This should stir up some debate:Blackhawk Up
Showcase:SCH
I know where I’ll be:WGN
TOFTBO! NHL
Should be ranked higher:ESPN
Extremely Crucial:TSN
That’s alot of oil money:Sportsnet
This is yet another post we’ll probably have to revisit when the summer moves are complete, because some ballast still has to dumped before anyone calls this complete. But it’s not so easy to evaluate Stan Bowman’s performance this summer because there’s a ton of emotion packed up in every move. And seeing as how I’ve been accused as driving most of the noise, it’s probably up to me to try and suss it all out.
At the top, no I don’t think this has been Stan’s best work, but it’s probably better than most think and it’s certainly not a complete failure. Let’s see why.
With the news just dropping that Johnny Oduya is also going to be seeing Dallas regularly from a DC-9 at night, it’s probably high time we take a look at what is now his replacement, Trevor Daley.
Before we do that, a final word on Oduya’s departure. Up until Saad’s trade, I really had no hope that Oduya would be returning. And not much of a desire for it either. The Hawks had squeezed out what has to be almost all of his plus-play the past couple years, he’s 34 and there are limits to what he gives you. While he would have been a great place-holder while Johns learned the ropes and up until Johns took his role, I didn’t think that was completely necessary.
But then Johns was dealt, and in came Daley, and as you’re about to see playing Daley in the top four has the potential to be a real, real problem. The sanctuary of the known that Oduya provides suddenly seemed very reassuring. And now we’re about to be tossed into a pretty choppy sea with no guarantee of port.
This is a post we might have to keep coming back to as the summer develops. But I thought it would prove useful to compare the sell-offs of the summers of ’10 and this one, and to compare how poised the Hawks are for their next Cup as they were with that one. It won’t make for pleasant reading, but so much of what we do doesn’t either so you’ll be used to that. No time like the present, let’s dive on in and not care if the water is shallow or not.
What Hawks Lost After ’10: It’s a pretty long list. Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Kris Versteeg (and it’s pretty funny that they simple CAN’T move him now), Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, John Madden, and Colin Fraser. In other terms, the Hawks lost 2/3rd of their third line (Versteeg and Ladd flanked Bolland most of that season), their 4th line center, a top six left winger (that’s where Byfuglien ended up anyway), a couple other components that rotated in on the 4th line in Eager and Burish, and their #5 d-man.
I should also add that Antti Niemi had to be left on the side of the road after his arbitration hearing.
It must be a pretty dizzying summer for Patrick Sharp. From Cup win to near certainty he would have been shipped at the draft, then he wasn’t, then Saad was, and then he might stay, then he might not, then a few of the possible destinations he would have had on his list dried up. The question is what happens now.
On the surface, there are legit hockey reasons to keep Sharp around. If Bickell is indeed flogged to anyone who will take him, along with Versteeg, the Hawks simply won’t have anyone to play the left side. Whichever of Dano or Teuvo doesn’t play center would be more effective on the right (seen it with both of them last season already). Viktor Tikhonov is probably going to play on the left, or at least will be tried there in camp. Panarin also plays left wing, but you would be hard pressed to think Quenneville is going to go to battle with two inexperienced kids as his only scoring left wings.
In a bit of positive holiday weekend news, word was released that Andrew Desjardins was brought back to the tune of $800,000 for two years. Now if only he’d change his number back to 69 to give back Jeremy Morin 11.
Get a pen ready, Rocky:LGH
Ok it worked but please dress Cumiskey or Rundblad:CT
The Crow:Daily Herald
You expected anything less?ESPN
vs 
Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, CBC, TVA, WGN-AM 720
Piss And Vinegar: Raw Charge
Tonight on the west side the Stanley Cup Final makes the turn to the back stretch with the Hawks needing a win at home to keep the Lightning from heading back to Tampa with an opportunity to clinch. While not literally a “must win”, it’s as close as it gets for the Hawks, who are looking to even up the series and put themselves in a far more advantageous position moving forward.
Game 4:Chicago Daily Herald
Confidence:NBC 5
Patience:CBS Local
Gotta be more:Blackhawk Up
Pierogi Power:Let’s Go Hawks
I think Tampa wins this bet:ABC 7
Who? TSN
Wonderful:ESPN
