the Cup winning team of 1961 had the fists of Reggie Fleming and rugged veterans like Elmer Vasko, Jack Evans and Dollard St Laurent to back up the finesse of stars like Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Ken Wharram, Pierre Pilote and Bill Hay, the current team is still suspect as to its robustness, in the minds of some fans and writers.

Wistfulness drips from the words of Hawk fans who list the names Manson, Probert, and Grimson, and turns to truculence in online keyboard wars.

For students of Hawk history, the thrashing of Eric Nesterenko by John Ferguson and the stifling of Bobby Hull by Claude Provost in the 1965 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens, remain painful evidence that intimidation and flypaper-tight checking can dash the dreams of skilled Hawk teams. “Hockey Chronicle”, the encyclopedic volume by Morgan Hughes, Stan and Shirley Fischler, Joseph Romain and James Duplacey, serves as reference.

Bob Verdi, the Hawks’ official archivist, paints a portrait of Chicago’s peaks and valleys that is full of color, triumph and pathos. ‘The One That Got Away’ , which details the 1971 Finals grudge matches against Montreal, is perhaps the most heartbreaking chapter in his luxurious “Chicago Blackhawks: Seventy Five Years” published to commemorate that anniversary.

The first round dismantling of the Hawk machine by the scrappy Minnesota North Stars, who finished 38 points behind them in 1991, is another reminder of the failures of the Indian Head that have marked the past half-century.

Fortitude is a quality often cited by Blackhawks loyalists. They point to the heroes and heroism of Hawks squads of the past. The faith they invest in those selected to keep hope alive, is forged in the cauldron of the longest quest to recapture the Stanley Cup by any NHL team.

Those who maintain this year’s Blackhawks are the best since 1961, insist that fortitude, born of this conglomeration of faith, will get them to the top of the mountain. Their voices propose, in various degrees of insight and vehemence, that the Hawks will find a way.

The shadow of the salary cap, and the doomsday effect already guaranteed by the soothsayers, adds urgency to their exhortation.

For these hard core fans—and perhaps, for the Hawks brain trust, though they couch their statements in corporate calm— the time to win is now.

One solution that has been suggested is bringing up talent from the AHL pipeline at Rockford, or even further downstream.

Hawks blog “The Fifth Feather” examines the assets available to the Blackhawks, and considers if the infusion of some of their new blood might be appropriate. The blog’s latest farm report provides further detail on prospects like defenseman Shawn Lalonde, agitating forward Kyle Beach, and bruising 4th-liner Rob Klinkhammer among others. Link here:
http://fifthfeather.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/you-live-on-a-farm/

Should the Hawks count on call-ups? One can point to the successful emergence of Red Wing hopefuls like Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader in recent playoff years. Closer to home, the impact of Troy Murray, as a Hawk fresh out of college ranks in the 1982 postseason, and Jeremy Roenick in 1989, support arguments to be made for throwing the young and the fearless into the fire.

What is certain is that the Blackhawks will have to find a new balance.

Their sizzle has been subordinated to the crisis post-Campbell; their steadiness sabotaged by another Seabrook concussion. Without the quiet efficiency and experience of Kim Johnsson, whose ‘upper body’ ailment remained unknown at time of writing, it could be said the Hawk defense has holes big enough to drive a Peterbilt through without scraping the mirrors.

Monday’s Chicago press reports Joel Quenneville has been doing his utmost to impart his know-how earned from his own battles on the blueline to his troubled troops. Not only did he reportedly rip his charges a new one, he laid down the law in his statements to the media.

“It’s defensive zone coverage, we’ve got to be better. That’s how you win. You win in this league by playing defense. We know we’re going to score goals. We know we can play offensively, but that’s a commitment. It’s a group of five that are on the ice.”

The contrition of the players confirmed the concerns of their coach, with Duncan Keith using the word ‘embarrassing’ to sum up his mates’ latest efforts.

If the courage of the collective paid off with a shutout victory in Los Angeles, the elements that gave the coaching staff and fans reasons to be cheerful seemed to evaporate when the Hawks frittered away not one, but two, two-goal leads in Glendale.

Consensus on the depth of Chicago’s talent being what it is, character is the determining factor in the championship aspirations of any team. ‘Inconsistency’ is the word that is used as the whip to flog those who fail in the clutch.

Do the Blackhawks need to feel the sting of failure in order to rise to the occasion?

The possibilities of Chicago’s playoff matchups are already being imagined. Even if the odds-makers haven’t passed judgment, the pundits are proclaiming a cloud of doubt in the forecast.

The mantra of defensive responsibility is adhered to by several of the Hawks’ potential playoff foes.

At the moment, the Red Wings, the Coyotes, and arguably the Canucks, embody the value of the saying ‘strong play on both sides of the puck’.

Detroit, on the upswing since the Olympic break, and their fierce fan base, are probably licking their chops at the prospect of meeting Chicago in Round One; though their rise may preclude an early matchup.

The Coyotes’ unforeseen challenge for Best in the West is putting a wrench into the previously presumed playoff brackets.

The Canucks would like nothing better than to avenge last spring’s defeat, and no one more than Roberto Luongo, who is apparently, still smarting from his playoff dive bombing by the Blackhawks.

At a glance, the standings are shaping up with some shuffling in store. Based on the trend established in the ten or so games since the Olympic break, and if the same pace is maintained in the Western race, the order of finish could be as follows:

Phoenix 111
Chicago 108
Vancouver 106
San Jose 104
Nashville 101
Detroit 99
Colorado 98
Los Angeles 97

If they can play .500 hockey and if they maintain their Division lead, the Hawks would fall no further than third in the Conference. Unless, that is, The Hockey Fates unleash their ultimate cruelty.

As long as missing the playoffs is not a mathematical impossibility, the chronicles of past collapses serve as a caution to the complacent.

The Chicago Blackhawks should know by now they can’t afford an ounce of complacency.

Bobby Hull embodied an era when the Hawks fought as well as they played. (photo Sports Illustrated February 1964)

“I like to believe that my best hits border on felonious assault.”
–former Oakland Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum

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?

The irony of last night’s events cannot be more obvious. Former Hawk James Wisniewski, shipped to Anaheim last spring by his former GM Dale Tallon, crushed Seabrook into the end boards and out of the game, minutes after the two were seen chatting during a scrum. Add to the irony that ‘Wiz’, once a popular player in Chicago, was apparently sought by Stan Bowman at the trade deadline this year. Top off the irony with Nick Boynton, acquired from the Ducks as a consolation deal of sorts, who takes on Wisniewski at the end of the game as an attempt at payback.

Like it or not, Wisniewski was doing his job. One can call it dirty, or one can call it all in a day’s work.

Hawk coach Joel Quenneville, a tough player in his day, didn’t spare the condemnation. “You hit a guy without the puck, you can kill a guy. It’s the most dangerous hit in the history of the game. And he tried to hurt him.”

On the other side of the puck, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, another tough former d-man, praised Wisniewski. “He was probably the first star in our mind, as far as involvement in the game. It was probably the best game he’s played as a Duck.”

In the context of professional hockey as an intrinsically dangerous game, both men are right.

The Conn Smythe maxim, “If you can’t beat ‘em in the alley, you won’t beat ‘em on the ice” still rules the rink.

There has been much debate among Chicago writers and Hawk fans this year over the need for an ‘enforcer’. The camp ‘against’, argues that skilled teams like the Blackhawks don’t need a policeman; the other side contends that a deterrent is an essential component of a championship team.

The ‘hawks’ point to the success of the 1961 Champions, and the ‘Big Bad Black Hawks’ of Bobby Hull’s day, as well as the muscular teams that came tantalizingly close to the Cup in the 80’s and early ‘90s.

Close, but not close enough.

The Detroit Red Wings are usually cited as the model by the ‘doves’ in this debate. But history, recent and otherwise, contradicts them.

Scotty Bowman had pugilists like Bob Probert, Stu Grimson (both also Hawks), Joey Kocur and Darren McCarty to protect his Wings squads. Bowman knew the value of ‘policemen’ from his days in Montreal: John Ferguson, Pierre Bouchard and Yvon Lambert all brought varying degrees of counterpunching that compensated for their own lack of finesse, and were ‘on-ice insurance’ for the players who had it.

Even the modern version of the Red Wings sports an intimidator in the form of Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall’s bone-jarring and psyche-shattering impacts—like the one on Martin Havlat—in true Scott Stevens tradition, changed the course of the Western Conference Final last year.

The Blackhawks once had antidotes to intimidators. The names Fleming, Grimson and Probert are usually evoked. They did what they were paid to do.

When Alex Ovechkin hunted down Brian Campbell and eliminated him for the rest of the season and most of the playoffs, he was also doing what he is paid to do.

Ovechkin’s thuggery, combined with his exceptional hockey skill, make him the highest paid player in the sport.

Call it ‘The Tatum Factor’.

Even after his hit paralyzed Darryl Stingley, Tatum never apologized. “It could have happened to anybody,” he is quoted. “People are always saying, ‘He didn’t apologize.’ I don’t think I did anything wrong that I need to apologize for. It was a clean hit.”

Like Jack Tatum, Ovechkin has no regrets for the consequences of his aggression. Nor did James Wisniewski, according to his post game statement. “It was a clean hit,” he said. Video link here:
http://ducks.freedomblogging.com/2010/03/17/video-wisniewski-reacts-to-hit/32319/

And would Hawk fans complain if Wiz was still delivering his message in support of Chicago’s Cup ambitions?

Regarding the Ovechkin hit, the Chicago Daily Herald’s Barry Imrem spelled out his take on the controversy. He concluded that turnabout is fair play. Link here:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=366210

Some commentators like to fantasize about seeing NHL hockey become as ‘clean’ as the recent Olympic display. They like to talk about honor and respect among players.

Former Montreal Canadien and Hall of Famer Dickie Moore exploded that myth yesterday during an afternoon interview on Montreal’s Team 990 radio. “Respect? We never respected the opposition. You can’t show them respect if you want to beat them. And what are you playing the game for, if it’s not to win, and to do whatever it takes to win?”

Moore played on teams overflowing with skill. He also played during an era where scores were settled between the players; if not at the moment of the perceived injustice, then at the ‘appropriate’ time. Moore recalled how Gordie Howe told him he once waited two years to deliver his own kind of payback to an offender.

Former Blackhawk Troy Murray, who now does the color commentary for Hawks gamecasts on WGN Radio, was audibly consumed with rage as he watched the contest last night. In a recent interview, he spoke about how players during his years in the league “were held accountable for their actions”.

While the Hawks have a number of players who can be physical, there really is no one who can handle the job of ‘accountant’. Ben Eager, who has previously held that post, has not been effective since his concussion and post concussion symptoms kept him out of the lineup for an extended period.

As hockey fans know, the nasty factor ramps up along with the scraps for points and playoff spots. The playoffs promise more intimidation. And time is short for the Blackhawks to adjust.

So what happens now?

The Blackhawks, already missing two top defensemen in Campbell and recent acquisition Kim Johnsson (out with the euphemistic ‘upper body injury’), may now find themselves without another key player. Details on Seabrook’s condition were not available at the time of writing, but it appeared a concussion was the result of the Wisniewski hit.

Suddenly, the departures of Wisniewski, and the pugnacious Matt Walker, seem much more significant.

Stan Bowman, adhering to the idea that a team can never be too deep on defense, made two moves around the March deadline to pre-empt the current losses. Those moves are already proving to be wise.

But there may be a few observers asking if a policeman shouldn’t have been on his shopping list—and still should be.

Brian Campbell: does his loss scuttle the Hawks' Cup Dream? (photo: Chicago Blackhawks)

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.

Understandably so.

Campbell has been, along with Duncan Keith, the Hawks’ best defenseman this year. He averages the third highest ice time, is the team’s sixth leading scorer, and his plus-18 rating reflects his critical role.

In his postgame presser, Coach Quenneville said Campbell would miss at least three games—perhaps more; ESPN Chicago confirmed the full extent of the defenseman’s season-ending injuries that evening. Link to article here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/news/story?id=4994950

With Kim Johnsson, who has proven to be highly efficient ( a plus 7 in his first eight games) since his acquisition, also missing due to injury from the lineup on Sunday, the Blackhawks were suddenly hobbled on the blueline. The Capitals, even with their captain serving a game misconduct for his hit on Campbell, have the most deadly offense in the NHL. The resulting three-goal comeback and overtime loss may have been inevitable.

Looking ahead as the regular season hurtles to a close, Chicago fans have a right to be worried.

The concerns over the goaltending were mitigated by strong performances from Antti Niemi and Cristobal Huet in the back-to-back weekend matchups against the Flyers and Capitals; but nervousness on that front characterizes the media and fan commentary out of Chicago.

It is said that a hockey team can never be too deep on defense, especially in the playoffs, when the level of violence and desperation reach their peak. The willingness of players to push themselves even when suffering from severe ailments is fodder for hockey lore.

On the other hand, the increasingly minute increments of competitive advantage can be skewed by injuries that limit the ability of key performers.

In the mean marathon of the 82-game grind, fatigue also becomes a factor, though that aspect is more difficult to measure. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have logged the most minutes among the Hawks, and they had no break during the Olympics, Keith even becoming a top 4 man for Team Canada.

Having Johnsson allowed Quenneville to manage his top pair’s time; losing him short-term, and Campbell for an as-yet undetermined time, creates a crisis.

The Hawks have to hope they can carry on without Campbell, and recover their composure for their Stanley Cup drive. Even though they face some difficult opponents in their last fourteen games, just maintaining a .500 pace should still see them win the Central Division and secure a home ice seed.

If the playoffs were to start tomorrow, the Blackhawks would face off against the Nashville Predators. While the Hawks have had the better of Barry Trotz’s team this season, the Predators play a disciplined defensive style, and the Preds have the ability to capitalize on the turnovers they can create.

Offensive weapons Patric Hornqvist, Martin Erat (25 and 19 goals as of this writing) play well against Chicago; star defenseman Shea Weber and his partner Ryan Suter can not only shut down Hawk aces like Patrick Kane, Weber’s cannon point shot is fearsome.

They have a persistent forecheck, led by ex-Hawk Steve Sullivan, and the underrated Joel Ward; and one never knows when Jason Arnott, Jean-Pierre Dumont, and Olympian Marcel Goc, veterans of the post-season wars, will score timely goals.

Having a capable, and sometimes brilliant, tandem of goalies in Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis, the Predators are arguably equal or superior in that department.

They don’t have the depth of talent Chicago boasts. But Nashville could make life difficult for the Hawks, and even upset them in the first round.

The season series results indicate the Blackhawks as having won four games to two; however, the goal differential is just 15-12 favoring the Hawks, and one of the those wins was by a single goal with forty-five seconds remaining. So by no means can a Chicago victory be considered a foregone conclusion.

Those who remember the shock administered to the Hawk powerhouse of 1990-91 by the Minnesota North Stars, who trailed the Hawks by 38 points in the regular season, are trying not to.

What are the options?
Hawk GM Stan Bowman has two veteran defensemen, currently playing for the Rockford farm club, ready for the call. The irascible Nick Boynton, picked up from Anaheim at the deadline, may have to wait until the playoffs unless Bowman wants to try to bring him up through waivers; in this case, big-bodied Jassen Cullimore may be the first to make the trip.

Neither of these men will replace the skill of Campbell and Johnsson.

Furthermore, 5/6 d-man Brent Sopel, who has felt the wear and tear of his shot blocking, may be less than one hundred percent healthy.

Summary:
Are the Blackhawks’ Playoff and Cup Chances Compromised? What the weekend games against the Flyers and Capitals demonstrated, especially the Washington onslaught, is that any weakness on defense can, and will be exploited.

The Hawks’ position in the standings appears relatively safe; their Cup chances, without Campbell, are another question.

The Blackhawks’ balance on offense appears to be able to compensate even when a Marian Hossa is absent; but the absence of quality defensemen is much more challenging.

The loss of Campbell, and its impact, are yet to be assessed. Brian Campbell is to the Hawks what Sergei Gonchar, Brian Rafalski, Mike Green and Scott Niedermayer are their respective teams: blueliners who drive the attack, and who can turn good defensive plays into scoring opportunities.

When asked before the Sunday game how his team would respond to being without Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane offered a forward’s perspective: “It just means the rest of us are going to have to step up.”

The cliché, though well-worn, is appropriate. How the Hawks’ defense corps ‘steps up’, is about to become the headline.

Huet and the Hawks: going their separate ways? (Photo: Wikipedia)

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.

From the day in July 2008 that former Hawk GM Dale Tallon announced Huet had signed a four year, 22.5 million dollar deal with an annual cap hit of over $5.6 million, the skeptics scoffed. If Washington Capitals GM George McPhee didn’t feel he should pay that much for Huet after he had backstopped the Caps to the playoffs in stellar fashion, why should Tallon?

As much as Huet’s statistics appeared to confirm him as a quality netminder, critics maintained that Huet’s inconsistencies—and his rich, lengthy contract—would come back to bite the Hawks.

Those critics have been many. The most savage of these has been the Chicago Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom, whose column “Huet is French for ‘Mommy, make it stop’” was a withering attack on a goaltender “just good enough to break your heart”. Pierre McGuire, whose high-volume vocalese makes him a distinctive and often controversial figure on NBC’s “Game of the Week” and TSN’s hockey broadcasts, doesn’t hesitate to shred Huet, sometimes in mocking tones.

Even the measured assessment of Montreal-based French-language TV network RDS’ esteemed commentator Norman Flynn, who has watched Huet since his arrival in Montreal, confirms the prevailing view. “Cristobal has always had the talent,” observed Flynn during a pregame broadcast this season. “What has been the problem with him is lack of consistency.” Flynn went so far as to suggest, back in October 2009, in his column on RDS’ website, that the Hawks should trade Huet and bring in the Islanders’ Dwayne Roloson.

When the storm of rumors preceding the March trade deadline had Huet being ejected for either Roloson or Tomas Vokoun, Blackhawks Special Consultant and all-time hockey guru William ‘Scotty’ Bowman felt it necessary to declare on Toronto’s Sports Radio 590 that the chatter was laughable.

Given that Bowman himself reportedly had his own starting goaltender with the Red Wings during the 1993-94 season, Tim Cheveldae, traded due to Bowman’s apparent dissatisfaction, there is a touch of irony in the situation. Just as Chris Osgood emerged that year as a rookie to make Cheveldae obsolete, so has rookie Antti Niemi, a Bowman favorite, come to the fore in Chicago, prompting calls for Huet’s ousting.

While Bowman Senior is officially an ‘advisor’, the architecture and attitude of the current Blackhawks team have the irrevocable flavor of Bowman’s brew.

Much as Bowman may have tried to countermand the rumor mill, some of the hockey world’s most respected journalists, among them ESPN/Hockey Night In Canada’s Pierre Lebrun, gave substance to the scuttlebutt, both on television and in his web columns. Lebrun reported sources who both dismissed and insisted a deal was on the table.

In his post-Trade Deadline recap, the CBC’s Elliotte Friedman, a six-year Hockey Night In Canada regular, went in to further detail on his blog. “Strongly believe there was one, possibly two teams who were willing to take Cristobal Huet from Chicago. (Should clarify: I’m more certain about one than the other.) But the Blackhawks decided to stand pat, much to the surprise of other GMs. Unloading Huet’s contract (two years remaining, $5.625 million cap hit) would have cost at least a first-rounder and an established player. (I know you’re going to ask, but I’d be guessing on whom. The source wouldn’t tell me.)

“Why did Chicago decline? Scotty Bowman believes strongly in the Detroit model: If you don’t have a top-three goalie, you protect him with great team defense and puck possession. The Blackhawks – disciplined and talented – have a shot. But, to duplicate the Red Wings’ success, they will have to show two things: their forwards are as committed to back pressure as Detroit’s and their defensive corps is as good. As great as the Blackhawks look, we’re talking Lidstrom/Rafalski/Kronwall/Stuart here. What a tough, tough call to make.

“Among those who agree: (Hockey Night In Canada commentators—ed.) Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson. We had a great discussion over beers the other night where they made an excellent point: Chicago would pay a huge price for someone to take Huet, then trade for another goalie.”

Let us step back for a moment, and try to imagine what it must feel like for someone to be given millions of dollars to play hockey, be featured in a team’s advertising campaigns and on the covers of national sports magazines, and yet constantly be reported upon as being on the chopping block.

Others will argue that hockey being entertainment, and players being highly-paid public figures, they acquiesce to the slings and arrows that are part and parcel of what some call outrageous fortune.

And Huet is, after all, one of the highest paid men in his business. If the paying audience doesn’t feel he earns his keep, they feel he is fair game in an unfair game.

If Cristobal Huet is something of an enigma, it should not surprise us; to be a goaltender is the most pressure packed position one can play. Unlike the pitcher in baseball or the quarterback in football, the goalie cannot positively impact the game—he can only attempt to repair the mistakes made by his teammates in allowing shots by the opponent to be made.

Looking at the ups and downs of goalies over the years, finding more than a handful who have been consistently strong from the beginning of their careers to the end is a challenge, as is finding goalies who tell you how much fun it is. The legendary Glenn Hall, last Hawk netminder to win Stanley, was unequivocal about his distaste for the profession. The great Ken Dryden knew the hazards of the trade, and he saved his own skin and emotional well-being by making an early exit while still at the top.

In a recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times, Hawk legend Tony Esposito weighed in with his goaltenders’ wisdom. “What people are truly talking about is that the goalies are not proven commodities as far as the playoffs are concerned. But they’re both capable. When a team is as good as the Blackhawks are, people are going to look for a weakness. And it’s an up-and-down position; there is no in-between. You’re either a hero or a bum.”

Having been called worse than a ‘bum’—many of the insults being xenophobic–it cannot be lost on Huet that he is not wanted by many of the faithful. How can anyone, in a city where the fanfare surrounding the Hawks and their Cup aspirations grows louder by the day, be impervious to the abuse heaped upon him?

The team may put on a brave face, from the GM to the players. Stan Bowman declares he is “comfortable with our goaltending”. Coach Joel Quenneville says the losses “can’t be blamed on Huey”. Star players like Captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp can attempt to deflect the media’s attention by saying that the team “has to be better”.

Huet, known as far back during his days in Montreal as a “stand-up guy who took the blame for the losses and shared the credit for the wins” according to The Gazette’s Dave Stubbs, now finds himself in a netherworld.

While he still wears the Indian Head, those who believe he is worthy do not appear anywhere to be found.

In an interview for a Monday morning story by the Chicago Tribune’s David Baugh, “The Chicago Blackhawks Can’t Give Up On Cristobal Huet”, Huet “had a good, clear view of the one of the worst losses of the season”.

Haugh reported, “‘Obviously, it’s my responsibility and I don’t hide from that,’ Huet said softly outside the Hawks’ dressing room. ‘But I felt pretty good. I thought I was ready. I’ll be fine. I think everybody let everybody down today.’”

Is that statement a not-so-subtle shift from his previous stance? After prior losses this season, Huet would talk about how he understood that he had to improve his game, and how he knew the responsibility was his. After the Olympic break and a vacation in Mexico, he has talked about how he feels refreshed and how the team needs to share the load.

He was given the chance to start three games in a row after Niemi, Quenneville’s first choice, stumbled in the Hawks’ first post-Olympics outing. Huet showed both some flash, with spectacular saves, and the same flaws that rile his detractors, like a tendency to over-commit to shooters and to give up goals in quick succession.

With the season rapidly approaching its zenith, and the playoff matchups already being anticipated, the question of how confident, or not, the Hawks are in their high-priced goalie is threatening to eclipse their success story.

The plunging save percentage that has Huet ranked as 42nd in the NHL, 2nd worst among all starting goaltenders, is repeatedly cited as a sign of the inevitable.

But the Blackhawks do not have many options. They could push Niemi into the breach, hoping he injects what Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek did in their fledgling years, that is to say, a competitive spirit; for the sobering fact is that neither Belfour or Hasek as playoff rookies got the Hawks very far.

Some might call Huet the ‘lame duck’. Some might want to tar and feather him. But from now until the end of the season and the playoffs, Cristobal Huet has something the Blackhawks may need.

And those who saw how Huet can play, such as he did in Game Five of the 2009 Western Conference Final, still hold out hope for the re-appearance of that version.

David Haugh made a passionate case in the aforementioned Tribune column: “It’s a gamble, but the Hawks have to risk letting Huet play through the rough patches to develop a rhythm every winning goalie needs. Quenneville’s well of patience can’t be bottomless, but changing goaltenders for the third time in a week would be an odd way to build stability this late.

“If this is the goalie tandem the Blackhawks had enough faith in to resist all trade offers, now is no time to waver on the only guy with playoff experience. A month before the playoffs represents the time Huet needs an arm around the shoulder instead of kick in the pants.”

The fans may not be so compassionate.

After all is said and done, the business decision that rests with Blackhawks management will be decidedly dispassionate. If the Vegas odds favor the Hawks in their quest for the Cup this year, one wonders what odds the bookmakers might lay on Cristobal Huet being bought out this summer.

April 17, 1961: Bobby Hull, Reg Fleming and Pierre Pilote with the Stanley Cup they have just won. Can today's Hawks team repeat the feat? (Photo: Chicago Herald archive)

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?

Leading up to March 3rd, the chatter presuming netminders Tomas Vokoun, Dwayne Roloson, Jaroslav Halak, Dan Ellis and Marty Turco were all on Bowman’s shopping list, grew louder.

As the clock ticked down to 3 p.m. Eastern Time, fifty-three players in thirty separate trades—a Deadline Day record—changed addresses, but none made their way out of, or into, Chicago.

Nor were big names involved. Interviewed on NHL Network’s ‘Power Play’ that afternoon, Sabres GM Darcy Regier noted the transactions were really more about depth players. He observed that teams chose to retain most of the impending UFAs who might help them keep pace, as playoff spots in both conferences are tightly contested.

When asked Wednesday afternoon by reporters in Chicago about whether or not he was ‘disappointed’ about the Hawks’ lack of activity, Stan Bowman replied: “No, not really. You go in there hoping to improve your team, and sometimes there are things that work out, and sometimes not. But we’ve come a long way with the group we have, and we didn’t want to do anything just to make a trade. Because that, could disrupt our group.”

Video of the interview from Blackhawks TV here:

http://blackhawks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=690&id=61613

Here’s a segment-by-segment snapshot of what Stan Bowman didn’t do:

Goaltending
After the collapse in Long Island Tuesday night, the howls of anguish over Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi’ s qualifications, or lack thereof, might have convinced even the most stoic Hawks loyalist that something had to give.

Nothing did, and Cristobal Huet was picked to start against the Oilers Wednesday night in Chicago against the Oilers.

But if the Hawks were talking, what were the asking prices for the potential replacements, and what would the consequences of a transaction have been?

In the case of Vokoun, his 5.7 million dollar cap hit made such a deal impractical unless Florida took Huet’s contract in return. For all the talk about ‘sweeteners’, the reality is simple. Randy Sexton had no compelling reason to trade an Olympic starting goaltender with just one year left on his deal. And according to ESPN Chicago, trying to waive Huet to take his cap hit off the books would have created other impediments, related to ‘tagging’—the arcane term given to the NHL’s procedure of calculating how existing salaries impact cap space. In other words, a deal couldn’t be made.

Dwayne Roloson might have been available. But with Rick DiPietro being out indefinitely, Garth Snow evidently didn’t want to let his best goaltender go, the other assumption being he did not want Huet’s fiscal burden.

Indications are that none of the other potential partners, Nashville, Montreal or Dallas, with playoff spots in the balance, wanted to make a change on the goaltending front enough, to barter with Bowman.

Defense:
After the trade for Kim Johnsson, who helps alleviate the workload for Keith and Seabrook, the prevailing wisdom was that a depth defenseman was the next logical requirement. To address that, ex-Duck Nick Boynton, a tenacious and genuinely nasty blueliner, has been obtained for future considerations. He’ll stay parked in Rockford until the elasticity of playoff rosters allows him to be brought up to Chicago. In this case, Bowman may have scored another win.

With hulking battle-scarred veteran Jassen Cullimore also waiting in the wings as an Ice Hog, the Blackhawks hope they have enough truculence in their 7/8/9 defense reserve to weather the playoff wars.

The uncertain status of Brent Sopel, sitting with a ‘lower body injury’, may test those reserves early.

Forward:
The Blackhawks may finally be able to ice a full line up as March unfolds. While John Madden is nursing a knee, Ben Eager is ready to resume hostilities. Dave Bolland, who says he feels better than he did before his surgery, is re-gaining his form. Agitator par excellence, Adam Burish, fresh from rehab, is chomping at the bit.

While questions have been asked about depth at the forward position, it seems that management has determined that the Hawks have a full complement.

The fact that a quality player like Colin Fraser was designated a healthy scratch on Tuesday, indicates there may be a rotating taxi squad from now until season’s end as players compete for spots. Additionally, the Boys of Rockford, like Bickell, Dowell, Brophy and Klinkhammer—and perhaps some younger prospects like Aliu and Beach, might just sport the Indian Head as the playoffs open.

Key Stats:
With a winning percentage of .701, the Hawks are on course for 114 points, best total in franchise history. Their fourteen-point lead in the Central Division appears secure, and they have a legitimate shot at the President’s Trophy.

The Blackhawks have nine players with more than ten goals so far, and eight with plus/minus numbers better than +10. Their team GAA of 2.36 is second best in the league. Their offense ranks fourth; power play and penalty kill rank 8th and 6th respectively. Their ten short-handed goals are best in the NHL.

Intangibles:
The Hawks’ six Olympians, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Kane, Hossa and Kopecky all raised their play to new levels on the international stage. Can they do that going forward? If so, the Blackhawks have a key element working in their favor.

How good are the Hawks’ Cup chances?
The controversy surrounding Chicago’s perceived weakness—its goaltending—persists. However, the panel on TSN’s Trade Deadline Show, an unforgiving array of experienced observers including Mike Keenan, Matthew Barnaby, Craig McTavish, Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, Darren Pang, and Ray Ferraro, all concurred that the Hawks are strong enough to be Cup favorites—along with the Washington Capitals, who have, in their view, equally questionable netminding.

Furthermore, in their review of the competition, no team has a combination of goalies and overall talent which is clearly superior to Chicago’s.

The Las Vegas line seems to support this perspective. As of this writing, Belmont Sports Betting lists the Hawks and Caps as 4-1 favorites; the Sharks and Penguins are right behind at 5-1. Which only means, that Chicago’s chances are as good as anyone’s.

Summary:
Stan Bowman and the Hawks Executive have decided to put their trust in the players they have. Every one of the players—with the exception of those signed to ‘core deals’—is also on notice: those who fail to deliver performance-wise may find themselves packaged up and shipped off come the summer trading period in June.

Because when millions of dollars—perhaps hundreds of millions, depending how many rounds a team can go—in playoff and ancillary revenue are on the line, hockey isn’t a game anymore. It’s an unforgiving business.

And if Blackhawks management has demonstrated anything in the past year, it’s that they aren’t sentimental when it comes to making business decisions.

Will Tomas Vokoun--or others--be wearing the Indian Head soon?

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’ needs in previous articles, links here:
http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?author=111

These articles examine in detail the Blackhawks’ situations in goal, on defense and at forward; who might be available, and at what cost.

However, as the landscape has changed in the last few weeks, let’s review the options Stan Bowman may be looking at when the trade freeze lifts February 28th. Unless otherwise noted, all the players mentioned as trade candidates are pending UFAs or RFAs.

Goaltending:
If you believe the blogosphere, Cristobal Huet already has his hockey bag packed and a ticket out of the town in his pocket. Tomas Vokoun, Marty Turco, Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak are just some of the names being mentioned as his possible replacement.

Oddly enough, none of these goalies has a particularly impressive playoff record; and Huet’s playoff record seems to be the main reason the anti-Huet faction wants him gone.

Vokoun—who is signed through June 2011—and Turco also carry higher price tags, which would mean Bowman would have to send significant salary the other way. But what is the logic of Dallas or Florida taking on Huet’s $5.625 annual contract for the next two years?

A more affordable option might be Nashville’s Dan Ellis.

The Predators need a least one scoring forward in the $1-3 million range. Kris Versteeg would be a fit, both fiscally and hockey-wise. But would Preds GM David Poile do business with the Hawks, division and potential playoff rivals?

Having trade history with the Wild, Stan Bowman might also be looking at pending UFA Josh Harding, another good value.

The battle lines having been formed long ago in Montreal, the tug o’ war between the advocates for Halak and Price rages on. Habs GM Pierre Gauthier is cap-challenged. He can, according to CapGeek.com, acquire equivalent contract value of about $3 million on March 3rd. But he can’t hamstring himself for next season when he has to consider re-signing one of his RFA goalies, and UFA Tomas Plekanec. If he were to deal Price or Halak to Chicago, taking on Huet’s big contract in exchange doesn’t seem possible. As for trading Halak, whose play in the Olympics seems to confirm he’s a go-to guy,does Gauthier want to make a change when the playoffs are within reach?

There’s also the old ‘trade my problem for your problem’ scenario. One such possibility has Huet going back to Washington while Jose Theodore grabs the shuttle for Chicago. Before Hawks faithful get up in arms, they might take note of these facts… Theo sizzled during the Caps recent 14-game win streak, playing the majority of those games; and he’s a former Hart, Vezina and Roger Crozier trophy winner, who is especially motivated in a contract year.

Defense:
The consensus among Chicago hockey writers and fans seems to be that Bowman scored by swapping Cameron Barker for Kim Johnsson and prospect Nick Leddy. Is Bowman done on defense? Maybe…maybe not.

The Hawks have signed rugged veteran Jassen Cullimore, the theory, as re-stated by Chicago Daily Herald and Hockey News columnist Tim Sassone, being ‘you can never have too much D for the playoffs’.

But do the Blackhawks need further reinforcements? Scott Niedermayer’s name has been a teaser, but the Duck and Team Canada captain has been less than brilliant this year, and he carries a massive $6.75 cap hit, though pro-rated as a rental.

The flavor of the moment, a trade with the Panthers, has Chicago snagging either Olympic d-man Dennis Seidenberg, or vet Jordan Leopold. Another name being floated is the Isles’ monster masher Andy Sutton.

Or does Bowman look at another Olympian, the Avs’ Ruslan Salei, who has gone deep in the playoffs more than once? Or Slovak Olympic and Blue Jackets blueline bruiser Milan Jurcina?

Forward:
The injuries up front, most recently to John Madden and Ben Eager, and the recovery/return of Dave Bolland and Adam Burish, all create depth questions at the forward position.

Coach Joel Quenneville has juggled his lines, but the Hawks stumbled and sputtered their way through February. Three shootout wins, two losses (one in a shootout) and one regulation win in their last six games were not the hallmarks of a team that seeks to be a dominant presence down the home stretch and into the post season.

Toughness is another question that has been raised, with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa being leveled by what some felt were borderline hits during those games.

Can the Hawk forwards be roughed up by a bigger, rougher team? Does Bowman need a bruising vet, a grinder or even a ‘policeman’ to shore up that aspect of the Blackhawks’ game?

If so, there are more than a few names that have been mentioned.

These have ranged far and wide, from Rod Brind’Amour (though his contract through next year, and cap hit, seem to rule him out), to Doug Weight, to Keith Tkachuk; the coveted Ray Whitney; Cup winner and clutch checker Stephane Yelle; gritty Raffi Torres; tough customers like ex-Hawk Scott Walker, and Hawk nemesis Steve Ott; and even the pugilistic George Parros.

Summary:
Stan Bowman and the Hawks Brain Trust will probably have several scenarios and Plan B’s ready in case they decide to pull the trigger on transactions.

Bowman has the assets to make himself a buyer that will have fellow GMs waiting for his call.

There are arguments to be made both for and against deadline deals.

Some contend that few of these March moves have resulted in Cup wins; others point to the trades made by Champions like the Islanders (and their great GM Bill Torrey), whose acquisition of Butch Goring from the Kings added that extra something that led them to victory.

If the Blackhawks truly do have their Cup aspirations as front and center this year, their marketing slogan ‘One Goal’ has to have one meaning. Make it happen now…and deal with the consequences later.