Offseason

We can't keep everyone. That's a fact. The Blackhawks were only able to sign people like Marian Hossa and John Madden last summer because Toews and Kane were slated to still be earning their rookie salaries of less than $1M. Having signed contract extensions during the 2009-10 season, the two stars are now going to make about $5.3M apiece this upcoming season. Duncan Keith also got a deserved pay raise. With big contracts like Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell, and Cristobal Huet, the Blackhawks simply cannot resign everyone whose contract is up this summer. Worse than that--they may have to trade players to ease up cap space just to sign enough players to fill a roster. With this in mind, this is what I think the Blackhawks should do.

Who is at risk?
These are names that have been tossed around as players who might potentially leave: Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Ladd, Cristobal Huet, John Madden, and Dave Bolland. Some of these names have been emphasized more than others and some players have proved themselves immovable.

Who MUST stay?
Dustin Byfuglien was one of the Hawks' biggest heroes late in the season and throughout the playoffs. When Brian Campbell was out with a broken collarbone and ribs because of Alex Ovechkin and Brent Seabrook was out with a concussion from a vicious headshot from James Wisniewski, Dustin Byfuglien moved from forward back to defense, where he used to play. Not only did Byfuglien fill the open spot, he played on the top defensive pairing and played well. When Seabrook and Campbell came back, Byfuglien was parked in front of Rinne, Luongo, Nabokov, and Leighton, blocking their view, causing havoc, and tying a team high 11 goals in the playoffs. Byfuglien's contract does not run out this summer, but talks about him leaving have almost completely died. In fact, the only time I hear of him possibly leaving is other teams saying how much they want him. The fact is, Byfuglien is FAR too valuable to part with and the Blackhawks MUST keep him.

Dave Bolland's contract does not run out this summer either, but hockey analysts conjectured whether or not he might leave Chicago to ease cap space. After hurting his back in the first or second game of the year, Bolland underwent back surgery to repair a bulging disk. He missed most of the season, coming back to play in March, where he struggled to reach the high level of play that the Blackhawks had grown accustomed to the year before. However, Bolland excelled in the playoffs, showing his old form, exceeding it even. Bolland was integral in shutting down opposing teams' top lines in the playoffs. The Sedin twins barely touched the score sheet. Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton were frustrated by Bolland's defensive play as a forward. And does anyone remember much of what Mike Richards did in the Finals? Bolland even scored a shorthanded breakaway goal in the playoffs, showing good hands. Bolland is a young asset that we cannot afford to lose.

Who can we part with?
I don't really want to part with anyone too badly, but if anyone had to go, these are the ones.

Cristobal Huet was playing well when the Blackhawks signed him. I remember thinking, "Goodbye, Khabibulin!" We did part with Khabibulin, but Huet was not a good enough replacement. Huet showed flashes of brilliance while sharing time with Khabibulin and with Niemi early on in each of the last two seasons. However, one bad game seemed to derail him for the rest of the season. The boo's in the stands seemed to get to him and he couldn't shake it. I hope to see Huet do well somewhere else, but I don't think Chicago is a good fit for him. His $5M cap hit isn't a good fit either. It will be difficult to convince another team to pay him that salary, considering his poor play at the end of the regular season. However, many analysts have suggested that the Blackhawks will likely bury him in the minors to avoid having to pay his contract. This is the one player that I think MUST go. Thank you, Cristobal for not causing drama when Niemi took your top spot and thank you for supporting the team and staying out of the press. In gratitude, I hope the Blackhawks organization deals you to a team that will be a
better fit for you.

John Madden was a great offseason acquisition last summer. The guy is now a 3-time Cup-winner. He wins faceoffs and is a good penalty-killer. However, when it comes to dumping salary, it makes sense to let the guy who scores the fewest points go. There were a lot of intangibles that Madden brought to the team, though. He was a very savvy player and lots of the things he did well don't often show up on a scoresheet. No doubt, his veteran leadership and experience as a two-time Cup-winner helped the Hawks get their first in 49 years. I will say "Thank you!" to John Madden, but we can no longer afford him.

Andrew Ladd came to the Hawks with a trade of Tuomo Ruutu. At the time, I thought it was a terrible trade. We dealt a fan favorite for a guy I'd never heard of before, seemingly because he was with the Hurricanes when they won the Cup. However, Ladd has proved himself to be more valuable to the Hawks than Ruutu has been to the Hurricanes time and time again. Ladd was always very scrappy and worked hard. I'll never forget you punching Kesler one time in the face before he bailed on the fight. Then Kesler called you a coward, to which you laughed, as did I. Thank you for your hard play, but if we have to dump salary, I think that we have to say goodbye.

Kris Versteeg is fast, agile, and can score goals. However, at times he danced with the puck too long and turned the puck over. Sometimes the simplest play is the best. His moves sometimes created opportunities and goals, but all too often he lost the puck and/or an opportunity to score. Thank you Steeger for the game-winner in Game 2 against Vancouver. However, we must sell high and bring up prospects.

Sharpie
I have a soft spot in my heart for Patrick Sharp. He was one of the first good players I noticed on the Blackhawks' team in 2007-08. Sharp seems to always come up with a big goal at the opportune moment. You tied Big Buff for the most goals in the playoffs on the team (11). I do not want to see you go, but it seems that too many teams are interested in you and the Blackhawks aren't saying they won't trade you. I hope you don't go, but even if you do, I'll always root for you. Thanks for the memories!

One last thing
Re-sign Niemi. One part of me fears a sophomore slump for Niemi. However, nothing seemed to bother Niemi for too long, something that not many goalies can do. I don't think we can really let one of our Stanley Cup heroes go. We also have a chance to lock up a good, young goalie who could be a solid starter for years to come. Make it happen.

"I didn't get to do that."

Shortly after the Blackhawks won the Cup, Jeremy Roenick took the opportunity to selfishly turn the spotlight toward himself.
Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy3JpUBhn5Q

"I've been there. I know what it's like. This is an emotional thing for me... Chicago, really enjoy this one. For the kid that was there in 1992 who was crying when I came off the ice after we lost Game 4 in Chicago Stadium. You waited 18 years. I hope you have a big smile on your face. Congratulations."

A fellow announcer asked him why this was affecting him, to which he responded, "It's the Chicago Blackhawks, man." Then tearfully added, "I didn't get to do that."


Hold up.

This is the guy who has played for 5 different teams. One of them was Chicago. Others included Philadelphia, San Jose, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Roenick's longest stretch was with the Blackhawks, which lasted from 1988-1996. However, he played 5 years in Phoenix and 4 years in Philly. Do you really expect me to believe he STILL feels he has such strong ties to Chicago? No. And here's why.

Roenick told ESPN that he not only was rooting for the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals, but he would also root for the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals. He explained that he was still bitter from being traded out of Chicago.
Read the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/news/story?id=5205208

I don't know what the financial situation was in Chicago at that time, but I know that the Blackhawks were TERRIBLY cheap in the 90's-2007 when they drafted Kane and Toews. Isn't it possible that they traded him because they couldn't pay him his money?

Also, maybe Roenick should see it as a favor. It isn't like he got traded and then the Blackhawks won Cups left and right. They were horrible and stagnant. The Hawks gave him a chance to go out and win some games with some other teams. Why should he resent being moved out of there?

Besides, if you resent the Blackhawks for trading you, why would you be crying? Shouldn't you be cursing them under your breath? What, is he sore that the Blackhawks didn't sign him to suit up for them this season? Get real!

My advice: Shut up, grow up, and quit making it all about yourself. The Blackhawks just won the Stanley Cup and you ruined the moment with your little pity party blubber fest. Get over it.

STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!

Finally, the Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup! I can't believe I'm writing those words. Before the season started, a friend asked me "Do you think it's their year?" I quickly responded "No. Huet sucks." My first answer wasn't my final answer, though. Way back, early on in the season--I honestly can't remember when I first said it--I changed my mind and began to tell everyone that the Blackhawks would win the Stanley Cup. Although I'm not sure when I first said it, I think I know when I first started believing in the 2009-10 Blackhawks.

It was only five games into the season. The Blackhawks were facing off with a newly-created rival in Calgary. The Blackhawks quickly fell into a deep hole, as Cristobal Huet gave up 4 unanswered goals and Antti Niemi gave up another--all in the first period. Personally, I shut the TV off after the 3rd or 4th goal. My cell phone let me know that the Hawks gave up another in the first period before the Hawks scored a goal of their own, putting them down 5-1. I continued to ignore the game and carve pumpkins instead. However, after the 2nd period, my cell phone told me that the game was 5-4. At that point, I knew the Blackhawks had a real chance. I turned the game back on in time to watch them tie the game in the 3rd period, forcing overtime. Shortly into OT, Brent Seabrook made the comeback complete and gave the Blackhawks a 6-5 OT victory.

Ever since then, I believed the Blackhawks had something truly special this season. My belief was further solidified by an 8-game winning streak in November. This might have been about the time I started to proclaim that the Blackhawks were going to win the Stanley Cup. My brother told me that I was going to jinx the Hawks, to which I said that my words did not control the outcome of the world.

I continued to believe in the Hawks as they destroyed the Sharks 7-2 in the Tank and beating the then-NHL-leading Devils 5-1 on New Year's Eve. Then the Olympic break happened. The Blackhawks headed into the break on a four-game win streak. However, 3 of those wins were in shootouts. Following the break, the Blackhawks went 6-9 in the month of March, as they continually took leads and gave them right back. This is a problem that the Blackhawks had until the last 7 games of the season, where they went 6-1.

All of this had made me begin to doubt the Blackhawks. My fears were not eased when the Blackhawks lost their first playoff game at home. Then, after they tied the series at 1-1, they lost game 3. The Blackhawks proceeded to win 3 games in a row as they knocked off the pesky Predators.

Next up, the Hawks faced the Canucks. The two teams were quite familiar with each other, since the Blackhawks had eliminated them from the playoffs the year before. A lot was made of the Canucks' desire to avenge thier loss last year. I was convinced after game 1, where Antti Niemi was pulled after giving up 4 goals. However, the loss was a wake-up call to the Blackhawks, who won 3 games in a row after that, and clinched the series after losing only one other game in the series.

I was glad that the Blackhawks faced the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals, rather than the Red Wings. Though the Sharks were the higher seed, I felt that the Blackhawks were less intimidated by them, as they had won the season series against the Sharks 3-1. I felt that it was a more favorable match-up, but I never would have guessed the Blackhawks would have swept the series. The Blackhawks had been road warriors in the playoffs, but the Shark Tank (HP Pavilion) has been one of the toughest places to play the last two years. When the Blackhawks won the first two games in San Jose, I was fairly certain they would win the series, but I was sure they would drop at least one game at home, considering they had not been so good at home in the playoffs. In fact, the sweep made me nervous for the Finals.

The Flyers had made it to the Finals by beating teams they had no business beating and the Hawks' sweep might have made them over-confident and allowed them to overlook Philly. However, the Blackhawks came out and won the first 2 games of the series, both close contests. After game 2, I found it hard to sleep as I imagined the Blackhawks bringing home the Cup. In my mind, there was no way they could lose. However, the Hawks took me through yet another roller coaster ride as they lost 2 games in Philly. Game 5 would be the most important of the series. A loss at home for Chicago would give Philly the momentum to win the Cup at home. It was not to be, as the Hawks won decidedly, 7-4.

All day Wednesday, I had a feeling that it would be the day to remember. The Blackhawks were bound to win a road game at some point, right? And how could you underestimate their desire to take the Cup that night, rather than risk having to play a game 7. The Blackhawks took the first lead, then gave up 2 unanswered goals, then scored 2 unanswered goals, putting them in the lead 3-2 with only a few minutes left. It looked like the Blackhawks would be taking home the Cup after all. Then, they put me through the wringer again as they gave up another goal. Going into OT, I told my friend Nate that I felt scared, that the Blackhawks would have a hard time winning in OT in Philly.


"Kane walks by Kimmo Timonen. To the net! .... It's over! Patrick Kane has scored the goal!"


I sat there watching Kane skate off and celebrate, while the announcers said that the officials had not yet made a signal and the light had not yet gone off. NBC began showing the overhead replay, where I could not figure how it had not yet been called a goal. Soon enough the announcers were saying that the referee was indicating a goal. THEY DID IT!

The long season of hope and anguish has come to the best possible end. A championship, won in dramatic fashion by my favorite player. It's so perfect, no wonder I still can't believe it.