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Chicago Blackhawks Blogger •
Fifteen games into the season, the team with the NHL's deepest roster of skaters is 8-5-2 and tied for the Central Division lead.
And without that depth, their record would be much worse. Not many teams (maybe none) could achieve that record without two of their top 3 forwards for extended periods.
Here's the good news: Jonathan Toews and Ben Eager could be back in the lineup as soon as Monday's game against the Kings. And an unsubstantiated rumor has Marian Hossa returning possibly as early as next week. Regardless, Hossa should be back before Thanksgiving.
Had Hossa and Toews been on the ice last night in Colorado, the Hawks very likely would have won the shootout after Pat Kane's first conversion against Craig Anderson. Or the game might not have even reached the shootout.
Hossa and Toews will also improve a miserable power play (that I believe was helped last night by moving Dustin Byfuglien to the point. Big Buff delivered a goal on a rocket slapshot. Yes, he also got burned for a short-handed goal, but that was at the end of a shift, and the Big Man also looks like he's battling an injury or a bug himself).
Here's the bad news: the Hawks have built this record against a cream puff schedule: seven games against Minnesota, Nashville and Florida. Second line center Dave Bolland is obviously hurt and might need surgery on his back. There are lingering questions about team toughness. A huge impending salary cap issue in 2010. And the team's goaltending situation remains shaky.
I felt, watching the Phoenix game Thursday night, that Bolland was playing hurt. That was confirmed when he was scratched last night. Bottom line, whether he has the surgery or not, Bolland is at best limited. According to Tim Sassone in this morning's Daily Herald, the surgery involves an eight week recovery and if Bolland went under the knife now, he could be back later in the season. That's possible. My guess would be more like March 15-April 1 for a full recovery from an invasive surgery on a disc.
In the meantime, right now, the Hawks are thinking about who their second line center becomes. And keep this in mind, the Hawks have already lost fourth line center Adam Burish for the season.
And . . . what if Toews gets his bell rung again?
Now, the offseason additions of Tomas Kopecky and John Madden look really smart. But let's not fool ourselves. Neither are top 6 centers.
Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg can both play center. But neither are good on faceoffs and both are clearly better at wing.
Down on the farm there's Evan Brophey and Nate Davis. Neither are remotely ready.
Now, assuming Bolland goes on long-term IR, the Hawks gain a sizable salary exemption. And it just so happens that there's this center over in Sweden who's rumored to want to play in either Chicago or Detroit. Guy by the name of Forsberg. Pretty decent player when healthy, which he supposedly is.
So that's one option. And look for speculation around that to really start heating up.
The second option is the trade route. I'm standing by my report of interest in Carolina in both a major team shake-up, and a puck-rushing defenseman from the Blackhawks. But the question has been, and should be, asked: who would you want off that roster?
I would argue Matt Cullen is a very comparable player to Bolland.
There's always that Staal kid.
Now, it's probably unlikely Jim Rutherford would deal the jewel in the Canes' crown as part of a team shake-up. Staal also is signed long-term at $8.2 million per. But Rutherford wants a puck-rushing defenseman and supposedly has interest in one from the Hawks. The Hawks have arguably one of the top 2-3 puck-rushing d-men in the league. His name's Brian Campbell, and he's signed to a long-term deal at $7 million per. No, this would never be a straight up deal. But what if the Hawks threw in Kris Versteeg and a draft pick?
But here's another scenario that could end up being the best of all of them (except Forsberg). I have to believe Rutherford's asking price for veteran Rod Brindamour would not be terribly high. Maybe Cam Barker could return Brindamour and some other asset(s) from the Canes.
Does Brindamour have anything left? Fair question. Here's the answer: toughness, his name on a Stanley Cup, leadership and a 55% faceoff percentage this year. And he's only 2 years older than Forsberg.
One would also think any deals the Hawks would make would help clear cap space for next year and beyond. Cullen is a UFA this summer. Brindamour in 2011.
As for the goalie situation. Watching last night's game, a couple of things struck me. For better or worse, Cristobal Huet is the better of the Hawks' two goalies. I'm not writing off Antti Niemi. The talent is there. He is just very raw. And I thought Niemi was actually very, very good, and incredibly composed during the long shootout.
The question that needs to be asked (again) is this: is Niemi that much better a prospect than Corey Crawford is?
Here's why. I am not suggesting the Hawks bring up Crawford. Rather, should the Hawks be packaging Niemi to obtain a goalie like Martin Biron or Dwayne Roloson? Huet's contract is untradeable. I think a majority of Hawk fans (and the Hawk front office) are OK with him on the roster. He can be, and has been recently, very good for long stretches. But his inconsistency, and Niemi's, has to also beg the question, does this team need a more reliable backup or 1A goalie than Niemi in order to win a Cup this year?
Niemi would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. So, to add such a goalie, Niemi would have to be dealt. Leaving Crawford as the best goalie prospect in an organization that's not exactly full of them.
All these questions raise others. if Campbell were dealt, who would the Hawks replace him with? Does the rising star of Nik Hjalmarsson (another solid, steady game last night for an impending RFA) complicate the trading scenarios, or give the Hawks another chip (possibly someone other than Hjalmarsson) to deal? Is Byfuglien also playing hurt?
The conventional wisdom is the Hawks will wait until after Hossa and Toews are on the ice to make any moves. I think that's a safe bet. But I would also wager they might not wait very long after that.
JJ
And without that depth, their record would be much worse. Not many teams (maybe none) could achieve that record without two of their top 3 forwards for extended periods.
Here's the good news: Jonathan Toews and Ben Eager could be back in the lineup as soon as Monday's game against the Kings. And an unsubstantiated rumor has Marian Hossa returning possibly as early as next week. Regardless, Hossa should be back before Thanksgiving.
Had Hossa and Toews been on the ice last night in Colorado, the Hawks very likely would have won the shootout after Pat Kane's first conversion against Craig Anderson. Or the game might not have even reached the shootout.
Hossa and Toews will also improve a miserable power play (that I believe was helped last night by moving Dustin Byfuglien to the point. Big Buff delivered a goal on a rocket slapshot. Yes, he also got burned for a short-handed goal, but that was at the end of a shift, and the Big Man also looks like he's battling an injury or a bug himself).
Here's the bad news: the Hawks have built this record against a cream puff schedule: seven games against Minnesota, Nashville and Florida. Second line center Dave Bolland is obviously hurt and might need surgery on his back. There are lingering questions about team toughness. A huge impending salary cap issue in 2010. And the team's goaltending situation remains shaky.
I felt, watching the Phoenix game Thursday night, that Bolland was playing hurt. That was confirmed when he was scratched last night. Bottom line, whether he has the surgery or not, Bolland is at best limited. According to Tim Sassone in this morning's Daily Herald, the surgery involves an eight week recovery and if Bolland went under the knife now, he could be back later in the season. That's possible. My guess would be more like March 15-April 1 for a full recovery from an invasive surgery on a disc.
In the meantime, right now, the Hawks are thinking about who their second line center becomes. And keep this in mind, the Hawks have already lost fourth line center Adam Burish for the season.
And . . . what if Toews gets his bell rung again?
Now, the offseason additions of Tomas Kopecky and John Madden look really smart. But let's not fool ourselves. Neither are top 6 centers.
Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg can both play center. But neither are good on faceoffs and both are clearly better at wing.
Down on the farm there's Evan Brophey and Nate Davis. Neither are remotely ready.
Now, assuming Bolland goes on long-term IR, the Hawks gain a sizable salary exemption. And it just so happens that there's this center over in Sweden who's rumored to want to play in either Chicago or Detroit. Guy by the name of Forsberg. Pretty decent player when healthy, which he supposedly is.
So that's one option. And look for speculation around that to really start heating up.
The second option is the trade route. I'm standing by my report of interest in Carolina in both a major team shake-up, and a puck-rushing defenseman from the Blackhawks. But the question has been, and should be, asked: who would you want off that roster?
I would argue Matt Cullen is a very comparable player to Bolland.
There's always that Staal kid.
Now, it's probably unlikely Jim Rutherford would deal the jewel in the Canes' crown as part of a team shake-up. Staal also is signed long-term at $8.2 million per. But Rutherford wants a puck-rushing defenseman and supposedly has interest in one from the Hawks. The Hawks have arguably one of the top 2-3 puck-rushing d-men in the league. His name's Brian Campbell, and he's signed to a long-term deal at $7 million per. No, this would never be a straight up deal. But what if the Hawks threw in Kris Versteeg and a draft pick?
But here's another scenario that could end up being the best of all of them (except Forsberg). I have to believe Rutherford's asking price for veteran Rod Brindamour would not be terribly high. Maybe Cam Barker could return Brindamour and some other asset(s) from the Canes.
Does Brindamour have anything left? Fair question. Here's the answer: toughness, his name on a Stanley Cup, leadership and a 55% faceoff percentage this year. And he's only 2 years older than Forsberg.
One would also think any deals the Hawks would make would help clear cap space for next year and beyond. Cullen is a UFA this summer. Brindamour in 2011.
As for the goalie situation. Watching last night's game, a couple of things struck me. For better or worse, Cristobal Huet is the better of the Hawks' two goalies. I'm not writing off Antti Niemi. The talent is there. He is just very raw. And I thought Niemi was actually very, very good, and incredibly composed during the long shootout.
The question that needs to be asked (again) is this: is Niemi that much better a prospect than Corey Crawford is?
Here's why. I am not suggesting the Hawks bring up Crawford. Rather, should the Hawks be packaging Niemi to obtain a goalie like Martin Biron or Dwayne Roloson? Huet's contract is untradeable. I think a majority of Hawk fans (and the Hawk front office) are OK with him on the roster. He can be, and has been recently, very good for long stretches. But his inconsistency, and Niemi's, has to also beg the question, does this team need a more reliable backup or 1A goalie than Niemi in order to win a Cup this year?
Niemi would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. So, to add such a goalie, Niemi would have to be dealt. Leaving Crawford as the best goalie prospect in an organization that's not exactly full of them.
All these questions raise others. if Campbell were dealt, who would the Hawks replace him with? Does the rising star of Nik Hjalmarsson (another solid, steady game last night for an impending RFA) complicate the trading scenarios, or give the Hawks another chip (possibly someone other than Hjalmarsson) to deal? Is Byfuglien also playing hurt?
The conventional wisdom is the Hawks will wait until after Hossa and Toews are on the ice to make any moves. I think that's a safe bet. But I would also wager they might not wait very long after that.
JJ
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