Huet Haunting Hawks? Marty Turco Has Gaping Problem Early

In the spirit of Halloween, it appears there is a former Blackhawk goaltender haunting his former team: The Man from France.

Cristobal Huet, on loan to Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss-A League, appears to have left a dubious imprint on the Chicago net. The biggest issue Huet had on the West side was his penchant for giving up the soft goal. Huet had some nights where the puck found his pads, and others where it eluded him.

Sound eerily familiar?

Early in the season or not, new Blackhawks netminder Marty Turco has let in some cream puffs, including the game winner against St. Louis Saturday night.

Turco has also given up soft goals to Valtteri Filpulla of Detroit, and has had a hard time going post to post consistently. Such instances have led to soft goals getting past the former Dallas Star's skates.

Early goalie change rumblings during the 2009-10 season led to the arrival of Antti Niemi, and the eventual exit for Huet this offseason.

Turco is on a one-year deal, and has had games slip through the cracks, or his 5-hole, all too many times with less than a dozen games played this season.

Call it overreacting, call it hoopla and hogwash. The fact is that the goaltending situation in Chicago is turning too much into what it was last year. If Chicago has to depend on back-up Corey Crawford (whispers have already started on Crawford taking the reins) this early in the season, a playoff run, let alone a deep one, may already be in question.

It is very possible to say that letting one or two slip through the wickets is excusable if games are won later to replace past poor performances. It is still very possible that Turco's leaky legs may not be getting any fixing (age 35).

Do not panic. Do not write off the season. Just keep in mind what may be an ongoing issue for the rest of the season.