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Chicago Blackhawks Blogger •
Quick take on the day's activities and a report on Dale Tallon's presser earlier today.
WOW. I don't even know where to begin.
As some of you will recall, in my Offseason Advice blog of May 31, I suggested going after Marian Hossa. Now that didn't take a brain surgeon. But I felt then, and still do, that going after Hossa would signal an extreme commitment to winning the Stanley Cup.
Marty Havlat is a great hockey player and a great guy, and I will miss seeing #24 in the Indianhead (heck, I still miss the previous #24). But I would argue that Hossa is a marginal improvement over Marty. Both he and Tomas Kopecky will bring badly needed discipline and experience, not to mention ability, that will help the Hawks reach the next level.
Listening to Dale Tallon this afternoon, and leading up to free agency, I am impressed by his seriousness about improving the club at all costs.
Dale sounded tired. He sounded proud. And he sounded like a man who isn't done yet.
Tallon stressed that Hossa's deal makes it possible to sign the Big Three next off-season (Kane, Toews and Keith), all of the teams RFAs have been qualified and the team plans on keeping them.
And he also said that the Hawks are going to be looking at some defensemen and forwards tomorrow.
Before I get into some conjecture in that area, let me also say that while I still firmly believe the team's draft philosophy is about the long-term future, I also believe very much that Tallon wants to win it all next year. Which is as it should be.
What we are watching, folks, is the virtually overnight transformation of the NHL equivalent of the 'Wackiest Ship In The Army' to one of the premier organizations in professional sports.
Even without Havlat, Sammy Pahlsson (Columbus), Matt Walker (Tampa Bay) and Nikolai Khabibulin (Edm.), I would argue that the Hawks with Hossa and Kopecky are a better team tonight. Further, the Hawks have cleared a fair amount of cap space. And like I said, I don't believe they're done.
In the presser, Tallon was asked about Cristobal Huet and whether he's the clear #1. While he didn't directly answer the question, he said, essentially: "Cristobal had a good year last year and we expect him to be even better this year."
In addition to adding two great defensive forwards (one of whom is a bona fide 40-goal scorer), the best thing Tallon can do to support Huet is go out and find the ideal complement for Brian Campbell on the second pairing.
I got my wish on Hossa. Now I'd like to see Dale sign Derek Morris tomorrow. Big, tough, right-handed shooting and a great partner for Campbell. Failing that, Francois Beauchemin would not be a bad add. Or Martin Skoula.
Bring a Morris in, and top to bottom, the Hawks have to be the odds on favorite to win the Western Conference next year. Remember they got better today, and the Wings got worse.
But regardless Hawk fans, enjoy this. We'll talk more tomorrow.
JJ
WOW. I don't even know where to begin.
As some of you will recall, in my Offseason Advice blog of May 31, I suggested going after Marian Hossa. Now that didn't take a brain surgeon. But I felt then, and still do, that going after Hossa would signal an extreme commitment to winning the Stanley Cup.
Marty Havlat is a great hockey player and a great guy, and I will miss seeing #24 in the Indianhead (heck, I still miss the previous #24). But I would argue that Hossa is a marginal improvement over Marty. Both he and Tomas Kopecky will bring badly needed discipline and experience, not to mention ability, that will help the Hawks reach the next level.
Listening to Dale Tallon this afternoon, and leading up to free agency, I am impressed by his seriousness about improving the club at all costs.
Dale sounded tired. He sounded proud. And he sounded like a man who isn't done yet.
Tallon stressed that Hossa's deal makes it possible to sign the Big Three next off-season (Kane, Toews and Keith), all of the teams RFAs have been qualified and the team plans on keeping them.
And he also said that the Hawks are going to be looking at some defensemen and forwards tomorrow.
Before I get into some conjecture in that area, let me also say that while I still firmly believe the team's draft philosophy is about the long-term future, I also believe very much that Tallon wants to win it all next year. Which is as it should be.
What we are watching, folks, is the virtually overnight transformation of the NHL equivalent of the 'Wackiest Ship In The Army' to one of the premier organizations in professional sports.
Even without Havlat, Sammy Pahlsson (Columbus), Matt Walker (Tampa Bay) and Nikolai Khabibulin (Edm.), I would argue that the Hawks with Hossa and Kopecky are a better team tonight. Further, the Hawks have cleared a fair amount of cap space. And like I said, I don't believe they're done.
In the presser, Tallon was asked about Cristobal Huet and whether he's the clear #1. While he didn't directly answer the question, he said, essentially: "Cristobal had a good year last year and we expect him to be even better this year."
In addition to adding two great defensive forwards (one of whom is a bona fide 40-goal scorer), the best thing Tallon can do to support Huet is go out and find the ideal complement for Brian Campbell on the second pairing.
I got my wish on Hossa. Now I'd like to see Dale sign Derek Morris tomorrow. Big, tough, right-handed shooting and a great partner for Campbell. Failing that, Francois Beauchemin would not be a bad add. Or Martin Skoula.
Bring a Morris in, and top to bottom, the Hawks have to be the odds on favorite to win the Western Conference next year. Remember they got better today, and the Wings got worse.
But regardless Hawk fans, enjoy this. We'll talk more tomorrow.
JJ
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