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Do You Know The Huet To Rockford? |
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A couple of weeks ago, a St. Louis fan suggested on the message board that the Hawks cut ties with Cristobal Huet and sign Manny Legace.
At the time, I felt that was premature, and not necessarily an improvement in goal.
But after last night's very disappointing 4-3 loss to Dallas at the UC, I am starting to think the prescription for the Hawks' goalie situation might just look something like the above.
I'm not going to absolve the Hawk defense, either. Cam Barker continues to struggle controlling the puck in his own end and in general with his on-ice decision-making. If he (and to a lesser extent, Brian Campbell) continues to play like this, any goalie the Hawks play is going to be at a disadvantage.
That's one problem that needs fixing. And I'll come back to that.
There are two other problems. One is what to do with Huet and his $5.625 million cap hit. And the other is what is the best answer for the Hawks' overall goaltending needs.
All three of the above problems can be deal with separately. And the solution(s) to all three can possibly be inter-related.
Personally, I think the best thing for the Hawks to do is send Huet to Rockford. There are a lot of potential advantages to this move and very little downside.
As I understand the CBA, Huet would need to go through waivers to be sent there. OK, some might say I'm crazy, but I have to wonder if some team experiencing similar goaltending issues, that also knows how good Huet can be, might claim him. Like, say, Montreal or Washington.
Not bloody likely. But, hey, you never know.
In all likelihood, the Frenchman finds himself in Winnebago County and becomes the #1 for the Ice Hogs for an indefinite period.
He needs his confidence rebuilt. It's not happening at the NHL level. Honestly, I would be wiling to wager Huet can be fairly dominant at the AHL level. So if that happens, he regains enough of his old form that he is once again a suitable option for the Blackhawks. In fairness, along with inheriting incredibly high expectations with the Hawks this year, goalie coach Stephane Waite also tried to adjust his style in season. I'm not making excuses for Huet. But I think that strengthens the argument for sending him down. Let him make that adjustment under less pressure and with less consequence for the Blackhawks.
The other thing about sending Huet to Rockford, as I understand it, his salary (though it would still need to be paid to him) comes off the cap this year. And then the Hawks would likely buy him out in the offseason. That aspect of sending him down could help solve a lot of problems.
This leads me to the next problem: what to do between the pipes in Chicago? Antti Niemi is, at worst, an intriguing prospect. At best, he could be the Hawks' number 1 this year. But even under the best case scenario, in crucial late season games and especially the playoffs, the Hawks would really need an experienced, reliable backup. Not Corey Crawford.
Legace has accepted a tryout contract with the Wolves. He could be an option. Given the choice of a tryout contract with the Wolves or a two-way deal with the Hawks, I think Legace would jump for the latter. And he'd probably play better than Huet is right now.
There are other options out there, some easy, others not so much.
A trade is a possibility, though I doubt you could include Huet in it at the present time, or any time. But Cam Barker remains an attractive prospect to other teams, while an overpaid 5th defenseman with the Blackhawks. There are a number of talented young goalies in the league today who could really strengthen the Hawk goalie picture, not just this year, but for the future. Two that come to mind are Jaroslav Halak and Josh Harding.
Another option, though trickier from a money situation, is to send Barker and say, Jack Skille, to regular Hawk trading partner Anaheim for J.S. Giguere.
Regardless, the Hawks have options, and they need to do something. Most likely, they will give Huet another start or two, and those most likely away from the UC. But, at $5.6 million a year, he seems be regressing instead of progressing right now. And that's not good.
JJ
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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