The Third Man In - An Independent Chicago Blackhawks Web Site

The Blackhawks put Dave Bolland on Injured Reserve Thursday, and the Ontarian center won't be back until the Olympics. That means that Bolland's replacement on the second line cannot be just a quick fix - he has to be a player capable of maintaining the Blackhawks' goal of Stanley Cup contention for half of the NHL season.

While by virtue of replacing him, Bolland's replacement will not be as qualified, but the Hawks need a player who can appear as such in big games. Is that second-line center on the Blackhawks roster? The front-office brass and coaching staff intend to find out. 

As of now the Blackhawks have three main options to replace Bolland. The cases for each are made below:

SUBJECT A: Andrew Ebbett

Andrew Ebbett might be the best half a million dollars the Blackhawks have spent all year. A waiver wire pickup from the Anaheim Ducks (or as I will call them until the day I die, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), Ebbett was expected to be a breakout player in Southern California in 2009-2010, but was given the boot when the Ducks signed Saku Koivu. Too small to fill the physical roles the Ducks' third and forth lines exhibit, Ebbett was put on waivers. The Ducks hoped that Ebbett would go unclaimed and they could have him on their ECHL affiliate Bakersfield, or possibly loan him to an AHL team. (The Ducks' have no AHL affiliation this season.) That was a pipe dream. With a paltry contract, wing/center ability and defensive skills, Ebbett was a great catch. The Blackhawks, at the time of claiming Ebbett, were still unsure about Dave Bolland's back. A $$487,000 insurance policy was taken out, in the 5-foot-9 form of the former Michigan Wolverine. 

Can Ebbett cut it? At this point, all we know is that Ebbett will get the first chance to impress. Is Ebbett a solution in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Unlikely. But when you play a different team every night, and some are good, some not so good, well, you can afford a bit of talent drop off. In two games thus far playing center in Bolland's absence, Ebbett hasn't stood out. While that's not a positive, it's hardly a negative. Ebbett is a smart hockey player, he is an above average passer, the more comfortable he becomes with his role the better he will play, and the more he wills stick out, in a good way. The first choice might be the correct choice when it comes to replacing Bolland.

SUBJECT B: Kris Versteeg

Kris Versteeg is not a center - he is a winger, and a damn good winger at that. But that's not to say that Versteeg couldn't play center, nor does it mean he would not be a good center. Joel Quenneville experimented early on with Versteeg at center when Bolland went down, that experiment lasted one period. The argument could be made that the sample size was far too small for Versteeg to be eliminated as a viable candidate.

Faceoffs are an important part of a center's skills. 50%+ centers are hard to find, and Versteeg isn't one of those players. Neither is Dave Bolland, and believe it or not, Versteeg had a better faceoff percentage than Bolland last season (124/266 46.6% for Versteeg 522/1177 44.4% for Bolland.) By that same token Troy Brouwer is also a better center than Bolland, but you have to understand what you lost when you try to replace it.

Bolland was a solid defensive forward and could play on the penalty kill. Versteeg is both. Bolland is a plus distributer of the puck; while we don't know if Versteeg can do the same from the center position, he certainly is a nifty passer from the wing position. 

All in all, it's hard to discern between Bolland and Versteeg, and that's why the Hawks would be best off with 32 at centerman.

SUBJECT C: Patrick Sharp

The Blackhawks have done it before, they could do it again. Last off-season the Blackhawks traded Robert Lang to the Montreal Canadiens, leaving a gaping hole at the second line center position. That hole was filled by Patrick Sharp, and no that has nothing to do with the sexiest athlete contest Sharp is currently in.

The Hawks saw unprecedented success with Sharp at center. Last season's nine game winning streak? Sharp was at center. He flourished in the role as well. (His FO% was also better than Bolland's, to boot). And mind you, he complained that he would be better suited for the wing, but Sharp has $3.9 million to go home and complain to. If Sharp can do it, so can Versteeg, but why not go with a tactic that is tried and true? If its about winning, Sharp has the best resume of the bunch.

So who do you think is the Blackhawks' best option to replace Bolland? Lend me your thoughts (I could use them...) post a comment or @reply me on twitter, username:dkurtenbach