Chicago Blackhawks' Holiday Roundtable: All I Want for Christmas

It is the holiday season, and I thought it would be great to have a holiday themed Chicago Blackhawks roundtable. So, in our second roundtable, I decided to ask Chicago Blackhawk community members what they wanted most for Christmas from the Chicago Blackhawks.

I got a wide variety of responses, from hoping Nathan Horton will join the Blackhawks, to having a winning record against the Detroit Red Wings.

Here are some more of their responses, hope you enjoy.

Happy Holidays!

All I want for Christmas is for Andrew Ladd to continue to play alongside Bolland and Havlat. Ladd is a solid player usually left playing with less skilled guys. If he can play 82 games with Havvy and Bolly, he could pot 20 and add further depth to Chicago's already potent offense.

Nelson Santos, Bleacher Report

I want Patrick Kane to pass Henrik Zetterberg and Jarome Iginla for third place in All-Star Voting among forwards. The NHL needs the Chicago Blackhawks' renaissance to continue, and a great way for this to happen is for the Hawks to be represented in Montreal when the Western Conference faces off against the Montreal Canadi...I mean Eastern Conference All-Stars.
 
The other thing I want for Christmas from the Hawks is more scoring production out of Martin Havlat. We have finally been given the gift of him being healthy for a long stretch of time (knock on wood), and I think it would be great for the city and the team if he picked up the scoring a bit.

Jim Neveau, Bleacher Report
My Chicago Blackhawks Wish List

- A winning record against the Detroit Red Wings.

- A win at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic game.

- To be good in the shoot-out for once.

- A Kris Versteeg Calder Cup.

- For Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Brian Campbell to all be in the All-Star Game.

- For Kaner to have less penalty minutes than Adam Burish.

- To finally make the playoffs.

- Get James Wiz back on the ice.

- Three hat-tricks during the season.

Stocking Stuffer

- Have more W wins than OTs.

Ultimate Gift

- A Stanley Cup in Chicago.

Craig Nuzzo, Bleacher Report

Back in the day, I would have said for Bill Wirtz to sell the team to an aspiring group of anybodies. Those days are thankfully behind us, so I will have to come up with a new wish when it comes to the Blackhawks.

Some traditions are hard to break; I can tell you that.

I would cry if the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, and without a doubt I want that more than anything else for the 'Hawks, but that won’t come until the summertime, fingers crossed.

Looking at the team right now, there is not much left to be desired. Of course, it would be nice to have a No. 2 center, but I would much rather have two elite goaltenders and Patrick Sharp playing out of position. I would love for Adam Burish to show the same offensive upside as Ben Eager, and I would love to see Martin Havlat regain his Senators form.

But I suppose there is one wish that I would go to Santa with this season and it might make all my little wishes come true. And call it a pipe dream all you want, but it is the season of giving, and I think the Florida Panthers could give me something that would make me one of the happiest hockey fans in the world, and they’ll get something back  too.

The South Florida hockey organization is looking to cut some payroll (what’s new?) and are shopping their franchise player, Nathan Horton, very quietly. Horton makes $4 million against the cap and is under contract for four more seasons after this one is over.

This is scaring off some teams. However, for most who have seen him play (which is a very low number) they fall in love with him. As a player, he’s a big forward, who has the deft shooting touch of a much smaller man. He plays tenaciously. He’s a perfect throwback hockey player. Perfect!

Why are the Panthers trying to get rid of him? Because they are fools! This festive season, I would love for the Blackhawks to swoop in and take him out of their hands. The Panthers are currently $2 million under the salary cap.

What’s that you say? Martin Havlat makes $6 million a season and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season? Well, that might just be too perfect to work. I mean, the Panthers want to dump salary, what better way to do it than to get a player who will wipe off the books at the end of the year?

Hell, throw in a second-round draft pick while you are at it.

God bless us, every one!

But sometimes things are too good to be true, so Santa, all I want for Christmahanaquanzika is Nathan Horton for Martin Havlat and a second-round draft pick.

Oh and the Stanley Cup, but Horton will do for now, I understand the economy is tough and you might not be able to get around to giving me some hardware for a while.

What’s that? You can put the Cup on layaway for us to pick up in a few months?

It’s a Christmas miracle!

Dieter Kurtenbach, Bleacher Report
This holiday season, there are three things that I want from the Chicago Blackhawks: a win at Wrigley Field, a true second-line center, and an end to the ‘Hawks' playoff drought.

As for my first Christmas wish for the Chicago Blackhawks, a win on New Years Day at Wrigley Field. The ‘Hawks could lose every other game to the Detroit Red Wings for the rest of the season, as long as they win at Wrigley on the national stage I will be happy.

The ‘Hawks have played the Wings hard all season and have lead in the third period in both games, but have failed to close the deal in the third period or overtime.

The second thing that I want from the ‘Hawks for Christmas is a true second-line center. Yes, I agree Patrick Sharp has been producing at center, but is last on the ‘Hawks in face-off percentage and would be definitely better suited for the wing.

Many names have been brought up in the ‘Hawks' quest for a second-line center: Nathan Horton, Jeff Halpern, Antoine Vermette, and Jared Stoll, but of those four, I would love to see Dale Tallon acquire Jeff Halpern from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Halpern just rejoined the Lightning after missing the first part of the season with an ACL injury that he suffered at the world championships. Halpern is a quality veteran player with playoff experience, something the ‘Hawks need on this young team.

He is not a big point-producer, but if he were to be flanked by Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane, you could see quite a bit of production from Haplern.

And for my final wish this holiday season, I would love to see the ‘Hawks make the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-2002 season. The ‘Hawks are looking good right now, having won seven straight and swept the Western Canadian road trip, but it is still early and the ‘Hawks have not faced any big-time injuries (knock on wood), excluding Khabibulin’s absence.

It will not be a while until most of my holiday wishes could be realized, but on Jan. 1, I will be glued to the television screen for the Winter Classic and pray for a big-time win for the ‘Hawks and Chicago.

Happy Holiday’s to all.

Michael Wagner, Bleacher Report