Outlook:

Say what you want about the Chicago Blackhawks 2009 offseason, but they are ready for a run at the Stanley Cup in 2009-10.

While some consider the offseason to have been quite a mess, there are plenty of areas where the Hawks improved. Marian Hossa—yes that guy who was a Stanley Cup runner-up two years in a row—signed a 12-year deal with the Hawks during the summer. While he won’t be available for the first two months of the year, Hossa will bring some firepower to Chicago’s offense, which was fourth best in the league in 2008-09.

With the plus side of Hossa comes the negative side of the Hawks offseason. Hossa was signed by then General Manager Dale Tallon. The former GM is now a Senior Adviser of Hockey Operations, while team adviser and legendary head coach Scotty Bowman’s son Stan, takes over the GM duties.

On top of that, Hossa’s 12-year $62.8 million contract is being investigated by the NHL, but nothing major has come up since the investigation began.

More drama hit the Hawks during the off-season just last month with star forward and NHL 2010 cover athlete Patrick Kane. Kane was arrested in Buffalo when he punched Jan Radecki, the cab driver for Kane and his brother James, when they were owed 20 cents. By now, everyone knows that Patrick Kane has a good stage name for the rest of his life.

Offseason drama aside, the Hawks still look like a solid team for 2009-10. But the state of the franchise beyond this season still has questions.

Jonathan Toews, the team’s captain, is a restricted free agent at the end of the year and so are Duncan Keith and Kane. Given the Blackhawks salary cap situation, they could walk out and sign elsewhere, but that still remains to be seen.

The time is now for the Hawks to win the Cup. Along with Hossa, the team brought in John Madden to add some playoff experience. Madden won two Stanley Cups during his tenure with the New Jersey Devils and was a Selke award winner as the leagues best defensive forward.

Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin have left the Windy City and while their presence might be missed, they are replaceable.

Cristobal Huet will be the No. 1 guy between the pipes, but the backup situation remains to be seen. Corey Crawford, a second round pick of the Hawks in 2003, has good potential and should be the favorite to fill that role.

The defense in front of Huet should continue to progress. Brian Campbell, Brent Seabrook, Cam Barker and Keith are the top four defensemen on the team, while Aaron Johnson, Brent Sopel and Niklas Hjalmarsson are the most likely candidates to fill the last two voids on defense. Keep an eye out for Jordan Hendry as well.

While Hossa, Kane and Toews are the top three forwards for the Hawks; there are still a lot of weapons up front. Kris Versteeg had a good rookie season and was a Calder trophy finalist in 2008-09. Look for Versteeg to improve from his 53-point season (22 goals, 31 assists) this year.

Andrew Ladd, Dave Bolland and Dustin Byfuglien each had 15-plus goals last year and Patrick Sharp, if healthy, could be a difference maker.

Overall, head coach Joel Quenneville has a team in front of him that has the potential to take home the Cup. The Blackhawks will overtake the Detroit Red Wings in the Central Division this season, but those two will be in war for that top spot. Chicago, Detroit, Vancouver and San Jose remain the top four teams in the West.

I would not be surprised if Chicago is the best team in the West, but for now I’ll put them slightly behind San Jose for the time being.

Prediction: First in Central, Second in West

Projected Opening Night Lines (without Hossa):

Patrick Sharp – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Andrew Ladd – Dave Bolland – Kris Versteeg
Ben Eager – John Madden – Dustin Byfuglien
Colin Fraser – Tomas Kopecky – Adam Burish

Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Cam Barker – Brian Campbell
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Aaron Johnson

Cristobal Huet
Corey Crawford