Bleacher Report - Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks' Fan Jeremy Piven: "The Goods" Gone Bad

TAB BAMFORD — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:31:52 -0500

Has anyone else seen the old Chicago Blackhawks commercial, in which actor Jeremy Piven makes himself a personal favorite to anyone who wears the Indian Head sweater? The link to the 31 second spot it here , courtesy of YouTube, if you’ve never seen it.

Wow. Truly a Chicagoan. A man’s man. A Blackhawks’ fan.

And then came Thursday night in Calgary, when Piven was apparently the guest of honor at the Flames-Blackhawks game. The emcee (I didn’t know they had those at hockey games) at one point presented Piven with a personalized Flames jersey.

I totally understand pandering to your public, but you can’t watch the commercial he made and then watch him, without a single item identifying him as a Chicagoan, accepting a Flames jersey.

I’m not going to hate the man (”The Goods” is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a while), but there are times in life when you need to keep it real. On Thursday night, Piven had an opportunity to keep it real and show that “everything he learned in life he learned from his dad, at a Blackhawks game.”

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Bryan Bickell Impressive In His Short Time With the Chicago Blackhawks

Michael Wagner — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:56:41 -0500

When Bryan Bickell was called up on November 15th against the San Jose Sharks, it came off as not a big deal and that he would likely be shuttled right back to Rockford after the game.

Well, you would be partially right.

Bickell would take Kris Versteeg's lineup spot, as he was missing time with an upper body injury, and give the Blackhawks more size against a very physical Sharks team.

Bickell would end up heading back to Rockford, but would find his way onto a plane bound for Calgary and in the lineup once again over forward Andrew Ebbett.

Now, we find out today that forward Andrew Ebbett has been placed on waivers and is likely done as a Chicago Blackhawk. This move speaks volumes about how impressed they have been with Bickell.

In Bickell's two most recent games with the Blackhawks, he has found himself on the top line with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, running protection and not looking out of place.

In those games, Bickell had four shots and was a plus two also recording about 12 minutes of total ice time and 17 shifts per game.

It is good to see Bickell finally getting a chance to prove his talents at the NHL level and prove why he was a second round pick all the way back in 2004.

Bickell has a good combination of skill, size, speed, and hands for a guy that stands 6'4".

Many had believed that Bickell was likely stuck in the AHL with the plethora of talent ahead of him like Troy Brouwer, Dustin Byfuglien, and Andrew Ladd, but with the likely departure of several key forwards, guys like Bickell will be counted on next season.

The play of Bickell, I believe, has comforted many Blackhawks fans because they now see that the transition might not be so bad, as the 'Hawks still have tons of talent in the pipeline waiting for their chance to contribute at the NHL level.

Although Bryan Bickell will likely see his ice time diminish, if not disappear, when Marian Hossa returns during the circus trip, it has been good to see him prove his worth at the NHL level and in a major role with the 'Hawks.

In 2010 there should be wholesale changes on the front line, as well as on the back end, but it is comforting to see that the Blackhawks do have players waiting in the wings who can come in and likely fill the void of those player losses.

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Chicago Blackhawks: Are The Senators Barking to Make a Deal?

TAB BAMFORD — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:20:49 -0500

As the tagging situation appears to be an issue the Chicago Blackhawks must address before putting the pen to paper with Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane , the rumors surrounding the team will undoubtedly start picking up.

Friday, the latest trade rumor appears to have the Hawks dealing Cam Barker to the Ottawa Senators. The alleged players coming back are, you guessed it, a couple of guys with expiring contracts. This deal intrigues me more than a Barker-for-Matt Cullen deal, though.

In the rumored scenario where the Hawks would move Barker to Carolina for veteran center Cullen, the Hawks would get an older center to anchor the second line in Dave Bolland’s absence. There is very little chance Cullen would be brought back, even though his brother is presently playing in the Blackhawks organization in Rockford.

In the proposed Ottawa deal, the Hawks would receive defenseman Alexandre Picard, 23, center Ryan Shannon, 26, and even potentially a draft pick. Both Picard and Shannon have the required expiring contracts, but both are also young and making small enough money that their retention could be considered in 2010-11 if they perform while in Chicago.

Picard is especially intriguing. He’s averaging 19:58 in ice time per night and has nine points (one goal, eight assists) with three of his assists coming on the power play. He handles the puck well enough, and has enough of a shot, that he could be considered a good shot to be brought back next year. When you factor in that he’ll be a restricted free agent, and is only making $850,000 dollars this season, he could be seen as a legitimate replacement for Barker on the Hawks blue line next season.

Compared to Picard, Barker is only averaging 13:59 in ice time per night and has 11 points (four goals, seven assists). Barker has cooled off in the scoring column, though; he has only scored five points in his last ten games, and has only scored in three of those ten games.

Adding a player like Picard would also help the Hawks take their time developing young defensemen Dylan Olsen and Shawn LaLonde, not forcing them to be ready by Opening Day next year because the organization has only five defensemen under contract.

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Chicago-Calgary: Blackhawks Blow Out Flames, 7-1

TAB BAMFORD — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:27:34 -0500

Ah, the Circus Trip.

Not only are the Chicago Blackhawks gone until December, but they get to start their annual Thanksgiving road trip against one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League, the Calgary Flames.

Coming into Thursday night's game, the Flames had only allowed more than two goals once in November, and had a 5-1-1 record to show for it. During that stretch, Calgary goaltender Mikka Kipprusoff has been exceptional; he had saved at least 95 percent in each of his starts until Tuesday, when he allowed three goals on 24 shots to Colorado.

Kipprusoff was emerging as one of the better netminders in the Western Conference during this stretch as well. Despite the infamous 6-5 overtime loss in Chicago in October, he ranked 10th in the NHL in save percentage, 12th in goals against average, and his 11 wins was just one behind the league leaders.

Also red hot for the Flames was their senior leader, Jerome Iginla. His 12 goals were good for the top 10 in the NHL coming as well.

Not only were the Flames playing well, and at home, but they undoubtedly wanted to get the bad taste of the October game out of their mouths coming into Thursday's game.

Now that we've put all that on the table, forget it all. The Blackhawks blew out the Flames as though they were candles on Patrick Kane's birthday cake.

How bad did it get for Calgary? With four minutes left, the house organist busted out "Always look at the bright side of life."

While the scoring will undoubtedly steal the headlines from most of the media, and rightly so, it would be a mistake to ignore a magnificent effort from Cristobal Huet. Against a very good offensive team, Huet made the average saves, the special saves, and the clutch saves to back up another great defensive effort.

On Kane's 21st birthday, he notched the first goal he can legally celebrate with a cocktail and also had an incredible assist on Kris Versteeg's second goal of the night as the Blackhawks absolutely dumped on the Flames from the middle of the first period until the final horn.

Troy Brouwer continued his stretch of perhaps the best hockey of his professional career, scoring his sixth goal in a flurry of putbacks in the first period to give the Hawks the lead. After Olli Jokinen tied the game with a power play goal less than a minute into the second period, the game ended for Calgary.

Less than 40 seconds after Jokinen's goal, Niklas Hjalmarsson lit up former Hawks Renee Bourque like a Christmas tree. He drew a minor penalty on Nigel Dawes, which opened the flood gates. Versteeg scored his first goal on that power play, and the downward slide became fast and pathetic for the Flames.

Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd both scored on breakaways before Kane and Versteeg scored to finish off a second period in which the Hawks outscored the Flames by a 5-1 margin.

Oh, and Ben Eager scored his first goal of the season in the third to make the final score 7-1.

Thursday night's performance should go a long way to give the Hawks a lot of confidence as they continue on this long trip. Their power play had been struggling (one of the few aspects of their game that had been subpar), but they fixed that fairly well on Thursday; the Hawks scored on each of their first four power plays.

Also important coming away from Thursday is that, in a physical game that wasn't very competitive on the scoreboard, the Hawks appeared to leave the ice healthy. The Flames didn't finish any cheapshots on Hjalmarsson or any other Hawks despite their frustration from being embarrassed again.

Huet stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced in the game, the Blackhawks successfully killed four of five penalties, and spread the wealth in the scoring again. Only Brent Sopel, Jonathan Toews, John Madden, Brian Bickell, and Colin Fraser didn't score at least one point in the game, with Duncan Keith leading the way with three assists to earn Number One Star honors.

Toews might not have scored, but he continued to be an elite player in the circle. The Blackhawks young captain won 11 of 15 faceoffs to lead the Blackhawks. Madden won 13 of 25 faceoffs on the night. Fraser lost another fight, his fourth in his last four games.

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Chicago Blackhawks Contract Update: Tag, Someone's Out?

TAB BAMFORD — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:55:18 -0500

The Chicago Blackhawks are continuing to work with the agents for young stars Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith on new contracts to keep the three in Chicago for the better part of the next decade.

Many sites have reported that the general framework for each deal appears to be certain, but now the Hawks have to take care of some business on their end.

One of the issues the Hawks will have to work through is making sure every "i" is dotted and each "t" is crossed, because the NHL is taking a very close look at any deal that extends beyond 10 years in the wake of suspicious contracts like those of Philadelphia's Chris Pronger and Chicago's Marian Hossa this past summer.

It is believed that Duncan Keith's deal could be for 13 years, which qualifies for the extra scrutiny.

The other, and perhaps bigger, issue the Blackhawks will face has to do with a specific rule in the Collective Bargaining Agreement called "tagging." ESPN's Jesse Rogers wrote on Wednesday afternoon that he was clued into this provision by a rival GM.

"Tagging" is a rule in the CBA that prohibits a team from having more money committed to the following season than the current year's salary cap. Essentially, if this year's salary cap is roughly $56 million, the Hawks wouldn't be allowed to have the projected $61 million committed to next year's payroll after these three deals were completed.

Which means the Blackhawks might have to move one (or two) players before they officially put the pen to paper with the three young studs.

As the contract situation(s) and player movement continues to evolve for the Blackhawks, we'll keep you updated.

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The Blackhawks' Great Gamble: Spending vs. Revenue Generating

TAB BAMFORD — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:46:34 -0500

It’s true about any business: Cash is king.

In this economy, when businesses of all shape and size are losing money, making money is one of the great struggles in America. There are well-educated people all over this country trying to re-invent the wheel to make a square peg fit into a round hole for the sake of driving the bottom line.

In professional sports, the bottom line has been drawn down by everything else in the country going under. If mom and dad are deciding between a tank of gas and a new jersey, they’ll make sure they can get to work (if they still have a job).

Tickets are an even greater luxury, especially in this age of $5 hot dogs and $8 beers.

You can read in any newspaper about Major League Baseball teams losing revenue at record rates in 2009, and the NFL has struggled for the first time in a strike-free scenario to fill stadiums. And those leagues are well run.

Enter the Gary Bettmen-run National Hockey League. A wonderful, classic game that’s been misrepresented for a generation and continues to struggle from poor marketing. The Phoenix Coyotes are working their way through bankruptcy, while the first-place Colorado Avalanche can’t get their stadium filled to 50 percent of capacity many nights.

This is a world build for cynics like Dollar Bill Wirtz. “Hug that dollar and never let it go, even if the product on the ice suffers” could be the mantra of owners all over the NHL.

And then there’s the NEW Chicago Blackhawks .

Bill’s gone, and Rocky has taken a completely different approach. His first order of business was to bring in a marketing jedi in John McDonough, who publically fixed most of the issues the fans had with the Hawks.

Home game on television? Done. Fun atmosphere at a sterile United Center? Sure, why not.

But ultimately in sports, it’s the product on the ice (or field) that makes you money. Anyone can buy a Clark Griswold jersey; give the fans players they want to believe in, and you’ll unload truck after truck of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews items.

So last summer, McDonough and then-GM Dale Tallon made a bold step and spent money on big-time free agents. They assessed their position as a franchise, and decided that they needed a power play quarterback on the blue line and depth in goal. Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet were the top names on the free agent market, so Tallon went out and threw a $12 million-per-year bandaid on the Hawks’ problems.

Their gamble paid off.

The Blackhawks jumped from nearly missing the playoffs to skating their way to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in nearly two decades, and the buzz was back in Chicago.

Hockey had returned with a force, and the Blackhawks were set.

So, after a great season, McDonough and Tallon used the same philosophy in bringing in the premier name on the free agent market again, this time throwing another huge contract at a player to fill a perceived need. Marian Hossa got a king’s ransom to replace/improve the role that Martin Havlat had played in the Chicago offense.

They were making their move, taking their shot at the big one. 1961 was a number burned into each of their souls.

Fast forward to today.

It isn’t July any longer, and reality is starting to set in on the Hawks. They’re on the verge of keeping three of their young superstars, Kane, Toews, and Duncan Keith, with what appear to be fairly good contracts that are certainly more logical both immediately and long-term than the paper Tallon gave Huet, Campbell, and Hossa.

Couple this news with a report from Forbes that was published last week. Forbes, of course, is all about money; they care about the business, not the game.

Indeed, this is the very publication that just a half decade ago called these Chicago Blackhawks one of the worst-run organizations in professional sports. Bill Wirtz was annually flushing his fan base down the drain in favor of profit.

But last week, Forbes wasn’t hating on the Blackhawks any longer. They released their annual rankings of franchise value in the NHL, and the Hawks made some noise. A lot of noise. They jumped to the seventh highest team value in the entire NHL, with Forbes estimating the team to be worth $258 million.

More remarkable is a different column on their spreadsheet, though. According to their report, 13 of the 30 teams in the NHL lost money last year, with three losing better than 10 percent. The economy killed the NHL last year.

Except the Blackhawks.

Forbes estimates that the Hawks’ value grew by 26 percent last year, a number that dwarfs the rest of the report and jumps off the page like Michael Jordan leaving the free throw line. Consider the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have their own young tandem of stars and won the Stanley Cup, increased their value by only 14 percent. McDonough was earning his keep.

But now GM Stan Bowman stands at a crossroads where the product and revenue are skyrocketing, but the limitations of the game and the product on the ice are facing a reality check.

In the 1990s, when Bill Wirtz was killing the organization on an annual basis, the great sin the team committed was sending popular players away.

Now Bowman faces a similar task.

With the estimated contracts of Keith, Kane, and Toews being added to the projected bottom line for 2010-11, the Hawks stand roughly $6 million over the estimated salary cap for next year.

Young, popular players might become trade pieces to keep this team under the cap, all while larger deals like those of Campbell, Huet, and Hossa hold the potential of staying on the books.

The next years in Chicago will serve as a great case study for all of professional sports. How the Blackhawks manage their talent, continue growing revenue, and attempt to maintain their competitive play will be both frustrating and fascinating.

If the Hawks can bring the Stanley Cup to Chicago for the first time in nearly 50 years, the revenue will certainly be there.

But how the Hawks spend that money moving forward will ultimately prove to be the legacy of not only this management group, but the players on the ice.

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Would the Blackhawks Consider Trading Marian Hossa for Cap Relief?

Michael Wagner — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:20:45 -0500

According to the likes of ESPN and TSN, the Chicago Blackhawks are nearing extensions with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith but today on ESPN I read something that I couldn't believe.

Since I am an ESPN Insider I am able to browse all the ESPN rumors and Insider articles, but in the rumor section this morning I read that Blackhawks should consider moving Marian Hossa.

Here is a section from that article:

"The salary cap is at $56.8 million this season but it's projected to dip a little next season. So even with just 15 players, the Hawks will be over the salary cap. That means they'll likely try to part ways with their biggest earners—Hossa, Campbell and Huet, as well as some of their role players. How will they do it? Like we said earlier, Bowman has quite the task ahead of him."

Now I agree the Blackhawks need to move a big salary and two likely candidates would be Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet but I have never heard Hossa's name brought up among those who should be shopped.

In the article, the ESPN Insider says that Hossa's contract is worth $7.9 million per season which is somewhat correct but due to the length of his contract and it being front loaded, Hossa's cap hit (which is the number everyone should care about) is only $5.233 million.

Hossa hasn't even played a single game with the Blackhawks and has a lower cap hit than both Campbell and Huet?

That really doesn't make sense to me but I guess he would be an easier asset to move than Campbell or Huet.

Really Hossa, when healthy, is a 70-80 point player and 40-goal scorer and at $5.233 million, he is a bargain.

We need to see what Hossa can do on the ice this season and see if he is the same player he was before surgery (which I bet he is) and make a determination from there on if he is a trade-able asset.

There have to be other avenues explored to relieve the cap crunch than trading away Marian Hossa.

Even possibly taking Tab Bamford's advice of buyout Brian Campbell's contract, although I think it is a little far-fetched and could lead to trouble down the road, I think I would rather see that happen than Hossa be traded.

To me, by signing that 12-year deal with the Blackhawks, Hossa has become a part of the Chicago Blackhawks core along with Keith, Kane, Toews, and Brent Seabrook and I don't see him going anywhere.

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Chicago Blackhawks' Contract Rumor Updates

TAB BAMFORD — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:32:15 -0500

Some details about the proposed contract extensions for three young Chicago Blackhawks are coming into view.

A number of web sites are reporting that Duncan Keith will sign a deal that, as ESPN’s Jesse Rogers said, “will keep [Keith] in Chicago for the rest of his career.” A number of sources, including TSN’s Bob McKenzie, have rumored that Keith’s offer from the Blackhawks is a 13-year deal with a cap number between $5.5 and $5.75 million per season.

McKenzie, again one of a number of sources, is also reporting that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane , who share an agent, will sign similar deals. The rumor there is that the two young stars will receive five-year extensions with cap numbers between $6 and $6.5 million per season,

As McKenzie writes, these numbers would put the Hawks’ signed roster for 2010-11 at $61 million, which is nearly $5 million over this season salary cap. Rumors are that the NHL will lower it’s salary cap in 2010-11, meaning the Hawks will need to shed salary off their existing roster to make it under next year’s cap.

Players the Hawks have under contract for next year would be Keith, Toews, Kane, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Troy Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky, Marian Hossa, Dave Bolland, Dustin Byfuglien, Cristobal Huet, Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel, Brian Campbell, and Cam Barker.

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Chicago Blackhawks Keeping All Three Amigos?

TAB BAMFORD — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:09:44 -0500

In Tuesday's Chicago Tribune , Chris Kuc reports a source close to the Chicago Blackhawks says the Hawks could announce new contracts with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith as early as today .

The news that Toews and Kane were close to extensions is nothing new, but the addition of Keith to the mix is fantastic news. Kuc doesn't report anything regarding years of dollars, but does mention that salary trimming will need to take place for the three to fit under the cap moving forward.

Thursday is Kane's 21st birthday, while Keith is 26 and Toews is a 21-year old Captain.

Next summer, the following Blackhawks will be free agents: Niklas Hjalmarsson, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, John Madden, Colin Fraser, Antti Niemi, and Adam Burish.

For more on this story, with rumors about dollars and years for the three contracts, please see the update from early Tuesday evening.

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How Buying Out Brian Campbell Could Save the Chicago Blackhawks' Future

TAB BAMFORD — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:45:12 -0500

There are lots of rumors flying around the Chicago Blackhawks right now, and most of them have to do with potential player movement.

However, while some rumors center around improving the team for a run at the Stanley Cup this year, most of them are the work of mad scientists/hockey writers trying to make all of the current Hawks fit into the salary cap next year.

The latest rumor is that the Blackhawks will announce, at some point during the upcoming circus trip, that they have agreed to long-term deals with their two young stars, Patrick Kane and captain Jonathan Toews.

As Pierre LeBrun postulates on ESPN.com, any fair market contracts for these two would almost certainly mean there isn’t enough cap space in Chicago for Duncan Keith.

Keith is the rock of the Hawks’ blue line and must be retained. But considering what other top defensemen are making (Tomas Kaberle is at $4.25 million, Zdeno Chara is at $7.5 million, Brian Campbell is at $7.14 million), Keith is going to get a substantial raise from his current salary of $1.9 million.

Assuming Keith’s cap number jumps to fair market value, which should be in the neighborhood of $5 million in the current economy, the Blackhawks unfortunately have too much money on their books to afford him.

So how can the Hawks come up with enough cap space to keep Toews, Kane, and Keith? I did some research, and the solution is simple.

Buy out Brian Campbell’s contract.

My homework on the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHLPA and the NHL left me with an optimistic view of how the Hawks could easily afford to keep their home-grown core intact. Keith isn’t the only player that is going to need a raise, and unloading Campbell could serve as the first domino to facilitate the rest of the roster being set.

Based on the current CBA, there is a formula by which the annual salary cap hit for a player is determined if his contract is bought out before it expires. I’m going to try to break down the CBA’s policy on contract buyouts to a CliffsNotes version for the sake of discussing how the Hawks buying out Campbell could help them afford the rest of their roster.

If a player is older than 26, then the player is entitled to 60 percent of the remaining dollar value of his contract. However, the CBA allows a club to stretch that 60 percent out over twice the remaining duration of the existing contract.

Campbell is due $42.84 million over the next six years ($7.14 million per). So, in Campbell’s case, his new “contract” for the Hawks’ cap purposes would become $25.71 million over the next 12 seasons (or $2.14 million per season).

In buying out Campbell, the Hawks would lose a good power-play quarterback and one of the fastest-skating blue liners in the league. But they would save $5 million annually.

Circling back to our discussion about Keith’s relative value in this market, the $5 million the Hawks would save would basically become Keith’s contract.

Something the Hawks have undoubtedly already dealt with internally is that Campbell’s contract is concrete; no other team is going to trade for that size of a cap number without unloading dead weight of their own. So an internal restructuring of their salaries is needed, which makes buying Campbell out a realistic option.

The negatives of buying out a contract as long as Campbell’s are obvious: The Hawks lose a good player and have to pay someone who isn’t on their roster for 12 years. But the global impact of taking Campbell off the books could reach beyond just Keith.

After the 2009-10 season, there are more players looking for new paper than just the headliners. Toews, Kane, and Keith could be joined as restricted free agents by Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Jordan Hendry.

From this group, Hjalmarsson stands out as a priority to re-sign. It would be prudent for the Hawks to give him a long-term deal with Keith this summer, locking up a player that Scotty Bowman has projected as one of the top defensemen in the league.

Locking up Keith and Hjalmarsson is impossible with Campbell’s contract on the books. If Campbell’s no longer with the team, it’s at least within reasonable imagination that both could be retained.

Another unfortunate reality is that there are deals coming up in subsequent years that will require the Hawks to spend a significant amount of money again. Brent Seabrook is a restricted free agent in the summer of 2011, and he’ll require a nice raise just like Hjalmarsson and Keith will.

When Seabrook is looking for a new deal, though, Brent Sopel’s $2.3 million cap number will be off the books, affording the Hawks additional flexibility. Other contracts that expire after the 2010-11 season include Dustin Byfuglien and Troy Brouwer.

With Cam Barker under contract for the next two years for less than half Campbell’s cap number and prospects like Shawn LaLonde and Dylan Olsen coming up through the system, eventually Campbell’s roster spot would be needed for a cheaper, younger player as well.

Though Barker, like Campbell, leaves a lot to be desired on the ice, his heavy shot from the point makes Campbell’s niche on the roster less exclusive. That Byfuglien, a former defenseman, has seen time at the point on the power play recently further dilutes the Hawks’ need for Campbell’s ability to lead a rush.

Stan Bowman inherited a minor league system full of solid prospects. Players like LaLonde, Olsen, Akim Aliu, Jake Dowell, and Kyle Beach could all find their names on lockers at the United Center in the next couple years, and they’ll arrive with significantly lower cap numbers than some veterans that are currently on the roster.

By buying out Campbell’s contract, Stan Bowman would release $5 million of pressure between the young Hawks and the salary cap, enabling him to use Dale Tallon as a crutch for eating over $2 million but opening the space needed to keep a great young core together for more than one run at a Stanley Cup.

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Chicago Blackhaws: If Toews and Kane Stay, Is Keith Gone?

TAB BAMFORD — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:36:20 -0500

A number of media sources, led by ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, are reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks are close to contract extensions with their two young superstar forwards, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

LeBrun speculated over the weekend that an announcement of the extensions for the two could come during the team's two-week Circus Trip, which begins this week.

The downside of the speculation that Toews and Kane will get their substantial pay days soon comes with the reality that, if both of the kids get fair market value for 21-year old stars, Duncan Keith might be on borrowed time.

Keith, who has been absolutely spectacular next to Brent Seabrook for the past couple seasons, is one of the fastest skating defensemen in the league and has played at an All Star level for three years. He is off to a great start in 2009-10, scoring 15 points already and continuing his leadership on the blue line for the best defense in the league.

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, though, Keith is a restricted free agent this coming summer. He will turn 27 in July, and stands to get a substantial raise, just like Toews and Kane. That means other teams can, and probably will, submit offer sheets to Keith that would force the Hawks to either match their terms or lose Keith with only draft picks coming back as compensation.

The reality of the Hawks' salary cap situation is starting to become a reality.

There have been rumors that the Hawks are active in the trade market, trying add a center to fill the hole left by Dave Bolland. There is potential that the Hawks could move salary off the books by moving a player like Cam Barker in an eventual trade, but money would need to come off the books from somewhere to afford Keith.

The other, highly unlikely, option to keep all three in-house would be Toews and Kane giving the Hawks a "home-town discount," effectively signing for under market value to give the Hawks the flexibility to give Keith an extension as well.

Read more Chicago Blackhawks news on BleacherReport.com

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane Close To Signing New Extension?

Michael Wagner — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:00:03 -0500

According to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, the Chicago Blackhawks and young star forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews may be closing in on a mutli-year deal to keep them in Chicago.

Although there were few details that LeBrun would divulge he did say that a deal could be done within the next two weeks.

If this is more than just a rumor it is great news for Blackhawks fans as they can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Contract status' of Kane and Toews have hung over the start of the season and has left many wonder what they are both worth and if the entire team needs to be blown up to keep the two of them.

If the Blackhawks do happen to get a contract done with both Toews and Kane we the fans should have a clearer view of what the 2010 off-season holds and who actually might be on the roster bubble.

But as of right now it is all speculation and I know I like many of Blackhawks fans hope that a deal can be done sooner rather than later

Read more Chicago Blackhawks news on BleacherReport.com

Troy Brouwer Finally Finding His Niche in the Blackhawks Lineup

Michael Wagner — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:45:38 -0500

Throughout last season I was a strong believer that Troy Brouwer had no business being with the Chicago Blackhakws. Moreover, he had no business playing on the top line, with the likes of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

But what is his actual role with the Blackhawks?

Although Brouwer had always been a dominate force in the AHL, he was never able to bring those "AHL hands" to the NHL and before this season really never knew who he was with the Blackhawks.

Is he a top six forward?

If you looked at his AHL numbers you would probably think so. In Brouwer's two seasons with the Norfolk Admirals and the Rockford Ice Hogs he scored 71 goals and 57 assists.

In his first NHL season, Brouwer was far from his AHL numbers, only recording 10 goals and 16 assists. He was getting time on the top two lines with the likes of Toews, Kane and Patrick Sharp.

So is he a fourth line checker/tough guy?

Well no. He may be a big body that likes to bang and get physical, but he also has above average hands for his size and probably wouldn't flourish in that role.

So what is he?

He's this year's Andrew Ladd. What do I mean by that?

Well, Brouwer is what I like to call a flex forward; he is that physical third line forward that can also jump into the offensive zone and score a few goals.

On Friday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs Brouwer played very well, converting on a nice tip in power play goal and a fight against the Leafs' Luke Schenn.

But really, the entire season has shown that Brouwer has what the Blackhawks need. He has fit very nicely on the third line with John Madden as well as on the power play with Patrick Sharp.

Brouwer currently tops the Blackhawks in hits with 58, an average of 3.2 hits per game, and is averaging nearly 15 minutes in ice time per game. All of which are impressive numbers.

So what does this mean for the Blackhawks?

Well, it means that the likes of Andrew Ladd and possibly Dustin Byfuglien are expendable in the offseason.

Now I don't mean that you could go and get rid of Ladd and Byfuglien, because you do need a number of big physical forwards in your lineup. But essentially, Byfuglien, Ladd and Brouwer are the same players.

So who ends up being the odd man out?

I'm not sure, but Byfuglien makes the most money and Andrew Ladd is due for a raise after the season so the likely departure is one of those two.

But that is a debate of another day.

However, if the early start to the season for Brouwer is any indication then you can expect quite a breakout for him; it could keep him in Chicago for years to come.

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Chicago Blackhawks: More Trade Rumors?

TAB BAMFORD — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:48:20 -0500

This past summer, especially after Marian Hossa signed with the Chicago Blackhawks , the team became a favorite in every other trade rumor.

A young team with lots of good players, both in Chicago and not yet in the NHL, that also happens to be suffocating on the salary cap is prime for speculation, and the Hawks have certainly had their share.

As the issues in goal and injuries started to hit the Hawks in October, the whispers again began. On Nov. 3 , we reported that there were a number of trade rumors swirling around with the Blackhawks involved.

The next day , a response from a Blackhawks’ beat writer, ironically one that had printed rumor mill material back in August, brought further speculation to whether or not Stan Bowman would make a move before Christmas.

Over the last couple weeks, the Hawks have settled their goalie situation and the full return of Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Ben Eager have brought the mojo back to the Blackhawks.

Their mounting concern over the power play has subsided, their PK has stayed among the best in the league, and the Hawks rank third in the league in their ability to win faceoffs. So why would the Hawks start popping up in trade rumors again?

When Dave Bolland had surgery on a herniated disc in his back, it presented the very real possibility that he won’t be back at 100 percent this season. The doctors have estimated a three to four month recovery, which (counting on my fingers) puts him back on the ice in the middle of March.

Looking back at the summer, and the early parts of this season, Bowman did a nice job of presenting coach Joel Quenneville with options to fill in for faceoffs. Toews currently ranks third in the NHL in faceoff win percentage, and John Madden is also in the top ten.

After that, the Hawks have added Tomas Kopecky (as a free agent with Hossa) and Andrew Ebbett (off waivers from Anaheim early in the regular season).

Kopecky, Ebbett, Kris Versteeg, and Colin Fraser have all spent time in the circle in the past couple weeks, each with varied levels of success.

Versteeg has not only the best ability on the ice, but the biggest price tag among the group. He figures to best serve the team from his natural wing position.

Fraser has had some stretches recently where he’s been incredible in the circle. On Nov. 6 in Denver, Fraser won nine of his 10 faceoffs.

The problem with Kopecky, Fraser, and Ebbett is that none of the three has established a firm niche with the offense yet this year.

Fraser, for all of his success in the circle and quality work on the PK, has taken some stupid penalties and is seen sprinting for the bench after many even-strength faceoffs. Kopecky has started to find a role in front of the net, but hasn’t been effective yet anywhere else on the ice.

Which makes the great question mark Ebbett. On a number of occasions in the last couple weeks, Ebbett has centered between Patrick Kane and Versteeg. That line is as fast on their skates as many of the fastest lines in hockey, but none of them is taller than 5′10"; the obvious concern is that they can be pushed around the ice because of their size.

Ebbett’s ice time has drawn some speculation that the Hawks might make a move to bolster the center position via trade. And, circling back to the rumors from early November, the Carolina Huricanes are coming up again.

The ironic thing, again, is that the columnist that called out the rumors as being pure fancy on Nov. 4 is now the one claiming there’s some validity, and potential, to a Hawks deal with the Canes.

In Sunday’s edition of the Daily Herald , Tim Sassone writes that the Hawks might have interest in Canes center Matt Cullen. A couple weeks ago, Hockey Buzz reported that the Hawks and Canes had spoken about trade options; Sassone quickly called these rumors false and dismissed the reports within hours of their publication. Yet now, just ten days later, it’s Sassone apparently confirming such a conversation between Chicago and Carolina.

Whether or not the Hawks make a move likely won’t happen until after Hossa returns to the ice, and Quenneville is able to feel comfortable with his bounty of forwards. Hossa, for what it’s worth, has spent some time at center in practice since he started skating with the team last week, but seems to be a distant option to play the position at length in games.

If Cullen were considered, there would need to be some salary concessions made to fit his $2.875 million salary onto the roster.

Rumors out of Carolina have been that the Canes are looking for a defenseman to quarterback their power play. A logical fit with a similar salary would be Cam Barker, who has a cap number of $3 million; Barker’s name has been mentioned in previous rumors with Carolina.

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Chicago Blackhawks Burn Leafs, Continue Home Streak Against Toronto

TAB BAMFORD — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:03:11 -0500

If the Chicago Blackhawks weren’t playing one of the worst teams in the NHL on Friday night, their slowed intensity in the final 30 minutes might have cost them the game.

Toronto came into the game with one of the worst records in hockey and were starting a struggling goalie. The Blackhawks obviously knew they had a big advantage in depth and skill, and took the game to the Maple Leafs in the first period.

When the dust settled for the first intermission, Patrick Kane and John Madden had both scored goals and the Hawks had already thrown 20 shots on goal. The score was 2-0, and the game was as close as the teams’ records.

The second period started strong, with the Hawks continuing to dictate the pace of the game. Troy Brouwer redirected a Patrick Sharp shot into the net for a power play goal, and the Hawks were up 3-0 just over five minutes into the second period.

But just as the Calgary Flames did in October with their 5-0 lead, the Blackhawks felt that they had control of a struggling opponent and took their foot off the gas.

The Hawks forgot that Phil Kessel showed up ready to play, and the Maple Leafs weren’t to be taken lightly.

The Hawks only put eight shots on goal in the second period, and a 40-foot rocket from Kessel took the teams to the dressing rooms still separated by two goals, with a 3-1 score.

As the final stanza began, the Hawks were flat. There was little hitting, less emotion, and almost no effort to win the puck in corners. The Leafs took advantage.

Kessel cut the lead to 3-2 with his second goal of the game just five and a half minutes into the third, and the Hawks appeared to be on their heels.

The final 14 minutes were tough, physical hockey from both sides. Thanks to a substantial advantage in the circle, the Hawks were able to regain control of the puck and keep the Leafs out of the net to keep, which allowed them to keep their lead through the final horn.

Friday night’s win was the sixth straight at home for the Hawks, the longest home winning streak since December 2001-January 2002.

The Hawks also extended their streak to four consecutive games with a power play goal. A good sign considering that the power play unti had struggled while Jonathan Toews was out with a concussion.

Toews continues to be an enormous difference for the offense, and it starts with his incredible ability to win face-offs early this year. The Hawks’ 21-year old captain won 10 out of 15 face-offs against Toronto, continuing a strong stretch during the homestand. Madden won 13 of his 16 face-offs on Friday night as well.

When you put the 23 face-off wins from Toews and Madden into the context of the Leafs only winning 25 as a team, you can see where the Hawks had an enormous advantage.

The Hawks also dominated the takeaways (19-3), but didn’t get as many shots on goal in the final two periods as Toronto did.

After putting 20 pucks on net in the first, the Hawks only ended up with 36 total shots for the game. Toronto ended the game with 31—19 of which were in the second and third periods.

Brouwer had another exceptional game on Friday, scoring his fifth goal this season in the second period. He was also credited with five hits.

Luke Schenn challenged Brouwer to a fight in that second period, and he was obliged with a loss as Brouwer appeared to land at least three or four quality punches before the zebras stepped in to save Schenn’s forehead and self esteem.

Also continuing a run of strong performances was Cristoabal Huet. The Hawks' goalie stopped 29 of 31 shots on Friday (.935 save percentage) and did a great job of maintaining his composure through a number of heated rushes from Toronto in the second and third periods.

Duncan Keith was the Number One Star of the game with two assists, while Sharp and Brent Seabrook were also credited with one assist each.

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