Hawks Prevail, Broken Wings and All!

It was bound to happen. The Blackhawks battled back on Wednesday night against the Avalanche with a late Carcillo tally to keep the streak alive.

You know, the streak that has seen minor absences in the form of a Crawford (UBI – upper body injury… it’ll stick trust me), Bolland on a timeout and Carcillo (LBI – Lower Bod… ok you get it).

It was inevitable that more injuries were on the way. Especially in this shortened season the man games lost per team are piling up. Their last game saw the likes of Sharp and Shaw, flutter to the dressing room, leaving some room for concern. Sharp is looking at a 3-4 week time table with his should injury, while Shaw traveled with the team for tonight’s match and will play.

You know who else traveled with the team to Denver? Steve Montador. He is close to returning and could add an interesting mix to the crowded back end, much like Kim Kardashian’s current pregnancy.

I was excited to comment on both potential replacements for Sharp (Rockford or other) as well as breaking down Monty’s impending return. However, being a relentless scout for creativity and new content for this blog, I was overruled by the top of the class. So what I’m going to do is provide you with a couple of great pieces to check out while adding my 2 cents.

John Jaeckel, Hawk Trade Deadine Preview

I witnessed on the entertaining news feed that is Twitter that Brandon Bollig was the centre of attention; in a negative way. He was called back up from Rockford once the news of Sharp’s injury and why wouldn’t he be? He has been practicing and playing with the Blackhawks all year and knows the system. People, Bowman and Q aren’t bringing him back to slide into the 2^nd line. He will be slated where he belongs, on the 4^th line. It will have to be by committee to fill an injury like that, sorry Tweeps, Pirri or Hayes aren’t the answer.

I am on board with some of the names that John has heard or suspects that Hawks are interested in: Chris Neil, Zach Smith, Teddy Purcell, Nate Thompson, etc. These are the type of tough to play against, physical specimens Stan needs to add before the deadline.

I’d like to add some guys I have on my radar, does Stan though?:

-       Tyler Bozak: in the final year before he hits UFA, Bozak provides a solid FO% and all round play. If Toronto is looking to be sellers he could be had.

-       John Mitchell: watch him tonight; he is a defensive, gritty bottom-6 player with a non-stop motor. It may be trickier to trade in conference so a solid role player but not impossible.

-       Ryan White: Montreal looks poised to make the playoffs but like the Hawks need to tweak for that post-season grind. Marc Bergevin could call up his ol’ pal Stan Bownman to maybe swap lower-line players. White plays with a lot of emotion and could be a nice addition up the middle.

Tracy Myers, Montador’s recovery ‘a blessing’ after suffering depression

I think some fans, who have deemed Montador’s nickname “Clown Shows” have been a little harsh. Do I think he’s a top 4 dman? Nope. Do I like him as an option on the bottom pairing? Sure do. Bowman was maybe a little aggressive with his sales pitch to Monty, but he could prove naysayers wrong come playoff time.

Ty’s Tidbits

~ On Wednesday night, some local Blackhawks fans and myself took over a section at Shoeless Joe’s in Toronto. We were loud, proud and enjoyed Hawk talk in person, rather than on a message board. Thanks for all who came out and I will organize another outing soon.

Ty Cam out!

(@tycam)