With the 2010/2011 NHL season closing in quickly the Chicago Blackhawks seem to be ready to hit the ice with a competitive club to defend the title even after the losses of 10 players from the championship team last season.

Some may be curious on how the lineups may look so I have posted some lineups below on what the Hawks opening night roster may look like.

The line up should look similar to this for opening night:
2010/2011 Season

Forwards
Patick Kane /Jonathan Toews /Troy Brouwer
Viktor Stalberg /Patrick Sharp /Marian Hossa
Jack Skille /David Bolland /Fernando Pisani
Bryan Bickell /Ryan Potulny /Tomas Kopecky

Extra forward either Jake Dowell, Kyle Beach, or Jeff Taffe

Defence
Brent Seabrook /Duncan Keith
Brian Campbell /Niklas Hjalmarsson
Nick Boynton /Jordan Hendry
John Scott

Goaltenders
Marty Turco
Corey Crawford

Last season the team looked like this
2009/2010 Season

Forwards
Patick Kane /Jonathan Toews /Troy Brouwer
Kris Versteeg /Patrick Sharp / Marian Hossa
Dustin Byfuglien / David Bolland /Andrew Ladd
Ben Eager /John Madden /Adam Burish
Bryan Bickell

Defence
Brent Seabrook /Duncan Keith
Brian Campbell /Niklas Hjalmarsson
Brent Sopel /Jordan Hendry
Kim Johnsson /Nick Boynton

Goaltenders
Antti Niemi
Christobal Huet
Corey Crawford

Make the comparisons if you will but the Blackhawks team is most definitely a different looking team from last year although they are a younger crop of players.

Big questions Blackhawk followers have are:

Can Bickell replace Byfuglien’s physicality and average scoring throughout the season or even come close to representing what Dustin brought in the playoffs?

Simple answer, no. Bickell can bring the pain as a physical presence and add some goals throwing himself in front of the oppositions net and becoming a pest but the answer to being what Byfuglien was in last years playoffs is not even considerable. Byfuglien almost single handedly owned Vancouver plus dropping back to play some solid defence when the Hawks were hurting with the absence of Brian Campbell against Nashville was and has yet to be equaled by any other NHL player.

Can Fernando Pisani bring what Andrew Ladd brought to the Stanley Cup championship team last season?

Pisani may equal Ladd’s scoring while playing with some great offensive players that the Hawks have but Ladds grit and drive to the net will sorely be missed as Pisani is not that type of player. Pisani does add some excellent defensive play which somewhat overshadows the loss of Ladd.

Will Potulny, Skille, Stalberg, Dowell, Beach or Jeff Taffe successfully make up for the lost depth of Fraser, Eager, Fraser, Madden, and Kris Versteeg?

Not likely, while the scoring might be there to replace Versteeg’s output, it’s the replacement of one of the best defensive, penalty killing centers ever to play in the NHL in John Madden.

I think most are in favour that the Hawks lost little to nothing on defence which is why Chicago will once again be one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. They “arguably” have the best top 4 in the league and basically having Boynton replace Sopel may even be better while adding some serious toughness on the back end which the Hawks lacked last season. There is no discounting Sopel’s efforts last year as he was as solid as they come from start to finish, hopefully Boynton can duplicate the blocked shots Sopel had last season.

The biggest uproar may have come when the Hawks did not opt to sign Antti Niemi whom later signed for a paltry 300k more a year then what Chicago signed Marty Turco for.

Sure, the Blackhawks supposed goalie of the future is now gone which seems to happen on a yearly basis for the Hawks organization. They lose guys like Dominik Hasek, Craig Anderson, Ed Belfour, who flourished with other teams and now Niemi. I am 100% confident Niemi will be a star goaltender in this league but due to the Salary Cap issues and Niemi and his agent Zito’s greediness Antti will start his super stardom in San Jose instead of Chicago.

With Christobal Huet signing with Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss League and Chicago bringing in Marty Turco I would say the Hawks are even in the goaltending comparison to last season and maybe even a notch above plus Corey Crawford will finally get his chance to play in probably 15-20 games this season

What the Hawks gain in Turco is a veteran presence with a work ethic second to none, not to mention the best puck handling goaltender in the league. Marty is very good at controlling rebounds unlike Niemi was, however, we will not see as many acrobatic unorthodox saves as Niemi showed Chicago last season but it will probably equal out with less second chance opportunities from rebounds.

All in all Hawks fans should be positive with this seasons Blackhawk team, although missing a bunch of very good depth players from last season people need to realize players like Toews, Kane, Bolland, Seabrook and Duncan Keith are only going to improve this season which will help in the development of the new roster players.

People predicting the Hawks will miss the playoffs have another thing coming, there are teams with comparable core depths but not quite as deep and have succeeded in the past which many prognosticators and fans seem to overlook. Don’t forget about Pittsburgh winning it all with Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar, Staal, Fleury and a boatload of depth players.

Look for the Madhouse on Madison to be rocking this year once again with a competitive team challenging for first place in the Western Conference.

Capgeek.com has mentioned that ex- Edmonton Oiler Ryan Potulny has signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks to a 1 year deal worth 500k a season. This is also a 2-way contract and has been confirmed by a source of Chris Kuc, a writer for the Chicago Tribune.

This adds another ex Oiler to the fold as recently Fernando Pisani signed a 1 year contract worth the same amount but on a 1 way deal. What this does for Chicago is add a bit more depth to the team and will ultimately mean Potulny will be fighting for a final roster spot with Jake Dowell, Viktor Stalberg, Jack Skille, Kyle Beach, Marcus Kruger, and Jeff Taffe.

Potulny had a brief stint with the Philadelphia Flyers playing in 42 games over 3 seasons amassing 12 goals and 2 assists in those games at the NHL level. In Edmonton he had a good season last year scoring 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 pts in 64 games.

Ryan has always been a proficient scorer, at the University of Minnesota averaged over a point a game in 3 seasons and excellent scoring season in the AHL with the Philadelphia Phantoms and the Springfield Falcons.

Does he make this team? Who knows, with the all important training camps coming up shortly he has some stiff competition in the aforementioned names above. The 2 way contract he signed very well could mean he will start the season in Rockford with the IceHogs but I expect he will get some time with the big club as I feel the Hawks will do the “AHL/NHL Shuffle” with quite a few players this season.

The Hawks are still tight against the cap so this 2 way deal is significant plus adds some nice offensive depth to the club, Potulny is also a decent penalty killer so yet another bonus to this signing.

Former Edmonton Oiler Fernando Pisani has signed a 1 year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks worth $500,000 per year. The deal is definitely an affordable one for Chicago and Pisani should fit nicely on the 3rd or 4th line this season. This of course means another roster spot will be taken away and will more then likely be Kyle Beach who won’t be getting an opening day roster spot  unless he has an unreal training camp and knocks out Jake Dowell which is unlikely. Chicago may however want to carry an extra forward but that could be tough John Scott. We shall see how the Hawks want to address things sooner or later.

Pisani has never been a proficient scorer during the regular season but much of that was due to years of injury plagued seasons.

Quite an assortment of injuries for Pisani which is why I question the Hawks signing him but on the positive side of things he is one of the best penalty killers in the league and will compliment Chicago’s PK unit nicely.

Pisani’s most notable year was in 2005/2006 where he played 80 games and amassing 18 goals and 19 assists for 37pts.Where Fernando really did shine was in the playoffs on the Oilers magnificent run to the Stanley Cup finals to face the Carolina Hurricanes where he potted 14 goals and 4 assists throughout the playoffs in which the Oilers fell one game short of hoisting Lord Stanley.

Interesting move by Bowman, if Pisani can stay healthy he can definitely help this Hawks team.

The NHL, as most know, has nullified the contract of star winger Ilya Kovalchuk for circumvention of the salary cap and he has now become an unrestricted free agent and is able to sign anywhere he pleases.

According to sources across the NHL globe the NHL is apparently investigating all other contracts with similar type contracts including the likes of Chris Pronger, Roberto Luongo, Marc Savard, and Marian Hossa to name a few.

Matthew Sekeras of the Globe and Mail reports that arbitrator Richard Bloch dropped the bomb on the Canucks on the possibility of Luongo’s  12-year, $64 million contract could ultimately be voided.

Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly.com reports that league officials did visit the Flyers in regards to Prongers contract but nothing came up with those discussions. Now with the recent happenings with the Kovalchuk scenario league officials are apparently now re-visiting the contract.

NHL fans and media have attacked the NHL and Gary Bettman  in this “re-visiting” of official contracts that have already been signed and approved by the NHL but it clearly states in the CBA that they may do so. Section 26.10 (d): (d) There shall be no limitation of time barring the investigation of a Circumvention by the Commissioner.

In my world, a signed contract is a done deal but apparently not in the National Hockey League and in seeing the above CBA rule it seems there may be a loophole or weakness in the system.

There are many fans that are questioning the future of the NHL with some of these ridiculous contracts, rules changes, and KHL signings. To be fair, the only contract so far that has been nullified is the Kovalchuk contract and really the NHL has not lost a ton of talent or blue collar prospects to the KHL. The rules and ridiculous NHL issues I have touched partially on in a past blog seen here. http://prosportsblogging.com/nhl-hockey/top-10-nhl-annoyances/

Why does the NHL decide to do this now? Are they just making an example of Kovalchuk so the so-called cap geniuses like Lou Lamoriello do not get out of hand and possibly have 2 players per team with these monster contracts paying them until they are 40+ years of age?  Do they blame a guy like Charles Wang of the Islanders for starting this all with the Rick Dipietro contract or do we look further back to Alexei Yashin’s  8 year $140 million dollar contract? All in all it it shows that the salary cap implemented in the NHL works but team owners will do the natural human thing to do and try to get around it. In a few years we will see what the NHL players are made of if the KHL all of a sudden offers big time contracts when the NHL can only offer peanuts compared to them. Far fetched perhaps, but the way the NHL is going it’s hard to put a finger on how it will end up in a few years with some holes in the CBA, contracts and a game that seems to be concentrated on gimmickry like the shootout. I won’t lie, if I see the NHL approve a team called the Pennsylvania Purple People Eaters I will void hockey altogether.

Marian Hossa is the only player to have played under one of these new lengthy cap avoiding contracts and I have seen some ridiculous and absurd comments coming from people. One comment was, “If Hossa’s contract is void does his name come off the cup?” Ok buddy, sure, take the name off the cup and actually wipe out the entire season and we will do it all over again ok?

Anyways, let’s say Hossa’s contract is ripped up and he becomes an unrestricted free agent again do the Blackhawks let him walk and get away from his 12-year, $62.8 million contract giving the Hawks even more cap space available and could possibly sign 2-3 more players for that same price. Or do the Hawks reconfigure the contract to keep Hossa and keep him as one of our valuable core players. Before you answer that, remember Hossa is one of the elite players in this league and easily a top 2-way player that works very well with Chicago’s system.  Ultimately, if Hossa were to be let go it would make it much easier to hang on to guys like Brent Seabrook who will be looking for a healthy raise after this season and also Troy Brouwer will be another one the Hawks will need to re-sign.

You’re probably thinking I am off the wall speaking of Hossa possibly leaving but with all the happenings lately one can never predict what could happen with the re-visiting of all these lucrative contracts. It’s unlikely but we could see Luongo, Kovalchuk, Hossa, Savard and Pronger all UFA’s prior to the start of this upcoming season. Imagine the frenzy that would create throughout the league with all of those superstar players available for the signing by any team. Crazy.

As an additional note, via capgeek.com Nick Boynton has signed a 1 year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks for 500k per year.

The Hawks defense core is well in tact with Keith, Seabrook, Campbell, Hjalmarsson, Boynton, Scott, Hendry and a plethora of young defensive talent in the AHL.

That’s just my take,

TK0N

OK, it’s a little early to predict NHL standings as there is still a lot of time for roster adjustments prior to the first game of the regular season but let’s take a quick look at some of the strengths and weaknesses of teams to date.

Below is my “way to early” to predict teams final standings.

1. Vancouver Canucks-  The Canucks top 2 forward lines can match up against anyone, with MVP Henrik Sedin and sidekick Daniel it does not matter who they have on the wing, you could compare it “somewhat” to the Lemieux and Jagr line back in the day where you could throw Rob Brown on the line (which they did) and they will still have success. The other forward lines for Vancouver are still somewhat in limbo but with the re-signing of Mason Raymond and the addition of Manny Maholtra should bolster some forward line depth. The Canucks downfall in the past few years has been a thin defence and in adding players like Keith Ballard, and Dan Hamhuis should make life easier for Roberto Luongo. I expect Luongo to have a big year and I also expect the Canucks to have a huge run at the Western Conference title.
2. Chicago Blackhawks- Call me biased but even in losing 9 players off of last years Stanley Cup Champion team the Hawks have kept the solid core that many teams wish they had. The Blackhawks have managed to keep the defensive squad from last years cup run minus Brent Sopel and he will be replaced by a young defenceman in the system or a cheap veteran signing such as a Nick Boynton . Turco will replace Niemi, although most fans are disheartened on the loss of the Nieminator and I am quite sure they will be pleasantly surprised on what veteran Turco will bring to the team. Remember the nervous moments when Niemi played the puck or let out those greasy rebounds? Those are distant memories now that Turco is here. We may not see the acrobatic unorthodox saves from Turco that Antti made but you can count on some solid goaltending. Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Bolland and Brouwer round out the Hawks top 6 and the other positions will be filled by Kopecky, Stalberg and Bickell along with youngsters from the AHL Rockford IceHogs to round out the forwards. I don’t expect Chicago to jack up 2 lines but rather go with a spread out offense throughout 3 lines with a newly made shutdown line for the 4^th. Why is Chicago ranked #2 here? Well Toews and Kane are only going to get better and with Hossa starting the season healthy this team is still an extremely dangerous club.
3. 3. San Jose Sharks- Basically the same team as last year with the additions of goaltender Antero Nittymaki and forward Jamal Mayers but once again the top line of Thornton/Marleau/Heatley will carry this club offensively with Joe Pavelski , Ryane Clowe and Devin Setoguchi as a solid 2^nd line. After the top two lines you have 2 bottom lines of role players, these guys are going to need to step up to give the Sharks more scoring depth. We may see a lot of line juggling by the Sharks to make this happen, very similar to what the Hawks are doing now that they have been thinned out due to loss of players. The Sharks youngsters in McGinn , Mitchell and Couture could have break out seasons and make this Shark club an extremely dangerous offensive threat. The defence this year is identical as last year with superstar Dan Boyle leading the parade, but the retiring of hard hitting veteran Rob Blake the Sharks may be looking at adding some defensive help.  Goaltending is the question here, yes Nittymaki had a solid year last year and should be able to do it again with a pretty decent Sharks team this year. But are they happy with Nitty and Greiss going in? We shall see.
4. Detroit Red Wings – What good things can you not say about the Wings, they are solid 1 through 4 for the forward lines and with the addition of Mike Modano who will add experience and leadership to a team who already has that is going to do nothing but help this squad. If Detroit stays healthy this year this team will make some serious noise as they did last year when they were healthy and were clearly the best team since the Olympic break. The only issue is that they may be slowing down with veterans Bertuzzi, Modano, Lidstrom, Draper and Cleary but superstars like Datsyuk , Zetterberg and Rafalski should keep this team plugging away and near the top the Western Conference standings. Jimmy Howard had an impressive rookie season last year and will only improve, looks like the years spent in the minors for this high prospect has paid off and he has turned into a solid #1 goalie.
5. Los Angeles Kings –I still believe the Kings need to add a couple pieces to the team to be up this high and I believe they will. In my opinion they could use another solid defenceman and a solid 2-way forward to go along with their already solid club. Kopitar, Brown, Smyth, Stoll and Ponikarovsky should add plenty of offensive punch and also an impressive Brad Richardson plus a pesky Wayne Simmonds make this Kings forward line a dangerous group. The Norris trophy runner up Drew Doughty heads a solid defensive core with the likes of Greene, Scuderi and Johnson running the back end. As mentioned before, defense is the issue here as another addition to the back end is in dire need to make a solid top 4. Jonathan Quick was run down last year carrying the majority of the load for the Kings and he was very impressive. However, if rookie Bernier can not step in and play well to give Quick a break once in awhile then Quick may just peter out again. With that said, I expect Bernier to make a solid run at that #1 position and really push Quick to the limits which should bolster the Kings goaltending this year.
6. Phoenix Coyotes- This off season the Coyotes have improved, the additions of Ray Whitney and Derek Morris will only help this already impressive club this year.  The only problem is they won’t surprise anyone any more . The defence is rock solid again with Jovanovski, Morris, Aucoin, Sauer and Yandle anchoring the back end with star goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in goal. The offense is well rounded and deep with Doan, Wolski, Whitney, and Vrbata to name a few. I still believe this will be a defence first club and will be in a lot of close contests but they will most definitely be a very strong club again this year.
7. Nashville Predators- The Preds lost Jason Arnott but smartly replaced him with goal scorer and speedster Matthew Lombardi which will help the offensively struggling Predators. If O’Reilly and Kostitsyn can add some offense plus improved seasons by Legwand, Erat , Dumont and an aging Sullivan then this team is on the right track offensively. The real strength for this club is the defence with star Shea Weber and Ryan Suter being arguably one of the best 1-2 punch defensive tandems in the league and Bouillon, Klein and Parent it is a solid defensive core. With impressive Pekka Rinne in goal solidifying the net this team will once again be no easy match for any team. The Predators still need to add some help and may down the road make a deal for some more offensive help and if that happens we will see this team shoot up the standings.
8. Minnesota Wild- I really like what the Wild have done this year in additions to the club, they have added John Madden and Matt Cullen and the Wilds offense is certainly a strength this year unlike years in the past. If Havlat stays healthy, and Bouchard gets back on track along with star Mikko Koivu (one of the most underrated players in the league) this team may just shoot the lights out. Don’t forget about Latendresse , Brunette and Kobasew who are more then capable to contribute offensively plus some solid role players in the likes of Clutterbuck and Nystrom. The top 4 D of Zidlicky, Barker, Burns and Schultz compliment the offense well and once again solid goaltending with Backstrom and Harding tending the net. Wild fans have something to be excited for this year.
9. Anaheim Ducks- The Ducks should make a good push this year with Getzlaf, Perry and Lupul leading the troops. If they add Selanne and Kariya and already having Koivu and Blake at forward along with some excellent 2-way players to fill out the other lines the Ducks front lines will be fine. Although the Ducks average age is seemingly looking like it is around 40 years of age (joking) the veterans still have enough offensive punch and speed to get the job done. The defence looks a lot different then past years with Visnovsky, Lydman, and Sutton they will need to rely mostly on the forwards for offence with limited help from the back end. Puck moving could be a serious issue here for Anaheim. In goal they are fine with emerging star Jonas Hiller whom keeps getting better and better every year and McElhinney will get some work but very limited, similar to when he was in Calgary.
10. St.Louis Blues- With impressive youngsters Oshie, Backes, Perron, and Berglund and a sniper like Boyes  and speedster Andy Mcdonald this offense needs to be feared. This team may just light the lamp like crazy this year with all of their offensive talent. Once again the Blues will not be pushed around with physical guys like Crombeen, Winchester, Janssen and newly signed Sobotka.  The only question I have about this Blues team is can they stay out of the box and away from the thuggery that they have shown in the last couple years. If they can do so this team should have a good year, I am just not so sure they can stay out of the box though. The defence is decent with youngsters Johnson, Pieterangelo, and Colaiacovo and veterans Brewer and Jackman rounding them out but the youngsters may need another year of seasoning before they can become a serious threat. They have an excellent goaltender in Halak now BUT was last years impressive play plus his playoff run a one year thing or is he a keeper? I think Halak will be fine but he will most definitely see his shots this year which he is accustomed too being with the Habs last year.
11. Colorado Avalanche- OK so I am calling last year a fluke by the Avs right, nah not at all but to be fair Craig Anderson stole a lot of games for this team and they were dwindling down the stretch. Sure it could be because Anderson had no energy left and the youngsters seemed to be sputtering yet they did pick it up in the playoffs and nearly took out the San Jose Sharks. However, the team is made up of youngsters, although good ones such as Duchene, Galiardi, Yip, and Mcleod but I question their offensive depth. Hejduk is always a good sniper but he is the veteran on this team and what they lack is leadership and role players in the forward position. The defence is decent with Hannan, Liles, and Quincy and an aging Adam Foote, but will it be enough to keep the workload down for Anderson? I don’t think so.
12. Edmonton Oilers- Call me crazy but I like the look of this team, sure most are predicting the Oilers to finish dead last again but remember, they also predicted the Avalanche would last year. Predictions are for the birds but they are fun to write about. Anyways, with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Paajarvi-Svensson, Gagner, and Cogliano the Oilers have a ton of smallish forwards with great hands and blazing speed which will be a treat to watch this year for NHL and Oiler fans. Throw in a healthy dangling Hemsky and sniping softy Dustin Penner this team may just gel into something impressive. The re-signing of Brule will definitely help with some hard nose hockey and you can bet your bottom dollar that Stortini, Macintyre, Fraser and Jacques will be kept busy watching over these young budding stars. I like what GM Tambellini has done with the defence, he has added tough guy Vandermeer and powerplay specialist Kurtis Foster to the team and add those to a disgruntled yet healthy Souray, Tom Gilbert, Ryan Whitney, Ladislav Smid and veteran Jason Strudwick I would say the Oilers defence is impressive with toughness and mobility. Huge question in goal, if Khabibulin is able to play the Oilers might just have something here but without him they will be depending on Deslaurier , who many think was impressive last year and I thought otherwise and Devan Dubnyk.  I look forward to watching these guys play together and see how the team gels.
13. Calgary Flames- The Flames are an interesting bunch, they have stud Jarome Iginla leading the team year after year but failing Darryl Sutter seems to be unable to get him a center to play along with every season. He did resign Ollie Jokinen which shocked the NHL world and the bashing continues with that, then he went and signed ex-flame Alex Tanguay in hopes of rekindling the magic he and Iginla once had with the Flames. Calgary’s other forwards include Rene Bourque, aging Daymond Langkow, underachievers Stajan and Kotalik and some role players such as Glencross and Ivanans. What I do like about this club is the defence, Bouwmeester, Regehr, White , Sarich, and an ever improving Mark Giordano plus cagey veteran Steve Staios. They also have Staffan Kronwall and Adam Pardy waiting in the wings. Calgary is fairly deep on defence and should prove to give Kiprusoff a bit of relief although Kipper will probably play 70+ games again this year as it seems Calgary is going with yet another rookie back up goaltender this year.
14. Columbus Blue Jackets- The Jackets have one of the superstars in the league in Rick Nash along with some budding stars in Voracek and Brassard. Mix them in with veterans like Huselius, Umberger and Vermette and they will have a decent forward line up but I am worried about their depth. Chris Clark will help plus they added Ethan Moreau who may find his legs back but to me it’s doubtful as Moreau is going to a team that was very similar to the Oilers team he played with last year.  The back end is anchored by some up and coming young gunners such as Russell and Klesla along with big Mike Commodore and Jan Hejda but is this defence enough to stop the questionable goaltending of Steve Mason this up coming season? I have my doubts, I feel it will be a long year for the Jackets who seem to be dropping a few notches.
15. Dallas Stars- Dallas has an impressive top 3 guys in Richards, Ribeiro, and Morrow along with a decent compliment of forwards such as Eriksson, agitators Burish and Ott plus Jamie Benn and Brunnstrom. I question the forward depth still and I just don’t see the Stars being an overly scoring team aside from the Richards line. The defence is also marginal, Robidas leads the way and does a great job at it but with Daley, Skrastins, Lukowich, and Fistric rounding out the D it could be a long year. Lehtonen will be the starter with Raycroft backing him up, unless Kari can regain that status of a supposedly superstar up and coming goalie plus stay healthy he may give the Stars some much needed solid goaltending. Either way, one can tell the Stars are not willing to shell out the dollars for players and this years team will show it.

Once again it will be a tight race throughout the season fighting for the playoffs not just because of the solid teams but because of the ridiculous shootout point system format (which is another blog altogether) Take this as you will, it’s just how I feel the season will pan out as the rosters stand right now but of course rosters will change and I may just do another one of these. This is just my outlook, our other great bloggers for their respective teams on this site will also have great input so visit their blogs!

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading as always!

It’s Official, Stan Bowman’s word is not one to be trusted. Bowman earlier had stated that Niklas Hjalmarsson and Antti Niemi were not going anywhere, his word was bond with Hammer but I guess he spoke to soon on Niemi and now realizes he should not open his yap to Hawk fans sending them promises he can’t keep.

The Hawks chose to walk away from Antti Niemi whom now becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any other team and have signed goaltender Marty Turco to a 1 year deal somewhere between the range of 1-1.5 million (nothing official due to exact figures yet)

What happens to Niemi now? Well, at 2.75 million per annum he is still quite expensive for a team to sign plus there are really not a ton of teams to go to as most clubs are set with starting goaltenders. Niemi could go to the KHL as an option which is not highly unlikely or he could sign with another club for a longer term deal for less money per year. We shall see. My prediction? Niemi signs with San Jose for 2 million the first year and progressively gets a higher salary for the next 2 years, a total of a 3 year deal just to get by the cap issues. Thomas Greiss will be put on waivers. Another possibility is the Edmonton Oilers could try to sign Niemi but that all depends on if Nikolai Khabibulin is imprisoned on his DUI charges.

I have been blasting away all year that I believe Niemi will be the next Hasek, with the Hawks luck he will be. I feel it is a mistake by Chicago to let him walk as I am sure there is something they could have done to make the numbers work but looking ahead to after this season they will need to give Brent Seabrook and Troy Brouwer healthy raises so this move will most certainly help. In the long run Hawks fans may be happy being able to contain those guys at the cost of losing Niemi, would Niemi be here more then this year if the Hawks decided to sign him? Perhaps, but it is doubtful as Chicago would have had to go through this exact same scenario after next year if they decide to try to sign Niemi again.

What does Marty Turco bring to the Hawks? Marty brings one of the  hardest working goaltenders in the league, the best puck handling goalie and personally one of my favorites so that has to count for something right? Turco WILL excel with the Hawks style of puck possession and quick moving out of the defensive zone and into the oppositions offensive zone. He is one of the most agile goaltenders in the league even if he is one of the older goaltenders in the NHL right now. Also, his statistics were very comparable to Niemi’s last season and that was playing with a more less defensive inept team in the Dallas Stars. While I am not happy that Niemi has walked I can honestly say I am excited to see Turco in a Hawks uniform next year. Remember how many of us were begging for Chicago to get Turco last year for the cup run? Well we have him now.

Corey Crawford will also get a good chance to steal the #1 spot from Turco next season and I fully expect Crawford to get in 30 games next year, if Turco falters we may see Crawford take over that spot and pull a Niemi for Chicago this upcoming season. But in all reality, I expect Turco to have an outstanding year and Hawk fans won’t forget Niemi but will welcome Marty after he shows what he can do.

Last night I had some friends via twitter/facebook ask some questions so I will implement that in this blog below. To be fair I answered these last night prior to the Turco signing plus I only put 3 of the questions on this blog and will put the other questions on the next upcoming article.

@Bdmillhouser via twitter asks:

Q: When and how fast do goalies skills diminish.. could Turco have A great season if he came to the Blackhawks?

A: Great question. In my experience of being a goaltender for years I find that each individual is different. I was a late bloomer starting in my mid teens where as most start prior to that. In my case I caught on quickly and was playing AAA Midget in only my second year. With that said, you look at guys such as Antti Niemi who is an older rookie and took a lot more time to develop over seas plus playing a year in Rockford with the AHL IceHogs. Now the Nieminator is a Stanley cup winning goaltender. Then you have guys like Martin Brodeur who is still going strong and the last I heard was Hasek was possibly playing again (not in the NHL). In ending in regards to diminishing skills, in my opinion it is all in the preparation each individual takes to prolong his career, if he gets lazy or disinterested in playing anymore and stops working on each skill he will obviously be retiring a lot sooner then the harder working guys such as Turco for example.

In regards to Marty Turco I truly believe IF he does become a Hawk he will most definitely have a great season. His puck handling skills and work ethic are second to none in the NHL along with being one of the most athletic goaltenders in the league. Many feel Turco’s wheels have fallen off but he has been pretty decent playing with a somewhat mediocre Dallas club where their top D-man is Robidas. Now put him on a squad who has Campbell/Hammer/Seabrook/Keith, I guarantee you he would have a great season.

Brad via Facebook asks

Q: What do you think they should do with Niemi?

A: Honestly, I would try to keep him. Many say he was not the best goaltender in the Stanley Cup playoffs last season and I ask those people who was better? He WAS the best goaltender in the playoffs last year, he has the Cup ring to prove it. Rinne and Halak were the next best but Rinne played 1 round and Halak had a few brutal games as well. 2.75 mill is a lot for the Hawks to handle due to the cap struggles they have but I really believe Niemi is going to be the next Hasek. He has the potential and skill set to do so in my opinion. Do I think the Hawks will keep

@1Blackhawkfan via Twitter asks:

Q:Who do you see making the biggest impact next year in regards to rookies or 2nd year players? Thx!

A: I think Bryan Bickell will have a big impact this year playing on one of the top 2 lines, his size and pretty decent hands could get him 15-20 goals this upcoming season along with 80-100 pims. I believe Bickell will do his best to replace what Byfuglien did for us last year and will do a pretty bang up job on it. For rookies, as much as I would like to see Shawn Lalonde crack the lineup I have a hunch it may just be Nick Leddy. Of course that could change throughout the season as both could be sent back and forth to Rockford all year long pending on injuries what have you. Ivan Vishnevskiy is also in the mix. I guess we can throw Kyle Beach back in the mix now with the Hawks walking away from Niemi today as well, it will be interesting. So I guess my final answer will be Bickell and Leddy will be the biggest impact guys for rookies/2nd year players.

@freezethepuck via twitter asks:

Q: Who is the best current Hawks player and why in your opinion?

A: That is a tough question, most would say Toews, Hossa and Kane would also get big time props but I am going with Duncan Keith. Keith does everything right and by saying that I mean everything! He contributes offensively as he is our best offensive defenseman plus he is our best defensive defenseman also. His speed, mentality, puck handling skills and his on ice performance proves why he is deserving of the Norris trophy winner. Not only is he the best current Hawks player but he is my favourite Hawk player on a team with so many great skaters. I am so glad he will be with the Hawks for many years to come.

Thanks to all for submitting questions last night!

Well Hawks fans we have something to think about now, I guess we shall sit for a couple days and let it soak in that Niemi will no longer be a Hawk but I urge you to get excited about Marty Turco. I have already ordered my Turco jersey .

What do you think of  walking away from Niemi?

Thanks for reading as always,

Tkon.

This is just a summary of what I feel are the top 10 players in each category in the NHL to date. Sure there will be many arguments for and against what I have inserted here but let’s take a look at what I have and see if we agree.

Center:

Sidney Crosby- should not be any argument here, the “kid” is hands down the best center and possibly the player in the game today.

Pavel Datsyuk- he does it all, scores, defends and is regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in history.

Henrik Sedin- not the greatest in his own end but this flying swede scores in bunches with his brother or not.

Jonathan Toews- he does it all, does not score like a lot of other centers but makes up for it almost every other department. World junior gold, Olympic gold, Olympic Team Canada MVP and the Conn Smythe. Agreed?

Mike Richards- almost a clone of Toews in skill set, he works as hard as anyone in the game and does it well

Ryan Getzlaf- he’s tough, he scores and he plays well in his own end. He is a clutch player and don’t be surprised if this guy leads the league in scoring one year

Joe Thornton- Big Joe has a great regular season every single year and is one of the best face-off men in the game, however his disappearing act in each and every playoff year are not appealing.

Eric Staal- Similar to Thornton this guy has it all, a great player any team would love to build their franchise around

Nicklas Backtrom- Yes he does play with Ovechkin but nevertheless one can not discount this kids talent, he is a very good face off man, kills penalties and shoots the lights out.

Mikko Koivu- Koivu flies under the radar and perhaps it’s because he plays in Minnesota. The Wild are not the scheming trapping team we have been accustomed to for years and Koivu seems to have great year after great year. There is a reason this guy received a huge raise this year, try getting him a solid winger and watch this guy be in the top 5 scoring in the league.

Honorable mentions: Evgeni Malkin, Marc Savard, Steven Stamkos, Brad Richards, Anze Kopitar, Jason Spezza.Ryan Kesler ( in no particular order)

Wingers:

Alexander Ovechkin- another no brainer atop this division. Do I need to explain his attributes?

Rick Nash- who wouldn’t want this guy, hes fast, talented and a monstrosity of a man plus one of the best goal scorers in the game

Marian Hossa- call me biased but have you seen what this guy does year in and year out? Not only is he an offensive threat but he is one of the best back checkers in the game. Oh about that “Hossa jinx” thing, I told you time and time again that it was nothing, looks like fans need to find another guy to throw a jinx at

Ilya Kovalchuk- Dynamic one-way player shoots the lights out every year, can’t overlook that.

Marian Gaborik- See above

Jarome Iginla- Another one of these “do everything guys” if the Flames can ever get him a center to play with he very well could be a top 10 scorer again.

Patrick Kane- lightning speed, great hands and improving every year on his defensive play. If he hit the net more often with his vicious shot he may score 45-50 goals.

Daniel Sedin- Similar to his MVP brother he has amazing skills and it seems he is getting better and better every year.

Martin St.Louis-he is getting older but it has not phased him one bit. This new NHL suits him and a lot of other players his size perfectly. Speed Kills.

Zach Parise- An amazing talent and brings offensive explosion to what has seemingly been and inept offensive club in New Jersey for years. Might change if they do sign Kovalchuk this year, can you imagine these 2 together for a full year? Yikes.

Honorable mentions:  Corey Perry, Patrick Elias, Michael Cammalleri, Patrice Bergeron, Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson, Alexei Kovalev, Jeff Carter, Shane Doan, Dany Heatley, Phil Kessel, Alexander Semin.

Of course the winger position is a lot tougher then the center position as there are many more wingers then centers hence the larger honorable mention list.

Defence:

Duncan Keith: Norris trophy winner, lighting speed, great shot and one of the best defenders in the game. Still is not getting the respect he deserves but he will soon.

Shea Weber: What can’t you say about Shea? He is a great all around d-man plus his insane shot helps just a tad.

Chris Pronger: This guy is a terror on skates, scores, one of the best hitters in the game and incredible defensively.

Drew Doughty: Yup, #4 already and he is still getting better. That is downright scary.

Nicklas Lidstrom: Had a slow start to the year but in the latter half of the season proved to everyone he is still a great defenceman and one of the greatest of all time.

Dan Boyle: One of the premier offensive players in the league, he is also pretty damn good in his own end aswell.

Zdeno Chara: This behemoth of a man is one of the best, not only is he solid defensively and often crushes opposing players into the board he can also score. Does not hurt having the hardest shot in the league.

Mike Green: How can you not have this guy in here, hell he could lead half the teams in the league in scoring. His suspect defensive coverage knocks him down a bit but I would love having this guy on my team.

Sergei Gonchar: Another offensive juggernaut who also plays pretty decent D. Can’t overlook this great player.

Dion Phaneuf: Ya Ya I might take some slack for this one but Dion is a great defenseman no matter how one looks at it. He was the kicking boy in Calgary but wait and see what he does in Toronto this year.

Honorable Mentions: Niklas Kronwall, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Sheldon Souray, Jay Bouwmeester, Andrei Markov, Ryan Suter, Anton Volchenkov, Kimmo Timonen, Paul Martin, Dan Hamuis.

Goaltenders:

Ryan Miller: Hands down the best goaltender in the game today.

Henrik Lundqvist: The King would have numbers as good as anyone if he ever had a defence in front of him, still he has great numbers as is.

Roberto Luongo: playoff performances aside, he really was not that bad last year. He proved he can be a clutch goalie in the Olympics and he has all the skill in the world (beside puck handling). Everyone will see a different Luongo this year with the revamped defense in Vancouver.

Cam Ward: What? How the heck is he up this high. Well he has proven in the past how good he is and when you play on a team where Joni Pitkanen is the teams best d-man…

Ilya Bryzgalov: Where did this guy come from? From a back up guy to one of the best in just a couple years. His size and agility makes him one of the best in the league.

Mikka Kiprusoff: Phenomenal goaltender during the regular season, his playoff performances have not been great but he still gets the job done night after night. Literally.

Martin Brodeur: One of and if not the greatest of all time. His age is catching up with him if you like it or not and we have seen that in his performances of late. However if he was the starting goaltender on my club I would not be complaining.

Pekka Rinne: Yes he plays with one of the best defensive teams in the league but this kid is a standout, add his size and flexibility he is already an extremely good goaltender.

Craig Anderson: Wouldn’t the teams who passed this kid like to have him back.  He was the main reason why the Avalanche went to the show this year.

Tomas Vokoun: This lefty cracked this list as he is solid every single year no matter how poor the defense is in front of him. And they usually are poor.

Honorable Mentions : Jaroslav Halak, Tukka Rask, Antti Niemi, Jonas Hiller, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonathan Quick,Niklas Backstrom.

No KHL players allowed above.

Well there you have it, my take on what I feel are the top 10 players at each of their respective positions. Have some fun with it and I look forward to hear your agreements or disagreements.

Thanks for reading as always,

Tkon

In yet another salary dumping move the Chicago BlackHawks have dealt Marty Reasoner to the Florida Panthers for Jeff Taffe. This move will approximately save the Hawks around 600k per year.

Marty has been known for being a decent face off guy and more of a 4th line specialist. Marty makes 1.15 mill/year and I can think about 100 guys that can do his job for half that price.

Reasoner was a Blackhawk for almost a month, a month way to long in my opinion.

Taffe has been around since the 2002 season up and down from the NHL to the AHL but the majority of time has been playing in the American Hockey League. He is an offensive 29 year old but just does not seem to have the edge to stick with a big club. He may very well get his shot with Chicago and most notably makes a mere 500k/year.

This move may help Chicago in it’s efforts of signing Antti Niemi, I expect an offer to be tendered to Niemi prior to the July 29th arbitration hearing and I also expect it to be a long term deal around 2.5 mill per. Originally I had Niemi slated in to receive about 2.8 mill from the arbitrator but we shall see if it even gets to an arbitration hearing.

If by chance Chicago can not come to terms with Niemi, more then likely we will see Chicago starting the year with Corey Crawford/ Hannu Toivonen as our 1-2 punch. Many believe Chicago will go after a veteran goaltender such as Turco but it will have to come cheap if that is the case. I doubt the latter will happen.

The off season for the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks has been anything but an exciting one losing key members of this championship team. Chicago fans need to remember that the Hawks are Stanley Cup champions and every hardcore Chicago fan knew the dismantling of this team was going to occur this summer like it or not. Was it worth losing these players for a Stanley Cup? Damn rights it was. Hockey is a business and although many of us fall in love with certain players and what they have done there is a time to let go of some players and move on and strive towards the next season. Heck, it could have been worse as the Hawks could not have won the cup and either way Chicago was  losing players regardless this off-season.

OK, I am not cold hearted but I tell it how it is and I see how many fans perspectives on how hard it is to see our beloved players leave.

Players Departed:

Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien were acquired by Atlanta.

Kris Versteeg was acquired by Toronto

Colin Fraser was acquired by Edmonton

Adam Burish signed a 2 year deal with Dallas

And what did the Hawks receive? Pretty much prospects and picks but a couple of the Hawks acquisitions may be able to help Chicago as early as next season in the likes of Marty Reasoner (yikes) , Viktor Stalberg, and the monstrosity in John Scott will add some big time toughness.

So if that was not hard enough to handle for the Blackhawks and their fans but they recently had to deal with an offer sheet submitted by ex-hawk Doug Wilson of the freshly sweeped San Jose Sharks. “Dougie doo” offered Niklas Hjalmarsson a 4 year deal forcing Stan Bowman to make a decision on matching that offer or letting the highly touted d-man walk and therefore would receive the Sharks 1st and 3rd round draft picks next off-season. Bowman matched and I think it was a smart decision on his part, keeping this kid keeps Chicago’s defensive corp in tact and can fill the 3rd pairing accordingly with a guy like Scott and/or Hendry or perhaps even a rookie that played down in Rockford last year.

Signing “Hammer” was costly for Chicago as it now puts the Hawks in a bind for signing another key RFA in Antti Niemi, if he is not offered a contract by another team which would force Chicago to either match it or let him walk then it will depend on the Arbitration hearing that occurs in 17 days from today I believe.

Assuming the Hawks do not trade any more players the team tentatively looks like this:

Toews   Kane   Brouwer

Bolland  Hossa  Kopecky

Sharp   Bickell   Stalberg

Reasoner  Beach   Dowell

Seabrook   Keith

Campbell   Hjalmarsson

Scott    Hendry

Niemi/Crawford (assuming Huet is waived/traded)

This is assuming Hendry is re-signed and Dowell , Stalberg and Beach crack the lineup. Shawn Lalonde may even have an outside edge of making the squad but I would assume Lalonde needs some more seasoning in the AHL still. This is a long off-season and anything can happen, Chicago may sign some cheaper free agents to fill the voids left by the departed players if they feel the youngsters are not ready yet. I have a feeling these young guys will come to camp ripped and ready, the rookies all now realize they have a legitimate shot at making the big club and will come out guns a blazin’.

I have mentioned many times in previous blogs and message boards that Chicago’s core players will keep them in the playoffs for years to come. This IS a playoff team next year and I guarantee you that as still this is one of the deepest core teams in the NHL plus if Bowman fills the voids correctly these Blackhawks may surprise a few people next year.

I keep hearing fans of opposing teams say “Hawks won’t be as good as they were this year”. I thank them for pointing out the obvious and kindly respond in saying  “No $hit Sherlock, but we will be damn competitive next season so get ready for a ride!”

Blackhawk hockey is back in Chicago and it’s not going anywhere for years to come. Another Tkon guarantee

Las Vegas odds are out. Chicago and Washington are the favourites to win the cup next year at 6-1. Take that as you will.

Thanks as always for reading,

Tkon

As many expected Kris Versteeg has been dealt to another team. The Toronto Maple Leafs.

The deal as follows was reported by Pierre Lebrun.

Leafs get Versteeg and the rights to winger Bill Sweatt

Blackhawks get forwards Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis

If it stands this clears off another 3 million of the cap and the Hawks will be sitting roughly at around 9.3 million of free cap space which should ulitmatley allow us to sign Niemi and Hammer even if they are “offer sheeted” by another team. We will see which way Stan Bowman wants to move forward tomorrow morning/afternoon.

Quick Breakdown:

Kris Versteeg gave the Hawks a solid 2 years of play and has great offensive capabilities very much in comparison to the Sharks Joe Pavelski, heck they even look alike. Kris adds not just offensive punch but he can kill penalties amongst the best of them. The Hawks won’t miss his costly turnovers but to be fair Versteeg made up by scoring some big goals and played very well shorthanded. Very good acquisition for the Leafs.

Bill Sweatt has been playing in the NCAA at Colorado College has averaged around a point per game and was a decent prospect for the BlackHawks and may see some time with the Leafs in a few years.

Viktor Stalberg played with the Leafs for 40 games and amassing 9 goals, and 5 Apples for 14 points last season and then was sent down to the AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies and had an impressive 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points in 39 games. Stalberg is a very good prospect who may find his way into the BlackHawks lineup next season and he is a big kid at 6’3″ 210 lbs.

Chris Di Domenico is another good size offensive player who can put the puck in the net, he has scored well over a point per game in his time in the QMJHL. Chris is a few years away but is yet another high prospect and a very good acquistion for Chicago. He also played in the 2009 World Junior Championships helping team Canada to yet another gold medal.

Philippe Paradis was drafted by Carolina in 2009 27th overall

All in all this is a good deal for both teams, Toronto gets a sniper with unreal skating and stick skills and will more then likely be a top line winger or perhaps 2nd liner at the very least. Chicago get’s yet more cap relief and a very very good prospect in Stalberg who may pay immediate dividends.

Thanks as always,

Tkon