Catching Up and Catching Our Breath

I thought it might be a therapeutic exercise to summarize the changes that The Hawks have undergone in the last two months and to try to look ahead to what still needs to be done.

OUT
Brandon Saad
Patrick Sharp
Brad Richards
Johnny Oduya
Antoine Vermette
and
Stephen Johns
Kimmo Timonen
and almost certainly
Michal Rozsival
Daniel Carcillo
Kyle Cumiskey
and possibly 
Joakim Nordstrom

The first five players in this list represent significant contributors, and I guess we can can include Rozsival in that group, as well, simply down to the amount he played.
Despite not having cracked The Hawks' lineup it was expected that Johns would nail down a spot this season, so we'll count him as a lost asset.
The other four did not play significant roles, really.  I suspect that The Hawks would like to re-sign free agent Nordstrom, as he appears to be liked and trusted by Coach Quenneville, but unless a current roster player is dealt or waived successfully there is simply no cap space to accommodate him.

IN
Marko Dano: Everyone wants to believe that this young fella will ably fill the gap vacated by Saad and, while I expect he will get the opportunity to assume Saad's place in the roster (i.e. first or second line duty) he is not likely at Saad's level just yet.  As Saad continues to develop and slides into even more of a go-to role in Columbus, Dano may disappoint in the short term.  A lot will depend on how Dano starts the season; if he clicks early, earns the coach's trust and gets a shot at quality minutes with quality linemates, Dano may well offset the loss of Saad quite nicely.  If he starts slowly and/or fails to enter Quenneville's Circle of Trust he'll end up mired on the third or fourth line and traded to Dallas in a year or two.  Dano put up decent numbers on a weak Blue Jackets squad, but their late-season re-ignition coincided with the young Slovak's insertion in their top-six, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Artem Anisimov: I'm less sure about this one.  His stat line suggests he's about on par with the departed Vermette; quite a bit bigger, maybe with more offensive skill, but not as quick or as good on faceoffs.  Still, Anisimov was used on the penalty kill in Columbus and his offensive numbers were a bit lower than usual due to missing some time with an injury.  Historically, he's been a 40-point guy pretty much his whole career.  Is that enough for a projected second line center?  He's also filled a similar role to that of Vermette, and that guy topped out at third line in Chicago.  Again, if he gets good minutes with good players he'll probably be fine, but a slow start could well see him drop in the lineup.
Ryan Garbutt: Not sure what to think about him.  It would appear that his best days, which were not scintillating in the first place, are behind him.  Where do you put him?  I would like to see the Kruger - Shaw - Desjardins trio start the season together, but I guess that will depend on whether Kruger returns or not.  (Now I'm obsessing about Shaw having to play center.)  I think he'll be a useful spare part and little else.
Trevor Daly: This has been done to death but I'll reiterate it here: he's slow, he's defensively ambivalent, he's getting on in years but he's capable of pushing the play out of the defensive zone.  He'll get a crack at power play minutes but let's look at who he's replacing - Johnny Oduya, who played hard minutes against the opposition's top lines and was a mainstay on the penalty kill.  Daly cannot do those things.
Jeremy Morin and Corey Tropp: Unlikely to make The Hawks out of the gate, so let's just move on, shall we?
Artemi Panarin: Is he ready?  Is he remotely as good as some say he is?  I firmly believe he'll get every opportunity to show what he's got, particularly if Kane is "unavailable".  I still see Panarin as an unknown quantity of the highest order but I also find it intriguing that he may well be the Hawks prospect most like Kane.  Still, I recall reading stuff like this about that Makarov kid a couple of years ago, and where is he now?  Seriously...where is he?
Viktor Tikhonov: Another question mark.  I half expect he won't make The Hawks to begin the season but wouldn't shocked, either, to see him on the third or fourth line in a banger role.  He actually put up okay numbers on a decent SKA St. Petersburg squad the last few seasons but he's not going to be used as a top-six guy as he was in the KHL, so we'll have to wait and see if he can bring another dimension to his game.

Stepping Up?
Teuvo Teravainen: As with Panarin, he may find himself in a position to assume Kane's role and, as an incumbent on the roster, he'll get first crack at it.  I wonder if, given the opportunity that Kane was afforded when he first arrived in Chicago, Teuvo would already be a top six forward with 50 or 60 points under his belt.  His playmaking skills are likely as good as Kane's were back in 07-08 but I worry that he will never be the finisher that Kane evolved into.  He displayed a greater nose for the net during the playoffs so perhaps with more icetime and consistent linemates we'll see his scoring touch continue to develop.
Trevor Van Riemsdyk and David Rundblad: Here's the 5D and 6D to start the season, I believe.  I don't want to write these guys off before the puck even drops but they have a tough, tough row to hoe.  Let's remember that Daley is not going to play the minutes that Oduya did and will be of no use on the PK or in a shut-down role, so one or both of TVR and Rundblad are going to have to pull slack, bigtime.  I love Rundblad's shot and I think that, if he improved his skating and reaction skills (gotta be more decisive with that first jump) he could be a real asset and could see power play time. Is what we see, now, what we're going to get, though?  As for TVR, he came out of nowhere, basically, to make The Hawks last year and how that occurred has never been clear to me, as he has never appeared especially strong in any facet of the game, but competently average in most regards. The fact that he only managed 18 games last year because he was hurt so badly, so often, is also a concern.

Lurking in the Weeds
Ville Pokka, Viktor Svedberg and Erik Gustafsson: Just as TVR did last season any of these guys could spring a surprise and actually make the roster in the coming weeks.  Pokka had a decent first season in the AHL last season, seeing his level of responsibility increase steadily as the year progressed.  The Hawks appear determined to give Svedberg a shot, despite his slow progress over two seasons in Rockford.  Well, he's 6'8", which is pretty tantalizing.  Gustafsson is virtually unknown to me.  And there's Robin Norrell, as well, but would be an extreme long shot simply due to his small stature in relation to the third pairing role he would be competing for.
(Watch The Hawks go ahead and re-sign Kyle Cumiskey, though, making it possible to trade any and all of these youngsters next winter...ha ha...)

Stepping Out?
Kris Versteeg and Bryan Bickell: We're probably stuck with them so let's just get used to that idea. Still, in the unlikely event that one or both of these guys are successfully moved along, that would open up many, many roster possibilities.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In Limbo
Marcus Kruger: What a tough spot for Kruger and The Hawks.  The team want very much to re-sign him and Kruger has stated that he is equally interested in remaining in Chicago, but the money just isn't there.  The saving grace is that Kruger may be willing to do a lower-cost deal, presumably with the promise of a far better deal next season, when at least Versteeg will be off the books.
Joakim Nordstrom: As mentioned, I suspect The Hawks would like to keep him but will be unlikely to be able to offer any more than an AHL deal.
Patrick Kane: Well, the less said about that the better.

So, with training camp just around the corner, many questions persist.  Will Kane be on the ice (or simply "on ice"...groan...) and, if not, will The Hawks receive any cap relief?  Will Kruger be in the fold and, if not, who's going to play center?  Can GM Stan Bowman do anything about Bickell & Versteeg?  Will Panarin or Tikhonov be of any use?  I won't even begin to talk about line combos until some of these questions are answered.

From The Vaults

Yeah, no posts in forever 'cos who can face what little Hawks news there is.
Kruger is still unsigned and Kane is still, well, Kane.
I guess the only thing I can add is that I'm very curious to see what occurs with the whole Mike Richards thing; if the appeal that the NHLPA launched to counter The Kings' quest to stop paying him due to (something like) "material breach of contract" when he was pinched attempting to cross the US/CAN border with restricted painkillers succeeds, I see little reason for The Hawks to not try a similar manoeuvre IF Kane is convicted for rape or similar.  This is not to say that I hope Kane is found guilty of anything...just thinking ahead is all.

Anyway, here's a little something to pass the time and remind ourselves that, as bad as things are for Hawks fans right now, at least we're not implicated with this idiot.

This was taken almost 30 years ago, shortly after Ozzie was pinched for wazzing on a war memorial. Let's be real, though; if I was Po-po, and I saw this dude walking around in that sweater, I'd arrest him right away and find out what he did later.  He actually kinda looks like Steve Ott in a wig which, come to think of it, are two reasons to arrest his ass.

J Will

Sadly, IndyCar and Formula One driver Justin Wilson has succumbed to injuries sustained in Sunday's race in Long Pond, PA.

                                                           In harness at Minardi, 2003.

Justin Wilson first came to my attention in the winter of 2003 when it was announced that he would race for my beloved Squadra Minardi in Formula One, partnered with the experienced Jos Verstappen.  While he ended up finishing the year with Jaguar I continued to follow and cheer on Wilson.  What can I say, once a Minardi boy...
In 2004 Wilson was off to America and CART, joining another backmarker team in Eric Bachelart's shoestring effort, Conquest Racing.  No wins or even podiums were to be had in Wilson's rookie year in American open-wheel racing but his eight top-10 finishes from fourteen starts helped him parlay a drive with the more competitive RuSport team.  J Will raced three season with RuSport, right until CART folded and merged with the Indy Racing League to form the IndyCar series.  Wilson notched four wins in those three seasons and placed third, second and second again in the championship.
He raced and won with Newman-Haas racing in their final season of competition before taking what was a perceived step down the grid when he signed on with Dale Coyne Racing.  Coyne were entering their 25th season in the top open-wheel series but had never scored a win.  With "Badass" in the saddle for 2009 this would change, heralded first with a podium finish in the season-opener, followed mid-season with a popular win at Watkins Glen.

                                  Celebrating Dale Coyne's First Win, Watkins Glen, 2009.

That's kind of how I'll remember Justin Wilson, from his spell at Minardi and, later, with Coyne, Conquest and Dreyer & Reinbold, doing the best he could with small, underfunded teams, bringing the underdogs into the points whenever he could.
Forza, Badass.

Flip-flop: Oduya signs with Dallas

From nhl.com:

The Dallas Stars signed defenseman Johnny Oduya to a two-year contract Wednesday, the team announced. Financial terms of the contract were not released, but ESPN.com reported it's worth $7.5 million.         Oduya, 33, who spent the past four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, had two goals and 10 points in 76 regular-season games last season, and had five assists in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games.                            He has won the Stanley Cup twice with the Blackhawks in the past three seasons.

Well, I guess The Stars just got a little better defensively.

No long eulogy for Johnny O as I'm still wrung out from the lengthy Sharp farewell piece.  During his stay in Chicago Oduya proved to be a very capable 4D, very responsible, decent on breakouts and an excellent shot-blocker.  His only glaring weakness was his tendency to lose ground when closing gaps on rushing opponents on his left side but, hey, nobody's perfect.  With the Dallas deal, two years at $3.75 per, Oduya earns a modest raise, something The Hawks could not possibly manage at this time.  

With that, unless Stan Bowman succeeds in ridding The Hawks of Bickell and/or Versteeg (ha!), it appears that they'll kick off the 2015-16 season with these D:

Keith - Seabrook

Daley - Hjalmarsson

Rundblad - Van Riemsdyk

...or some combination thereof.

                                                             Ah, good times.

There Goes My Man: So Long Sharpie

After obsessively checking Twitter, sports sites and The Hawks' own website, oh, about every 20 minutes for the last two weeks, doesn't it just figure that Patrick Sharp's inevitable trade occurred on a travel weekend when I had no internet access?  Of course it does.  I learned that he had been traded to Dallas, no more, no less, via text on Saturday morning by a friend kind enough to respect the 3-hour time difference between hometown Thunder Bay and my new home away from home in Coquitlam.  I cannot say I was shocked, exactly, but it was still jarring news. The head knew it was going to happen, eventually, but the heart irrationally hoped some way to avoid it could be found and it was still oddly startling when the news actually came.  Sad and helpless more correctly described my feelings at that time.  When I returned home on Sunday evening and began reading the breakdowns of the trade I could add angry and let down to that short list of emotions.  More about that, later.

I watched Patrick Sharp toil as an underage junior with The Thunder Bay Flyers back in 1998, playing alongside his older brother, Chris. Chris Sharp was a skilled player, always a leader on whatever team he was on and was absolutely consistent in his assertion that his younger brother was the better player of the two and, in retrospect, he was spot on. In two seasons with the Thunder Bay Tier-2 club Patrick put up impressive numbers on a declining Flyers team, ranking second in team scoring as a rookie and leading the team in assists and points in his second year. At that level, Sharp seemed crazy-fast, had alarmingly good puck control and was incredibly well balanced, his wide, powerful skating stance making him instantly recognizable even when he wasn't soaring past less fleet opponents.  I was pleased and proud when Sharpie was drafted by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2001 draft; even though I couldn't stand Philadelphia (still can't) I was excited that a guy I had so enjoyed watching in my home town rink had a legitimate shot to make the NHL.
Three partial seasons with the then-competitive Flyers failed to showcase Sharp's true worth, as he was nearly always buried on the fourth line with such offensive juggernauts as Todd Fedoruk and Donald Brashear.  A full season in the AHL during the lockout year of 2004-05 served notice that Sharpie was The Real Deal, as he was a major contributor on The Philadelphia Phantoms Calder Cup winning team.  He probably should have won playoff MVP that year after leading The Phantoms in playoff scoring and scoring both goals in the final 2-1 victory to clinch the AHL championship.
Salvation came in the form of The Hawks when they traded for Sharp midway through the 2005-06 season in a barely noticed deal involving spare parts and draft picks.  Sharpie joined a Hawks team that was squarely in the midst of a Dark Age, having missed the playoffs six out the previous seven seasons and boasting such talent as Kyle Calder, Tyler Arnason and Mark Bell.  We all know how the rest went; smart drafting, a few adroit trades and having the patience to stick to the program and develop the good, young players they had obtained...a dynasty was made.

Flash forward to this season. The piper needs to be paid and, through a combination of priorities, performance and doggedly persistent rumours of Sharp-fuelled disharmony in The Hawks' dressing room, Chicago's Most Handsome Athlete found himself the subject of trade talk.  Everything about Sharp "needing" to be traded due to the ever-looming specter of the salary cap made perfect sense, but just because something's true it doesn't mean you have to like it.  The Hawks renewed their vows with Toews, Kane and Keith, were already deeply committed to Marian Hossa and finally paid Corey Crawford what he's worth, so something had to give, there.  Sharp's 2014-15 numbers would not have helped, either, as he had a tough time finding the net and endured another injury, mid-season.  I suspect that the mean rumours floating around were a factor, also, and we saw glimpses of how much that background noise was bugging him during game broadcast interviews, as well as some intel learned through Thunder Bay sources.  After the Saad trade there seemed to be a small ray of light, a slim chance that The Hawks could find a way to keep #10 in the fold but, ultimately, The Hawks' inability to move Bickell and Versteeg along made it absolutely necessary for Sharp's salary to go away.
(This assumes that Sharp didn't ask for a trade. One could easily see Sharp feeling less invested in Chicago after a season of mean-mouthing and little credit for a great career there. Reports that he and his family were building a home in Connecticut had me convinced that he had requested a move to the NYC area.)

As for the trade itself, what was actually gained by this bit of maneuvering?  From my perspective, bearing in mind that I'm still smarting a bit over the finality of it all, not a lot.  The entire notion that Sharpie had to be dispatched was was to shed salary, right?  Well, that didn't really happen, now, did it.  The Hawks received a combined salary hit of $4.2 mil for Daley & Garbutt, netting a mere $1.7 mil worth of relief.  Wow.  All that and Trevor Daley, too?  I realize that Hawks GM Stan Bowman had it all to do where Sharp was concerned; everyone knew that Stan would be frantically shopping Bickell and Versteeg and, when that inevitably came to nothing, Stan would be forced to flog Sharpie  and his daunting salary for basically whatever he could get. Talk about being over the barrel in the most public of ways. There is no doubt in my mind that Stan would have tried to get Sharp a spot on one of those NYC-area clubs mentioned above but, aside from New Jersey, those teams all have their own salary cap issues.  Anyone that Stan talked to could essentially name their price, take it or leave it, and I expect Stan chose to Leave It quite a few times before settling on the Dallas deal.
Oh well, Sharpie came to Chicago in a legendary steal of a trade so maybe this trade is the universe evening things out again.

No less irritating and twice as puzzling, though, is the addition of Stephen Johns in the deal.  Wasn't he supposed to nail down the 5D or 6D position with The Hawks in a couple of months?  I was really looking forward to seeing the kid with all the size & savvy playing in The Show.  I guess I still might, probably on Dallas' top pair in a year or two, though.
On that tack, though,let's review, just for a sec, the parade of Hawks' top defensive prospects that have exited the Chicago and Rockford areas recently: Johns, Klas Dahlbeck, Nick Leddy, Adam Clendening and Ryan Stanton.  Did I miss anyone?  Now, what did The Hawks get in exchange for those top prospects?  Just off the top of my head, all that remains is the two guys that are coming from Dallas and Ville Pokka, who may just have been elevated to top of the list for the 6D role if Oduya is not re-signed. That's some fancy wheeling and dealing there, Stan.

So what did we get?  Not a lot.  First there's Ryan Garbutt, who is basically a more score-y Andrew Desjardins.  Probably serviceable and will perhaps even play with Desjardins on the fourth line.  Still, I'm glad Dallas picked up half of his salary, 'cos $1.8 mil sounds like a lot of dosh for 8G 17A, although he potted 17G the year before so you never know.  Actually, we probably do know, as Garbutt will be 30 when the season begins, so the best of Ryan Garbutt may well be behind us all, by now.
Then there's Trevor Daley who is, granted, coming off a "career year" in which he maxed out on goals, assists and points as well as standing-around-while-his-goaltender-flails and getting-caught-up-ice-and-not-able-to-catch-up-'cos-he's-so-dreadfully-slow (gotta love those advanced metrics, ha ha).  Daley will be 33 in October which isn't the worst part of this tale, since history has shown us that offensive-type defensemen often persevere long after their teammates that give a shit about checking and maintaining gaps and just plain old playing defense are done, son.  The real problem with Daley is that he's so slow, so disinterested in preventing goals against and, worst of all, this "style" of play was not only tolerated but quite possibly encouraged during his long spell in Dallas.  But hey, maybe I'm wrong on this and maybe Daley's offense first and defense...when he feels like it style will actually work with a safety net like Hjalmarsson alongside.  Maybe, but I doubt it.

In summary, The Hawks received two aging, marginal players in exchange for a highly skilled aging player, who had what may have just been an off year, and that happens to earn too much money. And as far as the salary cap issues are concerned, The Hawks went from being slightly over the cap ceiling to having a mere $1.3 mil cap space, so someone still has to be jettisoned as there are still three Hawks from last year yet to be signed, 'cos $1.3 mil won't even get Kruger re-signed, never mind Oduya and Nordstrom (if there's a chance they'll keep him).

I haven't checked to see when Dallas next visits Chicago but I fully expect a gushy, sentimental tribute to Sharp when he returns in white & green.  I hope he scores a friggin' hat trick, too.

                                       Our gift to The Dallas Stars and their fans....

TVR Extended for Two Years

Blackhawks defenceman Trevor Van Riemsdyk has received a contract extension keeping him in red & black until the end of the 2017-18 season.  The bonus is that it is reportedly at an alarmingly cap-friendly $825K per year.  This is great value as TVR is one of the only young players who Coach Quenneville appears to trust with any significant ice time.  Now all he has to do is remain healthy, as TVR underwent surgeries for two separate injuries this season.

Rumour Mill
From letsgohawks.net:
According to veteran reporter Marc De Foy of Montreal Journal, Bowman has been very busy talking to his former assistant Marc Bergevin of the Canadiens. De Foy mentions that Bowman had talked to the Habs general manager about both Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg.

That would certainly go a long way toward solving some problems, as long as a big salary doesn't come back to Chicago in the bargain. 

Desjardins Re-signs and Some Other Stuff

From blackhawks.nhl.com

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have agreed to terms with forward Andrew Desjardins on a two-year contract, which runs through the end of the 2016-17 National Hockey League season.
Desjardins, 28, tallied a career-high five goals in 69 regular-season games between the San Jose Sharks and Blackhawks and four points (1G, 3A) in 21 postseason games on the way to his first Stanley Cup championship. He also scored a goal in his postseason debut for Chicago in Game 3 of the First Round against the Nashville Predators. Desjardins was acquired via trade on March 2, 2015.

Financial details are said to be two years at $800 a pop, which is downright cap-friendly and, in my view, a good value.  Desjardins hit a career high 5 goals this season, but that's not where his true value lies.  Along with a few hard-earned and timely assists during the playoffs, Desjardins found success as an agitator and space creator playing with Marcus Kruger and Andrew Shaw.  Together, they were a consistent, reliable trio that may not have logged big minutes but they were hard minutes, usually spent hounding their opponents' best line.  If and when Kruger is re-upped The Hawks fourth (or maybe third?) line is done and dusted, assuming Coach Q can resist trying to fix something that ain't broke.  His hands are questionable and his shot unexceptional, but he's got a great motor, decent positional instincts and can kill penalties, in a pinch.  I suspect he's Good In The Room, as well, as his teammates appear to like and value him even though he came to Chicago at the expense of the popular Ben Smith.

Saad signs 6-year, $36mil Contract with Columbus
Okay, that wasn't gonna happen in Chicago, so let's move on.  Saad's post-trade chatter suggests that he just left the whole thing in his agent's hands which is either disingenuous or stupid, both of which reflect poorly on the lad.  At least the other players' agents now know not to play chicken with Stan Bowman, I guess.

Oduya Lurks in Weeds
It looks as if Johnny Oduya's camp is holding back on talks with other teams while they see how much cap space The Hawks may have available.  Oduya earned $3.3mil on his just-expired contract and, on a lesser team, could stand to earn $5mil+, thanks to some hilariously overpaid d-men around the league (I'm looking at you Wideman).  His superior-in-every-way partner, Nik Hjalmarsson earns a mere $4.1mil so we cannot expect The Hawks to go north of $3.x for Oduya.  We shall wait and see.

Other Signings
Artem Anisimov, acquired in the Saad deal, extended to 2021 (I think) at a hit of $3.3mil.  Too soon?  I honestly know nothing about the guy except that he's large and has a rep for versatility.  You know he's going to be lining up with better quality wingers than he's ever played with before, so I'm cautiously optimistic on this one.  If it fails to pan out at least his salary is reasonable enough that he should be easy to move along.
Viktor Tikhonov, F, failed to set The KHL alight since his 61-game audition with Phoenix in 2008-09.  At the NHL level this lad is likely 3rd or 4th line material, at best, but his size may be part of a contingency plan in case Bickell is moved along this summer.
Michael Leighton, G, returns as the presumed #1 guy in Rockford and back-up-to-our-back-up in Chicago.  Why not?
Cameron Schilling and Michael Liambas, D, help fill out the ranks in Rockford and may be useful if Pokka or Johns or whoever begins the season in Chicago.

Departures
Antoine Vermette, back to Phoenix for some reason.  I guess that stuff about wanting to remain was to plump up his deal with the 'Yotes?
Brad Richards, to Detroit, continuing his prolonged farewell tour.  I predict he ends up in Los Angeles before this is over.