Chicago Blackhawks Year in Review

2011 was a pretty good year for the Blackhawks. There were things they did well and things that they could've done much better.

The first memorable part of 2011 for the Blackhawks was Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Patrick Kane making the All-Star game. Patrick Sharp was a write-in and won the MVP trophy for the night by getting four goals.

The next memorable part of the year was the Blackhawks final day of the season. If they beat their bitter rivals, the Red Wings, they would be in the playoffs. They failed to do so, however, and had to wait and see if the Minnesota Wild would be the Dallas Stars. The Wild ended up winning and the Blackhawks made it to the playoffs. They would be playing the Vancouver Canucks, a team they had played the two previous playoff years.

The first three games of the series were lazy, unphysical, and plain bad. In the next three games, the Hawks were much better. Game 5 was probably the best game for the Hawks in the entire series. Game 6 was won by a Ben Smith overtime goal. As Blackhawks fans, including myself, celebrated I secretly thought to myself that the Blackhawks had hit their peak in the series. Game 7 started bad as the Blackhawks gave up an early goal. They stayed behind the whole game until with about a minute and half left, on the penalty kill, Hossa and Toews lead a little breakaway and Toews came up from lying on the ice shot the puck in, fell again, and then got up and celebrated. It was a true showing of what the Blackhawks captain can do. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks would not win the game despite Corey Crawford being fantastic in overtime.

Next was the long summer, something that the Blackhawks hadn't experienced in two summers. Players like Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith appreciated the rest and stepped up their game. New players were added including Steve Montador, Jamal Mayers, Daniel Carcillo, Sami Lepisto, and Sean O'Donnell. Crawford, Frolik, and Stalberg were all re-signed. It was a good offseason for Stan Bowman and the Hawks were ready for a good 2011-2012 season.

The season started okay, but got much better as the first month passed by. The Blackhawks not sit atop the standings and were the first to 50 points. Crawford and Emery are both playing fantastic. Toews, Sharp, and Hossa are among the top goal scorers in the league. The Blackhawks are doing great and have a ton of room for improvement. 2011 was nice, but 2012 has a chance to be great.

Blackhawks win 5-1

With Sharp's baby girl in attendance, the Blackhawks bounce back from a loss with a big win at home. The first period was good hockey and neither team could pot a goal. The second period started bad as the Hawks had a bad penalty kill and gave up a power play goal. Later in the period Brunette circled around the back of the net and tried to dish to an open Toews, but Toews never touched it and Brunette got the goal. 21 seconds later Sharp led a breakaway, faked the shot, skated forward and shot the puck into the back of the net. This was the turning point of the game. Stalberg would score a third goal in the third period, then Toews scored the empty net goal to win the game. With about 30 seconds left, Stalberg led a breakaway and passed to Bickell who scored. It was a great game for the Hawks all around and a great way to bounce back from a disappointing loss in Pittsburgh. Corey Crawford was great in net today and got the first star of the game. 

Brandon Pirri was recalled from Rockford and centered Sharp and Hossa the entire game. He got penalty kill and power play time and proved that he deserved it. He had no points, but played a very good game. He will probably stay up as long as Kruger is out with a concussion and maybe longer if he continues to play so well. 

Now that Crawford had a fantastic game it will be a tough decision on whether Emery will start or Crawford will start on Monday. Coach Q has a lot of time to decide, but it will be a tough decision. 

Stalberg was good again tonight. This is his second good game in a row. Coach Q said that he moved him from the top line to see if he could help get the third line going. It worked as him and Bickell both had goals and Stalberg had two assists. It's nice seeing him succeed and hopefully he continues to play well on Monday.

Canadiens @ Blackhawks Preview

The Blackhawks play their second game in that many days tonight. Last night did not go very well, but hopefully tonight will be different. Montreal has a new coach and have not won since he started coaching. Corey Crawford is back in net for the first time in six games. Emery was having a great couple weeks, but with two games in two nights, Crawford will get the start against his hometown team. The defense was bad last night, but hopefully they play better for Crawford tonight and help him get the win. Chris Campoli returns to play at the United Center for the first time since playing for the Hawks last year. Hossa has a 6 game point streak and looks to continue you that tonight.

I think the Hawks can win this game. The Habs are struggling. The Blackhawks offense showed some fire and finesse last night in the third period, if that continues through tonight the Blackhawks can easily get a win. Crawford will have to be solid in net tonight, and I think he will because he showed last year that he was better when it seemed like he was losing his job. A good team effort in all three periods is what the Blackhawks need to win tonight. 

Blackhawks win third period, lose game.

The Blackhawks ended their five game win streak with a loss against the Penguins in Pittsburgh. The first two periods were the most frustrating and aggravating periods of hockey that I have ever watched. (This is excluding losses in the playoffs the last three years) The Blackhawks actually came out and were playing hard and well in the first ten minutes, and then something happened. Kruger got destroyed by an illegal hit that was not penalized. John Scott came to his rescue and got in the a fight and made Engelland bleed. He received a minor for instigating and a 10 minute misconduct. This lead to a power play goal for the Penguins and they didn't ever look back. The Hawks continued to take stupid penalties and play terrible defense. Emery was fantastic, but was not helped at all by the defense. The offense wasn't much better either, not capitalizing on power plays. After two periods, I was absolutely done. I wanted to turn the game off, but I couldn't because it was the once a month occurrence that I actually got to watch the Hawks on TV and I couldn't pass that up.

The Hawks came out firing in the third period and scored early. The captain got the goal even though it was meant as a pass to Stalberg. Then Stalberg got a real goal which was set up by some great passing from Kane. So, pretty much, Stalberg was the MVP of the game for the Hawks. That doesn't happen often. After those two goals, the Hawks were still behind one and had so many chances in the second half of the third period, but none of them went in. Fleury was fantastic and even with a power play to end the game, the Hawks couldn't score.

This game was pretty pathetic for the Hawks. The defense was terrible and Keith was forced to play 30 minutes including 7 minutes of penalty kill. The Blackhawks still have a game tomorrow against a struggling Montreal team. They should be able to get the win. Crawford will be back in net and maybe the defense will decide to actually play well in front of him. Despite being the best team in the NHL just a night ago, they have many things that need to be fixed. Kruger is hurt for an indefinite time period and that leaves the second center spot open. Kane can probably go there for awhile because he played well at center, but that's still a hole in the team. The Hawks could also use another defenseman.

The Blackhawks are a long way from the Stanley Cup. They were on a five game win streak, but Pittsburgh kindly exposed that the same problems from the beginning of the season are still there.

Goalie Controversy?

Ray Emery is set to start again tomorrow against the Sharks. Earlier in the season, when Emery was struggling, he was only set against the "easier" opponents. That's a lenient term because any team can win any night, but coach Q felt more confident with him in net against a weaker offense. Now Emery is being put up against a very good offense. There must be a reasoning behind playing Emery more often, but it may not be exactly what it seems to be. It's true that Crawford has struggled recently. He hasn't has as good of numbers as expected and has started to give up softer goals. Emery has been playing better in the past few games and is actually making a lot of good saves. The obvious conclusion is that Emery is playing more than Crawford because he is better and maybe Q wants to make him the starter similar to what is happening in Vancouver right now. I don't think that's the case, though.

I think that Quenneville knows exactly what he's doing by playing Emery more than Crawford right now. The first thing he's probably thinking is that Crawford could obviously use the rest because earlier in the season Q was afraid to start Emery because he had bad start after bad start. Now that Crawford can actually rest, Quenneville is going to do it as often as he can. The second thing is that he knows Crawford is in a slump, so he is trying to figure out how to get him out of it. When did Crawford play his best last year? When he is fighting for his job. If Emery continues to start continuously, Crawford is going to realize that he has to fight for his job and get with it.

There is no goalie controversy in Chicago, because Emery still isn't the starter. Crawford is the starter and he's a good one. All goalies need rest and by playing Emery more, Emery is getting better and starting to get in a groove. You can argue that by playing both of them equally and maybe even playing Emery more, the Blackhawks goaltending is better than it would be without a "controversy". You could also make the argument that the Blackhawks could have one of the best goalie tandems in the league at the end of the year. Blackhawks fans shouldn't be worried about Corey losing his job right after signing a big contract or becoming like Huet became. Sitting on the bench for a few games is making Crawford better. 

John Scott: Good or Bad?

One of the biggest questions this year is whether or not the increased minutes for John Scott are helping the Blackhawks or not. Last year he played in 40 games in the regular season. So far this season, he has played in 13. Last year penalties were a problem for Scott (he had 72 PIM). This year has been much better so far. He is much more disciplined. This year he only has 4 PIM and has played much cleaner hockey. He isn’t getting caught behind and hooking or slashing someone because he has to make up ground.

Over the offseason, Scott worked on his skating and puck handling. At the beginning of the season, it wasn’t apparent that he worked on anything at all, but he hasn’t looked too terrible lately. He has been on the 3^rd defensive pairing for most of his starts, but got a chance to play forward in Carcillo’s place against the Kings on Saturday. He has played better this season compared to last season, but the stats don’t show it. He is a -2 this season. That isn’t very good.

I’m not a big John Scott supporter, but you have to admit that he has improved his game. Just because that means he improve from being terrible to just being bad doesn’t mean he didn’t improve. If he keeps improving every offseason, he could be a decent player in 5 years. The fact that Quenneville has confidence in him to become a better player might be enough motivation to work hard every offseason in order to play more and more each year.

Scott is getting more and more minutes and has been playing better now that he actually plays a real shift. With a lot of hard work during the offseason, he could become an everyday defenseman. If John Scott could figure out how to skate and use his size right, he could be a great defenseman.

1st Quarter Grades for the Blackhawks

We're one quarter of the way through the season and it's report card team. Which players have gone above and beyond and which ones have disappointed? I'm going to tell you.

Brian Bickell C+
Bickell gets a C+ because he did well earlier this season, but has played terrible hockey lately. He has some great linemates and prove that he could score early in the season. Lately, he looks awful and will likely be replaced by Ben Smith on the third line as soon as Frolik comes back.

Dave Bolland B
Bolland was also very good in the beginning of the season, but has had a few injuries and hasn't produced as much since he's been back. His line was the best one on the team for the first two weeks of the season, but hasn't scored as much since. Bolland is still trolling and being awesome, but doesn't quite get an A because of the injuries and fall off of his line.

Andrew Brunette B-
Brunette was signed to improve the Blackhawks power play, and technically has done that. The Blackhawks power play has struggled, but with 4 power play goals this season, Brunette has improved the power play by getting his butt in front of the goalie and getting some ugly goals.

Daniel Carcillo B+
When Carcillo was brought to the Hawks, many people, including myself, was not on board and thought that he would be a punk that would be suspended most of the time and not really contribute to the team. He has surprised, though, he is now on the second line that is centered by Kane and has been a solid contributor in the top 6. This is much more than people expected, but he doesn't get an A because he has had some bad games including the first game against the Canucks.

Michael Frolik B-
Frolik has played better this year, but still isn't getting the puck in the net. Along with his other linemates, he played well in the beginning of the season. Now he's injured, but should be back soon. With the possibility of a new linemate when he comes back, maybe he will start to produce again.

Marian Hossa B+
Hossa was great with Kane at the beginning of the season, but has been moved up to the first line. He's now with Toews and gets his chances, but hasn't been producing as much. Hossa always plays well and plays hard. I'm really happy that he hasn't had any injuries yet this year.

Patrick Kane A
Kane has adjusted to his new position very well. I was one of the doubters of putting him at center, but he has proved that he plays the position very well. He wins faceoffs, plays defense pretty decently, and dishes out the puck very well. Kane matured and improved his game a lot over the summer and is now a true leader on the Blackhawks. He is probably the player that I'm most impressed with this season.

Marcus Kruger B+
Kruger stepped into the role he was given on the Hawks very well. When Bolland was out, he played well and tried to produce. His efforts kind of killed the momentum of that line, but he still played good hockey. I think he has a lot of potential and the more experience he gets, the better he will be.

Jamal Mayers B+
He's been basically exactly what I expected. He has done well on the fourth line and has gotten in some fights. Him and Carcillo are doing a good job at enforcing and also contributing on offense and playing defense. He's been a nice addition to the Hawks and I'm glad he's here.

Patrick Sharp C+
Sharp got off to a bad start this season, but improved a little bit. I'm still not impressed with what he has done so far this season. Last season he went above the expectations and scored the most goals on the Blackhawks and maybe that's why this season looks so bad, but I just think he is underachieving this year. He can do a lot better than he is doing right now.

Ben Smith A-
With only a few games in the NHL this year, it's hard to say whether he has been good or not. He could have a good chance to produce with good linemates. There will be more to say about Smith after he has some more games under his belt.

Viktor Stalberg A
Stalberg has played much better than I expected this season. He has been playing on the first line and has actually been playing well. He is scoring goals and is accenting Jonathan Toews very well. Toews is being a good captain and center by using Stalbergs strengths, speed, very well. Thanks to Toews, Stalberg has become the player that most Blackhawks fans hoped he could be, but never thought that he would actually become. I am happily surprised by Stalberg this season.

Jonathan Toews A
Toews has played like the Blackhawks captain should. He has played very well both dishing out the puck and scoring. He has 19 points already this season and is 24th in the league in that area. He's been very good helping Stalberg become a much better player as I just mentioned. He's been playing good two-way play, as always and has flat out helped the Hawks win games.

Niklas Hjalmarsson B
Hjalmarsson's normal defensive buddy was not signed for this season and is now playing in Florida. It has shown on the ice, because Hjalmarsson hasn't been playing as well without Campbell there. He struggled with Leddy as his partner and still hasn't found his niche. He is still a good player and will probably get into a groove soon.

Duncan Keith A-
Keith has played some very good games, but has also had some very bad games. He will be back with Seabrook when Seabrook comes back and that might spark Keith's game and get him back to playing his best hockey. Keith is back to playing Norris trophy defense in most of his games. He leads the league in TOI and that sometimes affects his game, but will still be a Norris trophy candidate.

Nick Leddy A
Leddy has been very impressive this season and on certain days, is the best defensive player on the ice. He has improved a lot since last year and is ready to be a top defensemen. Hopefully he can spark Hjalmarsson's game when they start playing together again.

Sami Lepisto B
I can't really give Lepisto an honest grade because I haven't seen him play much. He played a little in the beginning of the season and looked fine. Nothing extremely impressive, but nothing bad. He's been just what the Blackhawks signed him to be. He plays in the third defensive pairing every few games and does his job.

Steve Montador A
Montador has been a pleasant surprise for the Blackhawks. He's a little slow, but has played good defense and has scored some very important goals. He's one of the reasons that the Blackhawks power play is starting to get better than it was before. He might start coming back down to earth soon, but I'm still impressed with the last few games he has played.

Sean O'Donnell C+
I haven't seen much of O'Donnell this season, but what I have seen of him has been bad. One of the biggest showings of his bad play was the first game of the season. It might have been because he was a little rusty, but I wasn't impressed. I haven't seen anything from him this season that should make me happy to have him on the Blackhawks.

John Scott B-
John Scott has been, well, let's just say that he didn't get a C because he has shown flashes of getting better. But he also doesn't deserve anything above a B+. It would take me too much time to explain all my feelings about Scott.

Brent Seabrook B
Seabrook has been playing well this season despite being away from his buddy, Duncan Keith. I think that he'll play better hockey when they are reunited later this week. I'd like to see a little better hockey from Seabrook, but he's basically done a fantastic job this season.

Corey Crawford A
Crawford has been playing amazing this season. He has had to play a lot more than he expected because Emery hasn't been a very reliable backup. There are no signs that he is going through a sophomore slump and he looks like a premier goalie right now. He has had bad nights, but has been a solid goaltender all year.

Ray Emery C-
Emery hasn't played very much this season, but hasn't looked very impressive when he has played. Granted, Emery hasn't had much defensive help when he's between the pipes. I'd like to see how well Emery plays when the defense actually decides to show up, but so far this season I haven't been impressed by Emery's play.

Blackhawks win 5-1 in Vancouver

The Blackhawks played much better in this game against the Canucks. In the beginning, they had troubled getting the puck past Schneider because he was playing so well. The Canucks were actually the first to score, but would not score again for the rest of the night. Andrew Brunette's power play goal tied the game and Kane's power play goal put the Hawks up and they didn't look back from there.

The key in this game was that the power play was working. The efficiency of the power play has been a concern lately, but with the help of Montador and Brunette, the power play has been much better. They showed it last night against the Canucks and hopefully carry that success throughout the whole "circus trip".

The Blackhawks and Canucks rivalry

Over the past few years, the rivalry between the Blackhawks and the Canucks has grown. Last year, the rivalry rose to new heights. You all know the story, the Hawks were down 0-3 and made a great comeback to force game 7. In game 7, Toews had that great goal and then the OT didn't really go as planned. The Canucks "slayed their dragon" and thought that they would win the Stanley Cup as soon as they beat the Blackhawks. Some of the comments after the series against the Canucks made Blackhawks players angry. Stan Bowman went out and signed Dan Carcillo and one of the immediate things that Carcillo addressed in his press conference was that he was going to be going after certain Canucks players.

The Blackhawks essentially accomplished this goal of going after the Canucks players in their first meeting this year. The one thing they forget was that they were playing hockey and had to score goals and play defense. They played terrible in that game and didn't seem like they had the motivation to win. They made it seem like their number one goal was to beat up on the Canucks and just hit them as many times as possible.

I have a plan for the Blackhawks in this game. They need to keep playing hard hitting hockey, but they need to actually play defense and try to score some goals. They shouldn't stop playing tough hockey, because that's one of the reasons they didn't win in the playoff series. Carcillo and Mayers can still get in fights and hit hard into the boards, but they need to play smart hockey. I would love to see Carcillo score. That would honestly mean more to me than Carcillo getting in a fight with Bieksa. I want a Blackhawks win tonight, not a Blackhawks beat-down.

Blackhawks after 10 games

Through the first ten games the Blackhawks look impressive during some games and sloppy during others. Some old problems and some new problems are haunting the Hawks. They still don’t play in the third period when they have a lead, Toews has had another slow start, and they can’t seem to get the power play working. Granted, through the most recent games they have been better on the power play and third period play, they are still lacking in some areas. It’s a good thing that the good outshines the bad to this point. Kane at center has been very successful, Hossa looks to be back in it, until the recent suspension Carcillo has looked very good, the checking line is probably one of the best and yet unnoticed in the NHL. Corey Crawford is solid in net and there is no sign of a sophomore slump. All these good things and yet, the Blackhawks are under the radar. With the surprising success of the Leafs, the dominance of the Capitals, the failures of the Bruins, and the great play as always by the Red Wings, the Blackhawks have gone unnoticed and yet in those ten games they are 6-2-2. A pretty good record considering that fact that last year they were 5-4-1 in their first 10 games.

There is obviously more the Blackhawks could be doing and they probably will improve in the future. Toews is starting to heat up and Keith isn’t in as big of a slump as the beginning of the season. The Blackhawks only have two true losses. One of those losses was the very first game of the season, which was a preseason game for the Hawks and regular season game for the Stars. They were outplayed all over the ice. After watching that game, I was worried. Absolutely none of the players looked ready to lay and the big season I expected looked like it would be a disappointing one just like last season. The next few games were a little more convincing, but the game against the Bruins was a realization. The Blackhawks still had some of the same problems. They didn’t play in the third period. The Blackhawks have a good team that can go far in the playoffs. They have great players and great teamwork. This team can win the Stanley Cup if they fix some of their problems. If the Hawks continue to play the way they have, they will be very successful this season.

Hawks lose first game 2-1, play home opener tonight

I didn't get to catch the game last night, but what I heard from other fans, it wasn't very good. Q decided to change the lines as much as he possibly could. Even Montador got a chance to play wing last night. The team was crazy and everywhere. Confusion and Lehtonen are what killed the Hawks last night.

There were some positives, though. The Sharp, Toews, and Kane line was reunited and looked like the only line that wasn't completely lost. This means that Kane probably won't be playing center as expected. Q might use him there every once and awhile, but he can't deny the chemistry between those three elite players. Nick Leddy scored with 14 seconds left in the third period to prevent the shutout.

Hopefully the Hawks can get a win tonight at the United Center. They are playing the Stars again and maybe this time Q has his lines figured out. Kruger was recently recalled from Rockford and will probably be used at center on one of the lines. With Bolland and Smith out, the team looks a lot worse. When they come back, the Hawks should start clicking. But, as Patrick Sharp said, "2 points in October is just as important as 2 points in April."

Crawford didn't play extremely well and hopefully improves tonight. The Kane, Toews, and Sharp line should be together for most of the game and I predict that they'll get at least one goal. I'm predicting a Hawks win tonight.

Blackhawks Season Preview: Part 4, Goalies

New Additions

Ray Emery- He was invited to camp to compete for the backup position. Depending on how he plays on Saturday, he might be the Blackhawks backup goalie.

The Young Ones

Alexander Salak- He was acquired along with Michael Frolik in a trade for Jack Skille last year. He is a feisty goalie and depending on whether or not he out-plays Emery he could be the backup goalie for the Hawks.

The Veterans

Corey Crawford- With one year under his belt, he should be better. He will be the undisputed starter this season unlike last season. He showed how good he can be during the playoffs last year and hopefully he can play that way throughout the season.

Breakout Player

I think Crawford will be a breakout player of sorts. He didn’t get to show his complete talent last year. He had a short time period to play. He will get a lot more starts this year and will show how good he really is.

Predictions

Crawford will help lead the Hawks on what could be a cup run during the playoffs. He is a solid goalie that will be trustable during the playoffs. Goaltending won’t be a problem like it was for part of the year last year.

Blackhawks Season Preview: Part 3, Defense

New Additions

Sean O’Donnell- He was signed this offseason and will probably used on the third pairing.

Steve Montador- He was also signed this offseason and will also be used on the third defensive pairing. He might switch off rolls with O’Donnell or both of them will be used at once.

Sami Lepisto- He was signed to solidify the fact that Chris Campoli would not be returning. He will probably play on the second or third pairing this season.

The Young Ones

Niklas Hjalmarsson- He has been with the Hawks for a couple years now and is looking to have a breakout season. Now that some players have moved on, Hjalmarsson will have a bigger role on the team and could have a breakout season this year.

Nick Leddy- He didn’t play the whole season last year, but he will this year. He showed that he has a lot of talent and can be a very good defenseman last year. He has some things to improve on, but will be very good in the future.

The Veterans

Brent Seabrook- He has been consistently good in the past few years. He will probably continue to be good as long as his linemate can be good too.

Duncan Keith- After winning the Norris trophy last year, he didn’t perform well the next season. Now that he is rested and doesn’t have the pressure of being the Norris winner, he should have another good season.

Breakout Player

I think it will be Hjlamarsson. He doesn’t have Campbell as his linemate anymore and will get more attention. He is more important to the team this year, so he will probably step up and have a good season.

Predictions

The defense will be one of the strong points for the Blackhawks this season. Seabrook and Keith are one of the best pairings in the NHL, but now the Hawks have depth at defense and will be much better in that area.

Blackhawks Season Preview: Part 2, Forwards

New Additions

Jamal Mayers- He will most likely play center on the 4th line. He was added in an attempt to make the Blackhawks fourth line a little stronger and grittier.

Dan Carcillo- He will be playing on the 4th line and was also part of the campaign to make the fourth line better. As long as he can stay disciplined, he should be a good addition to the team.

The Young Ones

Marcus Kruger- Last year, as a rookie, he showed that he had talent and could play the game. The Hawks are unsure about him as a second line center and also unsure about him as a fourth line center. He will probably be used on the fourth line and have the same position as Stalberg and start every few games.

Ben Smith- Also a rookie last year, who showed that he had some talent and could score goals. He scored 3 goals in one round of the playoffs. He might play on the second line or on the third or fourth line. As long as he does well in training camp, he will be on the team. He works hard, has talent, and has hockey smarts. He will be a great piece on the Hawks in the next few years.

Brian Bickell- He also played well in the playoffs last year and looks to have a breakout season this year. He has been good playing with Dave Bolland so far in his career and will probably stay on the left wing of the third line.

Michael Frolik- After being acquired in a trade from the Panthers for Jack Skille, it took him awhile to warm up to playing on the Hawks. Towards the end of the season and in the playoffs he was a helpful part of the team. He will probably play on the second or third line most of the year.

The Veterans

Patrick Sharp- He had an outstanding season last year, but looks to top that. He might have to play center for a good part of the season because the Hawks have nobody else that can play the second line center position. He is a better goal-scorer when he is on the wing, but is still a good asset when playing center.

Jonathan Toews- Year after year he is good and then gets better the next year. That trend will probably continue. As long as he stays healthy, he might be in Hart trophy/MVP talks. He is a great leader and will be centering the first line, as always.

Patrick Kane- He has bulked up this summer and looks forward to having a big season this year. He should be 100% healthy for the season opener after injuring his wrist during a workout this summer.

Marian Hossa- He is always a huge contributor on any team he plays for. He will be playing the right wing on the second line most of the year and looks to increase his points number that was lower than expected last season.

Breakout Player

I think the breakout player this year will be Michael Frolik. He wasn’t very successful in Florida, but it looks like he has better chemistry with the Blackhawks. He will either play on the second line with Hossa and Sharp who are both great forwards or with Bolland and Bickell on the third line. He will have chances and will probably take advantage of those chances.

Predictions

As long as Carcillo can keep himself from being suspended, the project of improving the fourth line should be a success. If the young players like Bickell, Smith, and Frolik all step up the Hawks will be a force to reckon with. With Selke runner-up, Jonathan Toews, and one of the best defensive forwards, Dave Bolland, on the team, the Hawks defense should be strengthened by some of the great defensive forwards. 

Blackhawks Season Preview: Part 1, Introduction

In 2009-2010 the Blackhawks had an outstanding team that went on to win the Stanley Cup. After the celebration, the realization that the Blackhawks could not afford to pay all of those great players set in. They had to let go key players like Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Antti Niemi, Kris Versteeg, and Ben Eager. It was easy to see that the 2010-2011 team would not be as successful as the team from the year before. The Hawks battled through injuries and barely made it into the playoffs thanks to a Dallas Stars loss. The first three games of the playoffs were dead and sleepy, but the next 3 were the Blackhawks that all fans knew and loved. They had a reason to fight and were fighting with all they had. Game 7 was intense. The Canucks scored quickly and held the lead until Jonathan Toews scored a shorthanded goal with 3 minutes left that I think defines who the Blackhawks are. There was a look of determination in his eyes and he knew that he had to step up. He was going to make sure that puck went in no matter what, even if he had to shoot while he was on the ground. It showed the heart of the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks didn’t win the game. Now the big question is whether or not the Blackhawks can return to glory.

Stan Bowman made a lot of moves this offseason to help the Hawks become a better team. He got rid of Troy Brouwer, Brian Campbell, Tomas Kopecky, and Jake Dowell. Using the freed up cap space, he signed some grit for the fourth line including Jamal Mayers and Dan Carcillo. He also added some defensive depth with O’Donnell, Lepisto, and Montador. He also added the veteran forward Andrew Brunette.

Over the next few days, I’ll be taking a look at each part of the team and then in the last part of this mini series, I will make some predictions.

Carcillo Talks About the Canucks

Today Andrew Brunette and Daniel Carcillo spoke about coming to the Blackhawks. When asked what he thought about the Canucks Carcillo said, "I watched that series and I'm actually pretty excited to play them because there's a few guys that played a little bit outside of their shoes. I think I can keep most of those guys in check when we play them this year so I'm pretty excited to play them."

I really like that Carcillo made a statement against the Canucks today. The reason that he was brought here was to add grit that the Hawks didn't really have last year. After they won the cup the Hawks lost Burish and Eager who were tough gritty guys. Now that they have Carcillo, maybe he can fill those shoes. 

At first I was unsure about the signing of Carcillo, but now that he has said all the right things I might be okay with him. As long as he doesn't get suspended too often and doesn't commit too many dumb penalties, he should be fine.

Patrick Sharp's contract extended 5 years

Today Patrick Sharp received a contract extension. He will be with the Blackhawks for 5 more years now. During the press conference after the signing he said, "I don't want to ever leave"

This is all good news for the Blackhawks. The offseason moves this summer will make a huge difference on the team during the season. Sharp wasn't a free agent, but he would be next summer and this gets rid of the distraction during the season.

Last year Sharp had probably his best season ever, but he says that he wants to continue to get better and he thinks that he can do that. When Toews, Kane, and Hossa had injury issues last year he was the guy that carried the team and continued to score goals. Hopefully this year the Blackhawks don't have to deal with as many injuries, but I also hope that the Sharp continues to be a goal scorer.

Offseason Moves

The Blackhawks made a lot of moves this offseason and I decided to talk about them all at once. The July 1st signings were all good in my opinion. Stan Bowman added some maturity to the locker room and added some toughness and grit to the team by adding Dan Carcillo. Granted, he also added penalty minutes to the team by adding Dan Carillo, but if Dave Bolland is healthy all year his badass penalty killing should make that a non-issue. There were other moves besides the initial unrestricted free agent signings that impacted the team.

The first is that Viktor Stalberg was re-signed. I'm not sure how I feel about this. He is a fast and smooth skater, but he doesn't have a great shot and seems to just skate around. I absolutely hated when he was on the top line with Kane and Toews during the playoffs. If he has a good season, I'll be happy about this signing. If he does what I expect him to do, I won't be very happy about this.

The second move is the Hawks re-signing Michael Frolik. Frolik came to the Blackhawks right before the trade deadline when Jack Skille was sent to Florida and the Hawks got Frolik and Alexander Salak who will probably be the backup goalie this year. Frolik started slow with the Blackhawks, but he seemed have the same problems as Skille. He couldn't finish at the net. He had chance after chance and couldn't score. Eventually, he got his first Blackhawks goal and after that he was a pretty good addition to the team. He scored a crucial goal in Game 6 of the playoffs this year and I think he has a lot of potential. I can't wait to see what he does this season.

The third move is the Hawks signing Sami Lepisto. He played for the Coyotes and Blue Jackets last season and was signed to a one year deal by the Blackhawks. From looking at his stats he seems like a good addition to the team. The Hawks have eight good defensemen that will be fighting to fit into the 6 defense positions. Yes, one of those guys is John Scott who probably won't see a lot of ice time this year, but he is still on the roster as a defensemen.

The signing of Lepisto lead to the finally move of the offseason to this point. That move was the decision to not re-sign Chris Campoli. He was acquired from Ottawa for some draft picks before the trade deadline last season. While he was with the Hawks he was a good addition to our defense, but he was going to be asking for too much in Stan Bowman's opinion. Stan decided to let him go and not re-sign him. I don't think this is in any way related to his turnover that lost Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs this year. He was asking for a raise and Bowman didn't want to give it to him.

Overall, I like what Bowman has done this offseason and this team looks very good going into the season. I like that he left cap space in case the Blackhawks needed to sign a center sometime during the season if Kruger or Sharp couldn't do the job. It is always good to have a little cap room and Bowman managed to have that and have a pretty good roster going into the season. Great job by Bowman this offseason.

Carbomb

 

Remember that idiot that we all laughed at in the Stanley Cup Finals last year? Yeah, now he's on our team.  At first I was very upset about this trade, and then I tried to look at the positives of signing him. 

Stan Bowman did say before the start of free agency that he would be trying to make the 4th line grittier and more aggressive. Maybe he had his eye on Carcillo the whole time and nobody else knew about it. Carcillo is a gritty and aggressive 4th liner, but he is basically the same thing that Ben Eager was for the Hawks. He will do some good things and will be a reason for teams to be a little scared of the Blackhawks, but will do stupid things and commit stupid penalties. 

I have a feeling that the Blackhawks PIM will sky-rocket this year thanks to a lot of dumb penalties from Carcillo. The Blackhawks already have a shaky penalty kill and that penalty kill shouldn't be out on the ice more than it already is. 

I don't think Carcillo is all bad, but the bad certainly outweighs the good. He might score a few goals and add some toughness to our 4th line. That's what we wanted, but the penalty minutes and just flat out stupid play overshadows whatever good he may do in Chicago this year. 

Draft Picks and Trades

Two more Stanley Cup Champions were traded last week during the draft. Troy Brouwer left for Washington and Brian Campbell left for Florida. Both trades were sad for the fans, but good for the Blackhawks.

Brian Campbell's contract was way too high for the Blackhawks to keep paying. He is very important to the team, but the Blackhawks couldn't keep dragging his salary along. Troy Brouwer was probably going to be leaving Chicago sometime this summer anyway because he would be asking too much for his new contract. The Hawks were smart to get something out of losing him, instead of nothing. Both players will be missed in Chicago, but having them gone will help the Blackhawks fill out a gritty fourth line and maybe grab a second line center.

The Blackhawks ended up drafting 11 players this year. Three guys stood out. Mark McNeill, Phillip Denault, and Andrew Shaw were among the top picks for the Hawks. McNeill is a center that plays well on both ends of the ice. Denault is a passionate winger, and Shaw is a forceful and aggressive center. All three of these picks will someday become great Blackhawks players or be used in a trade at some point. They all have great talent. McNeill is already praised for playing a pro-style which will be helpful as he transitions to the professional level.

Overall, the Blackhawks had a good couple draft days. They made room for free agent signings with the trades and they drafted a few good players that will help the Blackhawks be good in the future.

A Blackhawks Fan Prospective

It feels like the expectation for every Blackhawks fan is to hate the Canucks and automatically jump on the Bruins bandwagon to win the Stanley Cup. I feel bad for Blackhawks fans that might actually like the Canucks. I am not one of those fans, but I do know a few and they are harassed by Blackhawks fans that hate the Canucks. I don't think Blackhawks fans should ever be mad at each other for cheering on certain other teams. I don't like the Canucks at all. They play dirty and they dive all over the place. No team is perfect, but I feel like the Canucks are experts at doing the things that I don't like. I am cheering for the Bruins, but not only because they are playing the Canucks.

All through the playoffs I watched the Bruins play. I watched them battle back during the series against Montreal. I watched the double overtime game and saw Horton score that goal and decided to like him from that point on. I saw Tim Thomas dominate in the series against the Lightning. I saw Tyler Seguin emerge as a great young star. The more I watched the Bruins play, the more I liked them as a team. I decided to make them my number two team.

Now they are playing one of the teams that I don't like at all. I am obviously cheering for the Bruins, but not only because they are playing the Canucks. I like this team. They have a lot of potential and they can beat this Canucks team. They have a reason to fight now that Horton got knocked out for the rest of the series. This is their time to win the cup. They haven't won in 39 years. That's too long. The Bruins need to win game 5, go back to Boston and win the cup in front of their home crowd. They can do it.

One Year Ago...

 

One year ago was a day that I loved and a day that I hated. The reason I hated that day was because I didn't get to see Patrick Kane score the overtime goal that won the Stanley Cup for the Blackhawks. 

I missed this all because of a basketball game. My mom forced me to go because I'm the best player on my team and it was an important game. She didn't think that it was an important night, I begged her to let me stay but in the end she forced me to go. I got to see the first two periods of the game. I had to leave for the third period and missed a lot. I did win the basketball game, but in the back of my mind I was wondering if the Blackhawks had won yet. As soon as the game was over I ran to my car and turned on ESPN Radio. They were playing the call and I still don't know if it was live or if they were playing it after the Hawks had already received the cup. The call confused me and I actually didn't think Kane scored. I thought that Leighton gave up the rebound and another Hawks player shot it in. I got home thinking that the Hawks had won, but a little confused. My dad, my brother, and I all cheered for awhile and I was home just in time to watch Jonathan Toews receive the cup. I saw Hossa lift the cup and I felt happy for him because I knew it probably hurt him to lose twice in a row. I watched the celebration in awe and was so happy. 

I didn't get to see the Blackhawks actually win the cup, but I still felt the joy that other Blackhawks fans around the world felt. I will never forget that day. I will regret not seeing that goal live for the rest of my life, but hopefully I get to see a few more cup wins before I die. Those wins in the future will never be the same and I'll never have the same experience that other Blackhawks fans have had, but I am still a die-hard fan who will be cheering for the Blackhawks the rest of my life and I still get chills when I watch Kane score that goal. I can't imagine what I would've done if I was actually watching the game.

Next Year

The way the Blackhawks went out this year was a little unsettling. The first half of the series against Vancouver was terrible. They didn't play with any heart in the first three games and therefore had a tough task ahead of themselves. They needed to win four games in a row. That is a lot when the pressure of winning is on you each time. They were able to dominate in game 4 and game 5. Game 6 was a tough battle, but they came out on top in overtime. Game 7 was just too much for them to handle. They were behind from the very beginning and it took them almost the whole game to come back. Thankfully, Jonathan Toews somehow managed to get a shorthanded goal while laying on the ice. The game was taken to overtime and the Blackhawks put good pressure on, but one mistake led to Alex Burrows open in front of Corey Crawford and he netted the game-winner. 

I am a firm believer in the fact that if the Blackhawks had won that game they would be playing in the Stanley Cup Finals right now. They are the only team that put up any fight against the Canucks. The Blackhawks would have beat the Predators and then the Sharks and would be playing the Bruins right now. They could do what no team since 1998 has done and repeat. They didn't win that game, though. They lost and they are sitting at home right now. That might sound like a bad thing, but in reality it is a great thing. 

The Blackhawks did lose a lot of talent and great players in the offseason last year, but they still had a very talented team coming into this year. Injuries and heartless play at the beginning of the year is what hurt the Blackhawks. Fans should not be saying "What if" and "We could've" the fact is, the Blackhawks lost in the playoffs and they are out. All of this happened for a reason. The Blackhawks didn't get as much rest as they should and as much as they need last year because they went all the way and won the cup. They are getting much needed rest this year and will come back stronger next year. Losing in the first round is incredibly helpful to the Blackhawks. They are getting rest physically and mentally now. They will come back stronger next year and contend for the cup. 

The talent that the Hawks have coming back this season is very impressive. Corey Crawford is coming back and I personally believe that he will keep getting better and have games like he did in the playoffs. Duncan Keith had an off year, but with the help of being able to rest and with the pressure of being the Norris winner off his back he will have a better year. Jonathan Toews keeps getting better and will likely have a great year and still be a great leader for the team. Patrick Kane has disappointed a few fans, but I think he will get better in the offseason and have a great season. Patrick Sharp was the big story at the beginning of the year last year with his crazy goal scoring. I think he will score a lot, but not as much. Marian Hossa had a good season, but had a few injuries. Hopefully, he stays injury free and has another good year. Ben Smith showed a lot of promise in the playoffs this year and will likely start to play with the Blackhawks at the beginning of the season. He is a hard-worker and very hockey smart, so I think he will be a great player in the future. 

There are so many other players that will get better this offseason. It is easy to see that the Blackhawks will be one of the top contenders for the cup this coming season. They have everything it takes to win it all. This might be their year to get it done again.