The Blackhawks had an impressive 2009 season, which saw them win back the city of Chicago and get behind them, and a playoff drive that caught everyone by surprise, which unfortunately ended in the West Finals. This upcoming season, the sky is the limit for these young Blackhawks, and repeating the successes of last season should be attained, and the pressure will be raised. With Chicago being an Original Six city, the fan base is pretty big and they’ll expect only the best from their Hawks.
With such a young team there comes that wall you hit, right after an amazing season. Hopefully this Hawks team doesn’t fall into a trap and expect to make the West Finals again just like that. For this Chicago team, they have to forget about last season, even though it was so good, and start fresh.
The off-season drama that unfolded was really bizarre, starting with their GM Dale Tallon getting the axe. Tallon being let go was a huge mistake because he re-built the Blackhawks and got them out of the dumps. That’s what happens when Scotty Bowman, a respected hockey man is around, and with his son, who ended up getting the GM job after Tallon. This was set up from the start ever since Scotty Bowman came around.
Then there was Patrick Kane who ended up getting charged for assault on a cab driver who failed to deliver twenty cents in change, that’s a joke on Kane. Luckily for him, he got a slap on the wrist and was ordered to deliver an apology and community service, instead of jail time.
Good thing for the Hawks, they have an excellent captain in Jonathon Toews who will lead this team to good fortune despite being so young. In his sophomore season Toews played all 82 games and scored 34 times. That was just the start of the offensive firepower the Hawks displayed last season, and they rolled with three good scoring lines. So offense won’t be a problem for the Hawks this upcoming season.
The two Patrick’s, Sharp and Kane, both had great season’s, but for Sharp injuries hurt his stats, but he still managed to produce 26 goals, and 18 assists in 61 games. As for Kane, the dimwit now after his off-season shenanigans had 25 goals and 80 points. With Toews, Sharp and Kane the Blackhawks will have more than enough scoring and two dominant lines.
The rest of the cast rounds out like this, starting with power sophomore forward Kris Versteeg who had 22 goals. Another power forward the Hawks have is Dustin Byfuglien who scored 31 points in 77 games. In his first full season Dave Bolland really impressed the Chicago brass with 47 points in 82 games. All three of these players, who sport good hands, speed and hit, should all improve on last season’s totals.
The addition of John Madden to the team was a key signing which will allow the Hawks to use him in different types of situations, especially when defending a lead. Madden can pretty much do it all defensively, and even though his scoring numbers have dropped, he is a great third line player, and will be a calming presence in the locker room if times get tough.
The loss of Martin Havlat was a tough one, but the Hawks made that up with the signing of Marian Hossa to a mega long term deal. He may miss the first two months of the season due to shoulder surgery, but when he returns, the Blackhawks will be stronger and that will right then solidify three scoring lines for Chicago.
Defensively, the Hawks have one of the best young groups who have entered their prime and are playing some of the best two way hockey by defensemen. Brent Seabrook has spent his entire career with Hawks since being drafted back in 2003, and has quietly emerged as one of the best defensemen in the game. His scoring totals are pretty decent as well, but the Hawks will look to him to be their number one d-man.
Shouldering the scoring load will be Brain Campbell who can set up a lot of plays and is a wizard on the power play. Posting a fifty point season is always within reach.
Cam Barker has really come into his own and has emerged as a solid shut down defensemen, and paired with Seabrook, the Hawks will have one of the best shut down defensive pairs in the NHL.
Last but certainly not the least, not one bit, is Duncan Keith who has played two great seasons in succession and has earned the ‘A’ that appears on his sweater. His scoring totals are very respectable and have risen the past four seasons from 21, 31, 32 and 44. The Blackhawks this season have the potential to have two defensemen with 50 or more points.
Those four players mentioned above will lead the defense, and all will play equal minutes which will result in fresh players on a lot of nights, and most importantly the playoffs.
Helping out in the back end and bringing some veteran experience will be Brent Sopel to round out an already sound defense.
Goaltending wasn’t a problem last season for the Hawks with Nikolai Khabibulin, but he left for Edmonton as a free agent. The Hawks still do have Cristobal Huet who was signed last season to a three year deal to be the number one goalie. Over Huet’s NHL career he has yet to play in over 42 games, so this season will be a huge test to see if he is a legit number one goalie, his stamina, conditioning and durability. Huet catches a break though because he will have a great defense in front of him.
OVERALL--> THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS HAVE AN EXCELLENT SQUAD THAT THEY WILL ICE THIS YEAR, AND SHOULD EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM THEM.
POSITIVE--> GREAT CORE OF YOUNG AND EXPERIENCED PLAYERS. THE CHICAGO DEFENSE IS TOPS, AND VERY GOOD DEPTH THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION.
NEGATIVE--> HOPEFULLY LAST SEASONS SUCCESS WONT GET TO THEIR HEADS AND EXPECT TO ADVANCE TO THE THIRD ROUND EASILY. GOALTENDING MAY JUST BE A PROBLEM FOR THE BLACKHAWKS DURING THE SEASON.
X-FACTOR--> JONATHON TOEWS AND PATRICK KANE ARE THE LEADERS OF THIS TEAM AND THEIR PLAY SHALL DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF A GOOD OR BAD SEASON.
SLEEPER PICK--> BRENT SEABROOK IS ALREADY SOUND DEFENSIVELY, BUT LOOK FOR HIM TO HAVE A GOOD OFFENSIVE SEASON WITH AT LEAST 30-35 POINTS.
PREDICTION--> THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, BATTLE DETROIT UNTIL THE END FOR THE DIVISION TITLE AND FINISH IN THE TOP 4 IN THE WEST. AT LEAST A SECOND ROUND APPEARANCE IN THE PLAYOFFS SHOULD HAPPEN.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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