Breaking News: Chicago Blackhawks Tell Khabibulin and Sharp to Stay Home!

According to several sources familiar with the team, the Blackhawks have reportedly sent a memo to the agents for injured players Patrick Sharp and Nikolai Khabibulin: tell your clients to stay home. 

While this may come as a shock to most Blackhawks fans who have been thrilled by the exploits of Sharpie and Khabby, the front office is standing by the report, even going so far as to have the team owner Rocky Wirtz issue a statement on the matter.

"The memo that I had Dale Tallon issue to the agents of these two players is no joking matter. Coach Quenneville and Dale have discussed all the scenarios in great detail, and we have decided that it would be in the best interest of the team to have these two players not report back to the team to heal from their injuries.

"In addition to not returning to the team for the foreseeable future, we are also barring Patrick and Nikolai from using our team's facilities to rehab their respective injuries, and we have also asked them to turn in their keys and ID badges at their earliest convenience."

Most fans would assume that the players in the locker room would have something to say about losing the team's leading goal scorer for an in-determined amount of time, as well as the team's goaltender who has led them through thick and thin this season and won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they have been surprisingly supportive of the decision.

"While we like Khabby and Sharpie as people, we're there for Coach Q 100%," captain Jonathan Toews told a locker room full of stunned reporters. "Our chemistry has been really good without them, and we want to see how long we can ride this hot streak that Cristobal and Havlat have got us on."

In the three games that Khabibulin has been out with injury, the Blackhawks have given up six goals, and are 2-1-0 in those contests. Cristobal Huet has looked pretty good in goal, and has kept the team in games long enough to give them a chance to win, so the team apparently is hesitant to screw up his focus.

Also, in the two games that Sharp has been out (including the one in which he was injured 38 seconds in), the Hawks have scored 11 goals and gotten contributions from everyone from Patrick Kane to Dave Bolland. The team's offense has been firing on all cylinders, and Sharp hadn't exactly been lighting up the scoreboard even when healthy.

In the meantime, the Blackhawks have also announced that they are yanking the "A" from Sharpie's jersey and will be putting it on Kris Versteeg's jersey for the time being. There is one problem, however, that has yet to be addressed.

"We're not exactly sure what to give Huet as a nickname," Toews said. "We tried the "Huet-Wall", but that doesn't sound right. We also tried the Count of Monte Cristobal, but it's too long and my family members immediately texted me and told me they hated it, so, we'll keep working on it."

The Blackhawks will next skate without Sharp and Khabibulin against the Florida Panthers tomorrow night at 6:30pm on Comcast SportsNet.