On Saturday the Blackhawks and Antti Niemi received the arbitrator’s decision to award Niemi $2.75 million for the 2010-11 season if the Hawks resign their restricted free agent. It is widely thought that the Blackhawks pursued a salary of closer to $2 million while Niemi and his agent Bill Zito were pushing for closer to $3 million. While the salary is not the worst case scenario for the Blackhawks, it’s far from the best. For now, the Hawks have 48 hours, presumably until sometime on Monday morning, to make a decision on whether to resign Niemi or let him become an unrestricted free agent.

Rumors also began to circulate that the Hawks have come to an agreement with veteran netminder Marty Turco on a one year deal for $1.5 million in case Niemi leaves. With various sites reporting that the Hawks are either just below the cap or currently over the cap, a move to sign either one of these netminders requires moving Cristobal Huet’s ghastly contract. While I’m far less knowledgeable about the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement than the NBA’s (which is saying something since they are both rather confusing), it appears that Huet is eligible to be placed on waivers and thus, optioned to Rockford. I’d like to believe he would probably clear waivers since whichever team picked him up would have to pay the full amount of his terrible contract for the next two years (Did Jim Hendry sign this guy?).  Now if Huet doesn’t raise a fuss and goes down to Rockford this is obviously a huge benefit to the Blackhawks’ salary cap woes. Yet, the salary cap woes are only one part of the equation.

While the Blackhawks fortunes rose steadily through last season, culminating in their Stanley Cup victory, the organization slumped further and further into debt. Rocky Wirtz admitted that the Blackhawks simply ran out of cash several times during last season and had to be bailed out by the other Wirtz family businesses. While a 20% increase in average ticket prices will certainly help the team’s financial bottom line, I find it hard to believe Rocky Wirtz would be too eager to pay the entire salary cap amount next year plus Huet’s $5.625 million contract in Rockford.

There is one out for the Blackhawks. If a player that is waived, clears waivers, and is sent down to the minors refuses to show up to the minor-league team, the NHL squad can treat this as insubordination and grounds for withholding the player’s salary. So don’t be surprised if John McDonough, the man who invented the Beanie Babies idea at Wrigley, concocts some soap-opera storyline where Huet refuses the indignity of being assigned to Rockford and lashes out publicly in broken English, or even better yet, a rant all in French (a refusal to speak the language of those who betrayed him). And behind the scenes the Blackhawks organization tells him they’ll pay him $2 million a year off the books to drive a truck for their liquor distributorship and take a few years off of hockey until his contract runs out.

I’d love to hear StevieY’s thoughts on this matter. That is, if he’s still alive, or if he isn’t too busy taking his talents to South Beach or East Lansing as the case may be.

I really can’t believe hockey season is about to start up again.  The Blackhawks have gone through a remarkable transformation over the last three or four years and the start of the 2009-10 season brings yet another new feeling for Hawks supporters.  

For one, a large group of Hawks supporters exists.  The combination of a fan friendly shift in philosophy and a markedly improved product on the ice worked to make the Blackhawks relevant once more in the Windy City.  People know who you’re talking about when you rave about Kane, Toews, or Sharp. 

Last year coming into the season I think the overall feeling was waiting to see if this was a team that could compete with the Detroits and San Joses of the Western Conference.  After a run to the Western Conference Finals and a few key pick-ups in the off-season the Blackhawks are the favorites to play for the Stanley Cup in the minds of some.  Expectations are high and Chicago has the guns to meet them. 

There are two major changes worth mentioning.  First, the Hawks went out and signed former Red Wing Marian Hossa.  Hossa is a bona fide goal scorer and playmaker and despite his struggles in the playoffs last year he can take over any game.  Hossa may well be the piece that puts the Blackhawks over the mountain that is the Detroit Red Wings in the Central Division.  Adding Hossa to an already potent attack should scare the hell out of opponents.  However, Marian is out until November or so after shoulder surgery. 

The second change is in the net.  After a stellar season last year, the loss of Khabibulin is major.  Huet was good at times last year and scary at others.  His performance in the last game of the Detroit series calmed down a lot of fans’ fears, but he’ll need to put it all together to get this team to where they want to go. 

Another addition that could end up being just as big is John Madden (not that John Madden), a top notch special teams player that put together a great run in New Jersey.  Other newcomers include Tomas Kopecky (Detroit) and Radek Smolenak (Tampa Bay), both forwards.  The blue liners remain pretty much the same, but you’ll notice Brent Sopel is back after missing last year due to injury.

One thing to watch early is the battle for the second goaltending spot.  Most teams only carry two goaltenders, but the Hawks have three, with Corey Crawford and Antii Niemi  backing up Huet.  My thought is that Niemi is only hanging around because the Hawks are in Finland, and Niemi is Finnish.  We’ll see what the roster looks like when the Hawks get back to take on Detroit on October 8th. 

Not sure how the lines will stack up, but I think Madden is a nice addition as a third line center and Kopecky fits in nice with Eager and whatever other bruiser they throw in on the fourth line.  Dave Bolland and Kris Versteeg will be interesting to watch this season as well, to see how they progress. 

So how will the Blackhawks finish up?  Wow, good question.  The experience gained in the playoffs was so valuable last season and the Hawks certainly have the tools to overtake Detroit in the Central, with the Wings throwing some young guys in and demanding production.  I expect the Sharks to finish at the top of the Western Conference in the regular season, but I suspect the Blackhawks will be right behind them.  Another prediction: Duncan Keith finishes the season as a finalist for the Norris Trophy. 

Get ready Hawks fans, the season starts tomorrow afternoon when the Hawks take on the Florida Panthers in Finland at 11 am Central Time.

Turns out they are actually going to play Game 5 despite everyone saying the series is over.  So take some time from all that reading you’re doing about a Stanley Cup Finals rematch and remember that the Western Conference Finals aren’t over yet. 

The Blackhawks have plenty going for them that no one talks about.  First, no one thinks they can win.  Seems like a great way to motivate a young team while taking the pressure off at the same time.  Second, Detroit is still banged up.  I know it didn’t matter in Game 4, but that wasn’t the same Hawks team I watched all season long.  With the Kronwall fiasco hopefully behind them, it should be a much more competitive game tonight.  Finally, they had the three day break again to refocus and put the ugliness of Game 4 behind them. 

That’s not to say the deck isn’t stacked against them.  Detroit proved itself the better team even without two of its stars on Sunday.  The Wings have the experience and rarely have trouble closing teams out in the playoffs.  Let’s get on with the bullets. 

• Pavel Datsyuk and Nick Lidstrom are out again for Game 5.  Wings coach Mike Babcock noted that sometimes it’s easy to step up and replace guys in the short term, but the longer players are out, the harder it becomes.  Don’t celebrate too soon though.  Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin are out for Chicago.  Havlat played well in his abbreviated return Sunday, and the Hawks struggled hard without their goaltender.  Hard to say which set of injuries is worse, but based on depth the Hawks are feeling this one more. 
• Injured or not, the Blackhawks will be fighting to continue their season.  A good start is always important, but even more so tonight.  Fall behind by multiple goals and thoughts of the golf course or finding whatever beach Joakim Noah is at start to creep in.  The Hawks have done well when facing adversity throughout the playoffs, but this will be the first game they face elimination.  Chris Osgood has the most elimination game shutouts in NHL history and it will be important to ensure early that he doesn’t add to that record number. 
• Cristobal Huet doesn’t get much of a grace period.  He played well in the third period of Game 3, but was awful in Game 4.  The NBC guys were saying that the Wings needed to shoot high on Huet, but really anywhere they shot it seemed to work out. 
• Oh and it might be a good idea to stay out of the penalty box.  The Wings could lose three more players and still have two good power play units.  Also, if the Hawks continue their passive play on the kill, they’re just asking for trouble.  When you have guys that might not play the blue line on the advantage due to Lidstrom being out, they need to be pressured.  Last game the Hawks just sat back while the defensemen peppered the goal. 
• Leave Kronwall alone.  Sure, if someone has an opportunity to finish a hard, clean check on him then go for it, but the first guy that goes out of his way to hit Kronwall or takes a penalty trying to get some kind of revenge should be reduced to Chelios-minutes.  I’m looking at you Versteeg. 
• Quenneville needs to keep his cool this game.  His tirade in Game 4 was the start of the meltdown and tonight quiet confidence needs to be the theme.  Back to basics for the Hawks who need to mind their responsibilities defensively, stay out of the box, and capitalize on the power play to win. 

Game is at Joe Louis Arena and on Versus at 6:30 CT.  The Hawks need to win three straight to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, so we’ll see if they can start tonight.

Hey Cristobal, Look Lower!

For a few months now, we’ve talked about how important it is for the Blackhawks to be peaking around this time of the year going into the playoffs.  Two weeks ago, it was time to lift the lid over the panic button.  Then the Hawks went on a five game point streak that included three wins, meaning it was almost time to close the protective cover on the button.  Then, as they always do, Canada screwed everything up and after two lopsided losses, the red button is back in the open and Dr. Strangelove is awaiting on the speed dial.

Okay, so maybe this is all a little melodramatic, but the Chicago Blackhawks are not an easy team to figure out.  A spectacular first half of the season had us wondering if they were Cup contenders and now we’re just wondering which team will show up on a nightly basis.  Is it the team with young talent that can fly around the ice and trade goals with anyone, or the one that makes stupid mistakes in its own zone and hits the net with the regularity of the special kid who gets into the intermission contest?

This week has been anything but special.  The only positive to come out of games against Vancouver and Montreal was that the Blackhawks showed the Canucks that they were not intimidated and had plenty of ‘fight’ in them despite the deficit.  The message was sent in case they meet in the playoffs.  However, with the inconsistency they’ve shown and the Red Wings waiting for the last two games of the season, that playoff series looks like it will be held with Calgary or Vancouver having the home ice advantage.  The Hawks have a game in hand on both, but trail them by one and two points respectively.

Mental lapses like Duncan Keith’s last night against Montreal will not fly this time of the year.  While it’s great that the Hawks are likely headed to their first postseason in a while, it is not good that they have such insufficient playoff experience.  If it’s time to start thinking like a playoff team then you can’t be setting up one of the premier scorers on the other team right in front of your own net with a no-look pass.  Lesson learned.  Also, 0-6 on the power play has to turn some heads.

It’s back to the United Center tonight against St. Louis, then Nashville comes to town on Friday night.  We’ll see which squad shows up for those games and in the meantime, I’ll keep a close eye on that panic button.

The Blackhawks really needed a win last night and finally got one when Cristobal Huet stopped Sergei Samsonov in the shootout.  After giving up a goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation, not coming out of the game with two points would have been very disappointing.

Carolina got on the board first, but the Hawks answered with goals from Kris Versteeg and Troy Brouwer.  However, ex-Blackhawk Tuomo Ruutu tallied a power play goal with 26 seconds left in the game to even the score at two.  In the shootout goals by Toews and Kane were matched by Carolina, then after Bolland hit the post, Huet made a save to extend the game.  Versteeg netted what ended up being the game winner and the Hawks got a much needed two points.

More good news from yesterday came when Nikolai Khabibulin was activated from the injured list.  Also, Martin Havlat’s injury doesn’t look to be too serious and he is listed as day-to-day.

I mentioned this the other day, but Kris Versteeg has been huge for the Blackhawks lately.  He had another goal last night to add to his shootout winner and the rookie looks like he’ll be an important part of the stretch run, which is never what you want for a rookie, but the kid looks up to it.  I think Kane and Toews being around really helps Versteeg, because they are essentially the same age and have just gone through the experience Versteeg is having.

Patrick Kane managed to net a shootout goal, but for a while it looked like he was never going to score.  Kane got behind the Canes defense late in overtime, but couldn’t get it past Cam Ward.  Earlier in the OT, Kane hit the crossbar on what should have been the game winner.  With a guy like Kane though, it’s okay if he’s missing some chances.  He’s playmaker and as long as he is finding space on the ice and setting people up-he had an assist in regulation-the Blackhawks will be thrilled with his production.

Despite any kind of disappointment from not winning in regulation, the win feels good.  Anytime the Hawks can grab two points with all the injuries, they’ll take it.  Columbus comes to town Friday night, and they’ll gladly take two more.

The weekend for the Chicago Blackhawks was so bad, I had to take a day to let it soak in before posting about it.  The Hawks were outscored by a total of 10-4 in losses to the Bruins and the Avalanche.

With the two losses, the Hawks have now lost six of eight games and are 13 points behind Detroit in the Central and only five points ahead of Vancouver for the fourth seed in the West.

So what has the problem been for Chicago lately? In my mind the two biggest factors in the skid have been injuries and poor defense.  Injuries have slowed the Blackhawks for a while now it seems.  The first that comes to mind is Duncan Keith and his absence’s effect on the power play.  Now the Blackhawks are dealing with the loss of Khabibulin and Patrick Sharp.

The loss of Khabibulin is a big one; the goaltender was in top form before the injury and the Hawks had found a nice balance between him and Cristobal Huet.  Huet has struggled with the everyday responsibilities since Nikolai went down.  It looks like the Hawks will have their number one guy back in a week or two.

Sharp was leading the team in goals before his injury, a distinction that now belongs to captain Jonathan Toews.  Of course, when one of your top goal scorers goes out with an injury, that is going to be evident in your production. What is overlooked is the impact on the team as a whole when guys like Keith, Khabibulin, and Sharp go down.  All of the sudden guys are playing on different lines, playing more time, and feeling more pressure to produce.  Every team deals with injuries, but I think that sometimes with a young team, you’re going to feel the impact a little more.

To make matters worse, Martin Havlat got dinged up this weekend sustaining a “lower body injury.”  I love hockey for that kind of stuff.  Anyway, Havlat had been playing arguably the best hockey he has played in Chicago before the injury.  I haven’t heard anything specific, but let’s hope this is only a week or two, because that’s one guy Chicago will need down the stretch.

Even with all those guys back, the Blackhawks won’t be successful without good defense.  Pahlsson will help that from the forward spot, but it’s on the blue liners to pick it up.  There is too much talent back there to be giving up so much space that leads to so many goals.  It’s hard to say exactly what they’re doing wrong now, but they just seem a step behind where they were a month ago.

The Hawks had the day off yesterday and I’m sure they’re having a very serious practice and film session today before taking on Carolina tomorrow night at the United Center.  Lulls in the season happen and this actually isn’t a terrible time for one, but Chicago better start to turn it around, because they want to be playing their best hockey pretty soon.

After months of complaining, Stormin’ Norman and myself are finally starting to have a say in decisions made by Chicago sports teams.  Last week Stormin’ Norman was wondering if Vinny Del Negro thought Derrick Rose was traded, inspired by lack of playing time for the rookie in late game situations.  The same day, I opined that Cristobal Huet needed a rest to continue to play effectively.

After numerous games with Rose watching from the bench in the fourth, Paxson finally had a talk with his first-year coach and told him to wake the hell up and get the young star in the game.

After three straight losses, Huet was given a rest on Sunday in favor of Antti Niemi.  In Niemi’s first NHL start he made 22 stops and got the win 4-2 over Los Angeles.  See what happens when they listen?  Or when their decisions coincidentally match our opinions?

The rest for Huet will hopefully pay off in the long run, as he continues to fill in for the injured Khabibulin.  Not only does Huet need the periodic rest to be effective, but the last thing the Hawks need is for fatigue to cause an injury.  Hopefully it won’t be seven games until we get to see Niemi again.  You listening Hawks?

A few factors conspired to cost the Blackhawks what would have been their 10th win in a stretch where 12 of their last 14 games were on the road.  I guess conspired isn’t a good word to use when you’re talking about officials, but they certainly played a role in the loss.

It’s easy to jump on the striped fellows when you are caught up in the frustration of allowing four third period goals to lose 5-3.  It’s even easier when two of those goals game on the power play, and it’s so easy it’s second nature when power plays are six to two.

Back to the calls in a bit, but the defense and the goaltending are on the hook for this one too.  I’m still of the opinion that Huet needs a rest.  He’s played great over this stretch, but there are moments where the fatigue is starting to show.  Rebounds are coming loose and the puck is finding its way to the net a little too often.  Give the guy a night off and send him back in for another run.

Huet wasn’t the only one to blame for the third period collapse.  The checking just wasn’t there.  It’s the end of a brutal stretch and the guys are tired, but there was too much space for Nashville.  That space led to opportunities for Nashville and contributed to three penalties.  Well, maybe two.  One?  Okay, maybe there shouldn’t have been any.

None of the Hawks last four penalties (Chicago was on the short end of the last five calls of the game by the way) were without controversy.  Huet was called for interference at the end of the second when a Nashville player came through the crease; Huet put his arms up as the player flew through the crease and both players went down.  Could have gone either way and it went for Nashville.

In the third, Ben Eager was called for tripping when Greg Zanon skated into him looking for a reason to fall.  Andrew Ladd was called for a hook when he lifted the stick of Joel Ward and Ward fell down.  Ward was the player that ran into Huet earlier, so don’t touch that guy.  The final call was on Brouwer and while it seemed like a pattern by now, this was probably the most legit call of the bunch.  While the Pred was already falling down, Brouwer did reach out and hit him while the player was off the puck; seemed like interference to me.

Either way, the loss is tough to take when you’re shorthanded like that.  At least the road warrior role is behind Chicago, as the Hawks will return to the United Center for seven of their next eight games.  It starts Friday night with a contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who may be without Sidney Crosby.  He’s busy with something about Alexander Ovechkin and a voodoo doll.

After going 9-3-0 while playing 11 of 12 games on the road, the Blackhawks fell in their return to Chicago 2-1 to Minnesota.  The Hawks dominated the first period and a half, but an ineffective power play and great goaltending proved critical in the loss.

Wild goaltender Josh Harding stopped 44 of the 45 shots the Hawks sent his way and was a major factor in killing off all eight of Chicago’s power plays.

The shaky power play is a familiar problem for the Blackhawks this season, but on that seems to occur less frequently as the season goes along.  The absence of Patrick Sharp doesn’t help, especially when facing the Wild and their league leading penalty kill.

Jonathan Toews opened the scoring at 10:03 of the second period, with assists to Havlat and Kane.  Hey, are they still doing that million dollar giveaway for a goal at 10:00 of the second?  It was pretty damn close to happening again, and on the Hawks only goal as well.  The Blackhawks enjoyed the lead for all of about 2:45 before Minnesota tied it up on the power play.

In the third period, the Hawks outshot the Wild 15 to 6, but it was Minnesota’s Peter Olvecky that recorded the only goal.  The game winner was Olvecky’s first NHL goal.  Congratulations kid, you son of a bitch!

Huet was in net again for Chicago and has started every game since Khabibulin’s injury.  He wasn’t terrible, but you have to wonder if he is getting tired since he hasn’t started a string of games like this all season. We’ll see if he gets the nod Tuesday night when the Hawks travel to Nashville.

After the brutal road stretch, the Blackhawks have 16 of their last 24 games at the United Center.  They remain 10 points behind the Red Wings in the Central and they’re tied with Calgary for the third most points in the Western Conference.  While a four seed  is the highest the Hawks can hope for if they don’t catch the Wings, it would be nice to have home ice for at least the first round.

There were no awesome goal calls from Randy Moller last night thanks to Cristobal Huet and the Chicago Blackhawks.  Huet stopped every one of the 31 Florida shots that came his way and the Hawks snuck four into the net to take the win 4-0.

Andrew Ladd scored just over three minutes into the game when he put in what must have been the third or fourth rebound in the sequence.  From there it was all Huet through the rest of the first and all of the second period.  Though the Hawks had more shots for the game, the Panthers had the shot advantage in the second period 11-7.

Ben Eager doubled the lead 8:32 into the final period and added another late after Toews scored his 21st goal of the season.  Huet made the best of his 31 saves when he stuffed Nathan Horton with the pad from right in front of the net.

Huet has been great since Khabibulin went down with an injury.  In those four games Huet is 3-1, with the only loss a 1-0 game at St. Louis.

The game against Florida came just after an announcement that the two teams will meet to open the NHL season in Helsinki next October.  I hear it’s beautiful that time of year.

After playing 10 of 11 on the road, the Hawks have one more road game at Dallas Saturday before the schedule returns to normal.  Look for the first rest for Huet since Khabibulin’s injury though, because the Hawks will play back to back games this weekend.  Could be our first look at Antti Niemi, from….Finland!