This is going to be half looking back and half looking forward, so be prepared for whiplash.
There are two major players that have contracts expiring this year, or next year that need to be signed. The first is Corey Crawford. In my opinion, not signing Niemi was not good last year but did lead us to Crawford who is a much better goalie. We can't let Crawford pass by and go to some other team. Bowman himself said that signing Corey Crawford as soon as possible is a must.
The exact quote was this: "He's a top priority for us," Bowman said Thursday in his end-of-season address to media. "He's earned the right to be a No. 1 goalie for us and our team loves playing in front of him. He has the right demeanor and right approach. He loves to be in Chicago. He's clearly a priority for us. It's nice to know going into next year we are going to have some stability in goal."
(taken from Jesse Rodgers (@ESPNChiHawks) on ESPNChicago.com)
I totally agree with what he said, Crawford is a must. We don't have the same cap problems as we did last year and choosing to keep him should be easy. He doesn't seem like a guy who will ask for much, and whatever he asks for he honestly probably deserves. Last year, Niemi was good in the playoffs but not that great in the regular season. Crawford was good in the regular season, and great in the playoffs. Keeping Crawford is number one on the list of things to do for the Hawks.
The second thing is that they need to keep Sharp. His contract expires next year, but signing him now will just make it an easier and smoother transition. Sharp has already expressed that he would be willing to sign now, but he can't because he can't be offered anything until July 1st. He is a leader and part of the core group of guys on this team. Losing him would deeply hurt our team, who looks like they have a good chance at the cup next year. I love how much he wants to be on this team and help them win the cup again sometime in the near future. He is a big part of our team's core of players/leaders.
The Sharp and Crawford situations are really the only things that we have to deal with. It will be a calm summer with very little heartbreak over losing certain players. The Blackhawks could actually end up signing a few players over the summer. The thought of having a bigger player who can lay on hits who isn't terrible at everything else like John Scott is, sounds like a good idea. I like the thought; if we can get a big guy who can actually play hockey without too many dumb penalties and turnovers I think we should sign him. Not only to play the Canucks, but because we need an enforcer on our team.
The Past
I waited as long as I could to let my heart fix itself before I wrote about what happened in that game. The way it ended was so heartbreaking that I didn't have any words when it first happened. I immediately put my head in my unwashed "lucky" cup winning shirt and shed a tear and just sat there speechless.
I think I have gotten over the hurt enough to comment on what happened throughout the game. The biggest thing that I noticed was that Alex Burrows single-handily beat us. He scored the first goal, he got the penalty shot which Crawford had a huge save on, he scored that final goal. I know that the other players contributed, obviously, but it seemed like every time the Blackhawks turned around he was doing something to help the Canucks win.
My favorite part of that game was the Toews goal. Not only because he is one of my favorite players and I had been waiting for him to score the whole series, but also because I called it. The Canucks went on the power play and there was only about five minutes left. I tweeted that with Toews and Hossa out there a shorthanded goal should be coming and we will silence the stupid Vancouver fans. Then, Toews had the puck Hossa set up. Hossa shoots it and the puck flies back and Toews jumps off the ice and smacks the puck in the net. I was so elated with joy that I was jumping up and down and screaming.
That goal forced overtime, and the sad part that I am not even ready to talk about came next. Bad turnover that lead to an easy shot to make. There is nothing Crawford could have done. If he would have saved that, I would have gone to Vancouver and hugged him that night.
Switching gears, the real part of the past that I want to talk about it way back. In the beginning of the season, the Blackhawks did not play well and seemed to be slower than the year before. They could have blamed it on the trades that needed to be made, but they were just playing bad. They needed to snap out of the funk they were in from winning the cup and play good hockey. I'm one of those people that is thoroughly convinced that if the Hawks would have played better in the early part of the season, we would not be in this situation and should still be in the playoffs. I know that you can't go back now, but the Hawks need to learn that the beginning of the season is just as important as the rest of the season.
The beginning of the playoffs was also not good for the Hawks. They needed to win at least one of the first three games. Being in a win or go home situation every night can be taxing on a player. I'm not saying that it got to them, because I don't think it did, but that is not a situation you want to be in. In the last four games, the Blackhawks showed that they could play with the Canucks. They needed to play with that same intensity from the start. I feel like I'm repeating myself now, because the Hawks have a problem with getting off to a good start. I would like to see them realize this and learn from that.
The best way they can send a good message to me as a fan is to start the season with a lot of wins and good hockey when they lose. I will know that they realized that starts are killing them, and that they have a chance to go deep in the playoffs if that happens.
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