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Blackhawks Just About Ready For The Season
by Paul on 07/20/09 at 08:36 AM ET
Comments (6)
from Len Ziehm of the Chicago Sun-Times,
Barring a trade for a bruising veteran defenseman—and general manager Stan Bowman could pull one off—things should quiet down for the Blackhawks until training camp starts in September….
The Hawks are stronger up front after acquiring forward Marian Hossa.
They’re more experienced and better defensively after acquiring forwards John Madden and Tomas Kopecky.
Their goalie quandary is resolved with Cristobal Huet as the main man.
Though they lost four players in free agency, the Hawks were able to bring back the young core that did so well last season. The team and its fan base seem to have moved on after the somewhat unexpected change at general manager last week, and Martin Havlat’s verbal swipes at the front office were taken for what they were by his former teammates—the frustration of a spurned player. No big deal.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
Kopecky won’t even be playing for the Hawks, other than maybe a couple games.
Even some Hawks fans are saying he was signed solely to help lure Hossa into signing, and that Kopecky will likely be playing in the AHL or will be traded. In the odd event that the Hawks can afford to keep him on the books, he’ll be a healthy scratch. They simply don’t have any room for him at all.
I don’t know why the Hawks bothered signing Madden. Had they not, their cap situation would be that much better, but noooo they had to not only go out and replace Pahlsson’s salary, but actually pay more for.
What a ghastly mess Chicago has become. Them making the Conf. FInals was apparently the worst thing that could have happened to them, because it gave them an air of invincibility and power that they really still don’t possess… can you imagine the mess that will occur if the Hawks miss the playoffs this season or something?
Posted by Primis on 07/20/09 at 09:07 AM ET
can you imagine the mess that will occur if the Hawks miss the playoffs this season or something?
One man’s “mess” is another man’s dream.
Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 07/20/09 at 10:00 AM ET
Their goalie quandary is resolved with Cristobal Huet as the main man.
In the last two years, the Hawks have signed the top free agent on the market.
In his second statement, I’m assuming Ziehm is referring to Campbell as last year’s “top free agent on the market.” So, if those two statements are true, why were the Hawks doing everything they could to unload both of those guys on July 1 so they could re-sign Khabibulin and add a defenseman who wasn’t an overpaid POS?
Salary-cap considerations will be a factor eventually, but not now.
Really? So, the fact that the 22 roster players they have signed currently puts them $3.1M over the cap isn’t a problem right now? Interesting.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/20/09 at 10:53 AM ET
Salary-cap considerations will be a factor eventually, but not now.
Maybe by “eventually” he means “start of the 209-2010 season,” since teams can be over by 10% until the season starts.
Sad that Kopecky is nothing more than a lure for a friend.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/20/09 at 12:21 PM ET
Maybe by “eventually” he means “start of the 209-2010 season,” since teams can be over by 10% until the season starts.
Could be, B. And they can even play this season being that $3.1M over the cap if they choose to because they’ve got $5M in bonus money in there. But that just screws them even more next year when that “overage” will count against the cap.
Imagine a year from now and the cap has gone down to $54M. This year’s “overage” reduces the Hawks effective cap to $51M, and the only large UFA salary coming off the books is Madden at $2.75 plus they’ve got Kane, Toews, Ladd and Keith to sign as RFAs. Aye carumba. 
If Tallon deserved to be fired, it’s because of the way he’s handled the salary cap, beginning with his signings of Campbell and Huet.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/20/09 at 07:07 PM ET
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Ha ha…what? I guess he had to throw Kopecky’s name in there somewhere, but he’s not that experienced nor is he remarkably sound defensively.
Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 07/20/09 at 08:45 AM ET