In some ways, the Blackhawks' signing of Michal Kempny last week encapsulates where the organization stands right now.
What we know about Kempny is he's young, has has great mobility, a great shot (that he isn't shy about taking), and he is willing to initiate contact. And after what we saw in a brutally short playoff series versus Nashville, we know those are all qualities the Hawks can use more of.
Kempny was extended, essentially a short 1 year bridge to unrestricted free agency, for just $900,000.
It's hard to say the Hawks are absolutely counting on Kempny to overcome the mistakes he was prone to in his first season in North America. But that would certainly be a nice development for a team that's gotten a lot slower and older on defense the last year or two.
And if that does happen, then, when you take into account Kempny's obvious physical ability, then that's only a good thing for a Hawk team desperately trying to figure out how to get back into playing hockey in May, if not June.
Well, only a good thing until next July 1, when, if you want to keep Kempny around, it will cost you.
You don't need to me to yet again stress how important the next season or two is to this generation of the Chicago Blackhawks, nor list off the ages of Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews.
As the sting of the playoff sweep at the hands of a Nashville club that has since proven just how good it is has faded, it's become more and more clear how important this summer is to the Hawks and their fans. As is at least the last 6-7 years or more, it's not been more clear that the Hawks need a bit of a recalibration in terms of their NHL roster before the start of next season.
Then again, like clockwork, the elevation of this teenage prospect or that to "surefire, can't miss, savior of the franchise" status is taking place. Twitter was abuzz yesterday with reports on the Memorial Cup Final, where Hawk prospect Graham Knott led the Windsor Spitfires against fellow Hawk property Alex DeBrincat's Erie Otters.
Windsor won, both players did well, I didn't watch it. A name came to mind this morning out of the not too distant past, that of Evan Brophey, another (former) Hawk prospect who played in the Memorial Cup Final a handful of years ago for the Plymouth Whalers. Brophey was, at that brief moment in time, sort of the next big thing in the Hawk talent pipeline. Big, physical with some ability to manage the puck and score around the net.
Don't know who Evan Brophey is? Having a hard time remembering? Right.
It would be really irresponsible to condemn Knott or Debrincat on the basis of Brophey not matriculating to the NHL (as I recall), or big-time junior producer and big-time pro flop Kyle Beach for that matter. But I raise the more valid point that junior heroics very often don't translate into NHL production—especially not without a year or two in the AHL to acclimate to pro hockey in between.
The fixation on DeBrincat (especially) is really about the Blackhawks of 2020 and beyond. Hey, we'll all likely still be fully committed to the Indianhead at that point. But, in the meantime, there's the business of the next couple of season and what's left of the primes of Keith, Seabrook, Patrick Kane, Toews, Artemi Panarin, etc—all of whom, dare I say it, are likely better NHL players than any current Hawk prospect (including Debrincat) will ever be.
Let that sink in. Because it's probably true.
For the Chicago Blackhawks, the future is very much right now. Because of contracts, because of yearly balance sheets and playoff revenue requirements—because there may never be another collection of talent wearing the Hawk colors quite like this one, even if the roster needs some churning this summer.
As a source who has provided a lot of the rumors I've gotten "right" told me late this past week, "there will be a new look to the roster next year."
Former hockeybuzz blogger and NHL writer Andy Strickland reported yesterday that the Hawks are the frontrunners for Czech league defender Jan Rutta, a rumor I had reported on here about ten days ago.
Rutta is a right hand shooting puck mover with some size. Will he need as pronounced an adjustment period as the stylistic riverboat gambler Kempny has? Or at age 26, wthlots of pro experience, does he slide right in and perhaps make Trevor van Riemsdyk expendable?
And although Kempny and Richard Panik aren't new faces, the team moving to keep them in Chicago at least through this coming season are important first steps in what promises to be a very interesting and hopefully beneficial summer for the team's fortunes.
I will have more as I hear it.
JJ
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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