TheThirdManIn ~ Radio ~ SHOW ARCHIVE "Interview: STEVE LUDZIK"~ August 23, 2010 ~ *NEW AUDIO* Download Former Blackhawk (1981-89), IHL/NHL coach and author of "Been There Done That" buy @ Ludzy.com * You may need to update Flash & Shockwave apps to listen to shows on this web site. Get Flash Player at Adobe.com CLICK THE PLAYER BELOW TO LISTEN HERE.
While the team hasn't officially acknowledged this, the Blackhawks have re-signed left-side power-winger Bryan Bickell to a three-year, one-way NHL contract.
According to a report by Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times, Bickell will earn salary dollars of $500,000, 525,000 and 600,000 over the next three seasons respectively, while his "cap hit" (the average payout of the contract which comes down to total dollar value divided by length) will be $541,666 for each season.
Bickell, 24, who was a favorite of head coach Joel Quenneville in his limited opportunity with the club this past season and playoff, will become an un-restricted free agent at the end of the contract, summer of 2013.
It's interesting Bickell's agent would pin his client down to such a low figure for the next three years when Bickell has a big chance to play an integral role with the Hawks going forward. The deal is a steal for Stan Bowman. At worst, he has an affordable third and fourth line guy, salary-wise, being as cheap as they come. Enthusiastically, we could come to know Bickell as one of the bigger "bargains" in the National Hockey League two and three years from now.
I find it hard to believe Bickell couldn't have negotiated a better deal. Two-years on a one-way for the same money he agreed to could have landed him in a position to enroll in the arbitration process in 2012, one year short of his UFA year (as it sits now in the current CBA, for players with expiring contracts who are 27 or older). As it looks now, Bickell could stand to earn a million or considerably more after the next two seasons should he see good minutes and continue to progress. While Bickell hasn't shown near the same scoring touch, he's not all that far behind Troy Brouwer in terms of iimpact he can make with this club. Specifically with the departure of Dustin Byfuglien, Quenneville needs all the size he can get, and thus Bickell will see a lot of important minutes if he can carry his level of performance over from the past spring. This is after all the same Bryan Bickell who fit in nicely in spots on a line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. That said, this deal could wind up more regrettable for Bickell should the new CBA push the UFA age back, or forward, a year or more when the new bargaining agreement is drawn (hopefully) prior to the 2012-13 season.
This is the kind of contract a young Canadian kid thinks is great when he first signs it. Then he changes agents two years later when he realizes he wasted a chance to make a lot more money at a young age.
Great deal for Stan Bowman. For Bickell, we'll wait and see.
-- Evan Brophey, Blackhawks 3rd round pick (67th overall) in the 2005 Draft, re-signed a 1-year deal on Thursday. This also hasn't been acknowledged by the Hawks. There is a method to these things that go over the heads in hockey operations.
Brophey was a scoring forward in junior, but had to alter his game into more of a two-way player once he turned pro. His skating wasn't up to "pro" standards three years ago, but that has come along since. Brophey is a long shot to make the Hawks out of camp, but its not like its completely out of question. This is, however, probably his last chance to make an impression with this organization. As much as everyone, including us, have Jake Dowell pencilled into the fourth-line center slot, there will still be a competition for that vacancy. Albiet, a competition solely between guys who get paid at, or near, the league minimum - Dowell, Brophey or Jeff Taffe (TAYF). Even prospect camp favorite Markus Kruger is an even longer-shot at this stage considering his cap hit would be $735,000. The Hawks simply cannot afford a fourth line that will take up in excess of $1.75M on their Cap. Understood, this makes a theoretical fourth line of any of three previously-mentioned center options between Bickell and Rob Klinkhammer a very good possiblity.
In his 2009-10 season with the IceHogs, Brophey posted 31 points (14g, 17a) in 79 regular season appearances. If you're wondering, Bickell has 31 (16g, 15a) in 14 fewer games.
We'll discuss this further elsewhere, but as currently constituted, there is almost zero chance Kyle Beach makes this team out of training camp simply because of his cap hit.
-- Nathan Davis, a 2006 - 4th round draft pick (113th overall), has re-signed with the Hawks on a 1-year, 2-way deal according to CapGeek.com today. I've always liked Davis, dating back to his days at Miami (Ohio) in the CCHA, but he's seemingly always injured and his once speedy wheels could use some greasing. Davis posted 8 goals and 11 points in 23 games with the IceHogs last season. He's appeared in 72 regular season games (compiling 23 total points) with Rockford since turning pro. Most of the games he's missed were due to injury, but not all. He's skated a lot on the third and fourth lines. This is also Davis's last opportunity to stick with the organization. He can play center or the wing, which is what is keeping him around. I'd like to see him skate with Igor Makarov in Rockford this fall. Or, potentially on the left side of that line with Kruger in the middle. But, its still a little early to be thinking of line combinations for the IceHogs. Especially with this little surprise today......
-- Hugh Jessiman, a long-running joke on NY Rangers fans, has signed with the Blackhawks, also according to CapGeek.com today. Jessiman is a New York City born, and Connecticut raised forward who was a standout in his freshman season at Dartmouth College. The Rangers then chose to select Jessiman the following summer 12th overall in the 2003 Entry Draft. The Rangers are still reeling from that pick. In choosing Jessiman, the Rangers passed over more than a few future NHL stars in that round including - Dustin Brown (LAK #13), Brent Seabrook (CHI #14), Zach Parise (NJD #17), Ryan Getzlaf (ANA #19), Brent Burns (MIN #20), Ryan Kesler (VAN #23), Mike Richards (PHI #24) and Corey Perry (ANA #28).
Jessiman has yet to skate a game in the NHL. He's been decent in the AHL, scoring 72 goals and 143 points in 313 games in that league, all with the Hartford Wolf Pack (while in the Rangers' system) and Milwaukee Admirals (Predators' organization, where he's coming from now). Jessiman scored 20 goals and added 22 assists with Milwaukee last season. He's been good for 20 goals each of the last three years in the AHL.
You'd like to think the Rangers have learned a valuable lesson over the years on not wasting first round picks, but this is the team that just spent a 10th overall pick on a poor-skating, husky defenseman who is mostly known for fighting.
-- In Rockford IceHogs news, the Hawks AHL affiliate re-signed goaltender Joe Palmer, 22, to a one-year minor league contract this week, his agency confirms. Palmer played most of last season in the Central Hockey League (CHL) after beign assigned to the Texas Brahmas by the IceHogs in late-September. Palmer was called up late in the season but did not see any minutes with Rockford.
These days in Chicago Blackhawks history..... -- Jack O'Callahan turns 53 today.
-- Dave Mackey turns 44 on this day.
-- Shawn Thornton, who spent a few seasons with the Hawks and their minor league team in Norfolk, and was recently re-signed for another season with the Boston Bruins, turned 33 on Friday.
-- Yesterday was 16 years to the day the Blackhawks signed un-restricted free agent Bob Probert to a four-year $6.4M dollar contract. The 1994-95 season was cut short and didn't begin until late-January of '95 due to a work stoppage. Probert's debut didn't go down until the '95-96 season due to his league-ban for substance-abuse violations. If you've ever seen fans with Probert Blackhawks sweaters and the number 95 on the back of them, that's because originally Probert wore that number as symbolism of his "rebirth" following substance-abuse treatment and getting clean. It didn't last long and Probert became the first Blackhawk to wear #24 since Doug Wilson was dealt to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 6, 1991 for Kerry Toporowski and a draft pick (which the Hawks dealt to Winnipeg but turned out to be future Hawk Boris Mironov).
-- Thursday was the 19th anniversary of the deal that sent Troy Murray and rugged winger Warren Rychel (current GM and co-owner of Windsor Spitfires in OHL) to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for D-Bryan Marchment and Cornell grad Chris Norton. Marchment broke a few legs. Norton lasted with the organization (Indianapolis-IHL at the time) on the ice about a month before being shipped to LA for defensemean Rod Buskas. Norton never made it to an NHL ice surface and finished his career skating in the pro-league in the United Kingdom.
As it turns out, Reasoner, who was acquired in the June 23rd trade with Atlanta which sent Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and 2007-2nd round draft choice Akim Aliu to the Thrashers, will leave the Hawks having never played a game with the organization.
Reasoner is scheduled to earn $1.15M this season and his cap hit of $1.2M is now off Chicago's books.
The interesting part of the deal comes in the terms of Jeff Taffe's contract. Taffe played 61 of his 82 regular season games, while with the Panthers' organization, with the Rochester Americans in the AHL. In the first year of his two-season deal with the Panthers, Taffe was paid at a rate of $105,000 in the AHL (figures provided by CapGeek.com), and $500,000 in his 21 games with the NHL club.
For the 2010-11 season, however, Taffe's contract calls for him to be paid $600,000 whether he plays in the NHL or the minors.
Taffe posted 1 goal and 1 assist in those 21 games with the Panthers as a fourth line forward mostly.
In Reasoner, the Panthers get another dependable, versatile forward. Tallon has focused on improving his depth up front since the draft and does further with this trade. Reasoner, 33, is also a veteran with an expiring contract. Reasoner will cost the Panthers $600,000 more than Taffe, however, Reasoner is a NHL-er, while Taffe isn't likely to scratch an NHL ice surface aside from possible stints as an injury replacement.
Today's trade served purposes on both sides. The Blackhawks cut a few dollars under their salary cap in hopes of fitting new contracts for Antti Niemi, Bryan Bickell and Jordan Hendry under the cap maximum, while the Panthers cut salary expenses aimed for their AHL team.
As noted here before, the Blackhawks right now are concerned with two CBA related salary cap encumbrances - the $59.4M salary cap they have to be under prior to opening night of the 2010-11 season, and the $65.34M summer ceiling (the cap max + 10% summer cushion).
Per our calculations, the Blackhawks now have approximately $60.5M allocated to 17 players for the upcoming season. This includes Cristobal Huet and Kyle Beach. Without Huet, the Hawks are at $54.875M and have roughly $4.525M to spend on the last six open roster spots. Or, $754,000 per available roster spot.
In some shape or form, Huet will come off the cap before opening night. However, he cannot be assigned to Rockford until October. Thus, his $5.625M cap hit does figure into the salary cap equation until his situation is resolved. Hence, the Blackhawks currently have $4.84M of that "summer cushion" to play with and stay within the constraints of the CBA.
For the sake of argument, let's stick to the non-Huet scenario. The Hawks have $4.525M available to spend on six roster slots. One being the second goalie position. If Niemi signs with a cap hit of, let's pick a number, $2.25M, this would leave $2.275M with five spots open. That's an average of $455,000 per player and since the league minimum is $500,000, the numbers still don't add up. Corey Crawford's cap hit alone is $800,000, and he will replace Huet's vacated roster spot. If it comes down to it, the cap could be Crawford's nemesis yet again. Hannu Toivonen is a quarter of a million more affordable at $550,000.
Stay tuned. Today won't be Bowman's last rotation of the cap-shredder. Whether Niemi stays or not is ultimately irrelevant to the bigger cap solution. Unless Bowman resolves to defend the Stanley Cup with a Crawford and Toivonen as his goaltending tandem, another significant contract has to depart.
Marian Hossa was married in Slovakia on Saturday. Story and pics here. (thanks to reader Dave for link)
-- While the Blackhawks have made no official announcement yet, Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times reported Thursday that Jack Skille has agreed to a one-year contract that will pay him $600,000. This is roughly a 29% pay decrease from his entry-level contract. We talked about this on Thursday's TTMI~Radio.
Skille received a qualifying offer (standard 1-year offer at 110% rate of prior year's salary) in late June but chose to negotiate down to give himself a more cap-friendly contract. Because of it, Skille is now an odds-on favorite to make the NHL club. His speed and shooting ability still make the 23 year old an enticing prospect, but he's never shown an ability to apply those tools in the NHL, the way he has in the minors. Before Viktor Stalberg's arrival, Skille was the natural replacement for Versteeg. Skille can throw his weight around, but its not his strength and he's been overwhelmed going that route when with the Hawks. He figures in as a third-line guy, which means he has to score. Trouble is, as a shooter, he's predictable and one-dimensional. To be successful, he must go into the danger areas and score dirty goals. He did a better job of that last year than ever before, when he was mostly a perimeter player. Depending on how close Stan Bowman cuts his roster under the cap, training camp may still wind down to a battle between Kyle Beach and Skille for that third-line spot. Skille isn't a fourth line player and Beach will start in Rockford if he cant win a spot with the top three lines.
-- According to published reports, and also still unannounced, Russian winger Igor Makarov, 22, signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Hawks last week. His cap hit (unconfirmed) is said to be $552,000. Makarov needs a little work and will start in the AHL with Rockford. He was an exciting prospect, but his progression has been stunted in limited playing time in the KHL the past two seasons. Makarov will turn 23 in September. In the times I've seen him, he's shown to have a great shot and reasonably quick release. There are a lot of politics involved in who does and who doesn't get ice time in Russia, but you'd think if Makarov's talents were at the level of an NHL-er or at least a top prospect, he'd have been given much more playing time.
-- Antti Niemi's agent Bill Zito has been making the rounds on local sports talk outlets indicating he and Stan Bowman are working at getting Niemi a contract outside of arbitration. Zito believes they have a strong case but would like to avoid a hearing. Well, they avoid it if the Hawks give them as much or more than what they think they're going to get. Niemi's arbitration hearing is July 29th. A ruling wont be known for another week afterwards. Zito also says (what else is he going to say?) that Niemi wants to remain a Hawk. As we've noted previously, Niemi turns 27 next month and thus would be an un-restricted free agent next summer should he go through the arbitration process (and the Hawks accept whatever ruling) or should he agree to a one-year deal otherwise. For the Hawks to get Niemi locked down under a longer-term, they'll have to make it worth his while. Goaltenders got slammed this summer in free agency, but who's to say the market won't be different in 2011? Evgeni Nabokov couldn't find the money he wanted here, so he went to the KHL in Russia. Dan Ellis, who is thought of as this summer's Craig Anderson in some circles, signed with Tampa for two years at $1.5M a year, less than he was earning in Nashville. Chris Mason, the Blues' starter in 2009-10, got $1.85M for two years in Atlanta. And Michael Leighton (who, keep in mind, who was Brian Boucher's back up before Boucher's injury) got $1.55M for two years in Philly.
Niemi is mostly being compared to Jaroslav Halak, also a restricted free agent before agreeing to a four-year deal with the Blues worth $15M ($3.75M cap hit). Halak has a slightly larger body of work, but Niemi won a Cup. While the Zito/Niemi alliance is eyeing Halak's number, more realistically they have to be thinking a ruling is more likely to come in between $2.5 to $3.0M. They could probably be had with a two-year offer in that range because the list of 2011 un-restricted free agent goalies currently includes Ilya Bryzgalov (Phx), Tomas Vokoun (Fla), Craig Anderson (Avs) and J-S Giguere (Tor). With the possible exception of Anderson, all those goalies figure to be on the move. Niemi is three years younger than Bryzgalov and a little more than two years Anderson's junior. But as exhibited this summer, goaltending jobs have never been harder to find than this summer. All but a few teams have a definitive number one and because of overspending and cap-encumbrances, teams are choosing to spend less on the position or promote from within. Furthermore, the one-year route is a risky propostion for Niemi. He was very good in the regular season and playoffs but he was more a benifactor of Cristobal Huet's instability than anything else. Niemi was out-performed by Corey Crawford in Rockford two years back and Crawford will start the 2010-11 season as Niemi's backup unless something major transpires between now and then. It could easily happen again. If Zito can negotiate a 2-3 year deal at around three million a season, it may be the best option for his client understanding that unless Niemi has a Vezina-like season, the big money will likely be disbursed elsewhere in un-restricted free agency next summer. Also, with the Hawks top-four intact and blue liners like Olsen and Lalonde not far behind, there aren't many better jobs between the pipes around the league than here in Chicago.
-- For what its worth, I expect this to be an active week in Blackhawks Nation.
-- Steve Smith, former Hawks' defenseman who was drafted and won three Stanley Cups with Edmonton, resigned from his pro scouting position with the Hawks late last week to take a job as assistant coach with the Oilers under Tom Renney. Another long-time Oiler, Kelly Buchberger, was retained as the other assistant. Smith had been with the Hawks the past two seasons. His only coaching experience was briefly with Calgary in 1997 during his first retirement. Renney is taking over for Pat Quinn, who was unexpectly removed as Oilers' coach before the draft.
-- Todd Nelson, who coached the Chicago Wolves to a Turner Calder Cup (AHL Championship) in 2008, was hired by the Edmonton Oilers to coach their new farm-team, the brand new AHL organization, Oklahoma City Barons last Thursday.
-- "Blackhawks Night" at US Cellular Field: Friday August 27th vs NYY Press Release The night will be themed and tuned to "Mullet-style" music. That should be interesting. I was informed over the weekend that the White Sox annually hold a "mullet night" and this will serve as this season's.
-- Comcast Sports Net caught up with Jeremy Roenick Friday after the former Hawks' great spent a long day out on the links. Question: Is it really necessary for Chicago to hear J.R.'s garbled thoughts on every team related matter? Love Roenick, but he needs to pick his spots better. And so should CSN. Video: Roenick says Hawks must show Niemi $$$, respect.
In cased you missed it, Jonathan Toews will have a Manitoba lake re-named in his honour in the near future. Not everyone is thrilled about it. The controversy essentially begins and ends with the usual province policy of re-naming lakes after fallen Manitoba military. Fallen soldier's family irked by NHL player-named lake CTV.ca More on this here Greg Wyshynski, Yahoo! Puck Daddy Let's put the great lake debate to bed Randy Turner, Winnipeg Free Press
Story on Lockport's own Kevin Lind, who was drafted by Anaheim last month [SouthtownStar] - Lind will play for the Tri-City Storm in the USHL this coming season. He has committed to the University of Notre Dame and is scheduled to join them beginning with the 2011-12 season. The story says his family has owned Blackhawks season tickets since 1989 and includes Lind's comments on being passed over by his favorite team.
-- Craig Muni, former Blackhawks, Oilers defenseman, turns 48 today. Muni came to the Hawks from Edmonton in a deal for Mike Hudson at the trade deadline in 1993. The year the Blackhawks won the Norris division, but promptly was swept from the playoffs in the division semi-final (1st playoff round) by Curtis Joseph and the St. Louis Blues. The Blues would then go on to lose to the Maple Leafs in seven games, who lost to Los Angeles in seven in the conference final.
-- Since I mentioned him on the radio show recorded Friday, I'll go ahead and note this here. David Koci signed with the Blackhawks as a free agent (coming from the Penguins organization) four years back this past Saturday. Koci is still employed in the NHL, with Colorado, and has aspirations of being a model back home both now and when his career ends.
-- Valeri Zelepukin was signed by the Hawks ten years ago yesterday. Another mistake.
-- Steve "Stumpy" Thomas, whose son Christian was drafted 40th overall by the NY Rangers last month, became a Blackhawk for the second time by signing in free agency on July 18, 2001. He played in parts of two seasons following before being traded to Anaheim near the trade deadline in 2003 where he played in all 21 games of the Ducks playoff run ending in a 4-3 series loss to New Jersey. He finished his playing career a year later scoring 10 goals in 44 games with the Red Wings the season before the lockout. Thomas played in 19 NHL seasons, posted 421 goals 933 points. He appeared in 334 regular season games with Chicago, scoring 110 goals and 120 assists. Thomas came to Chicago in the deal that sent Al Secord and the great Ed Olczyk to Toronto on September 3, 1987. The Hawks also received Bob McGill and Rick Vaive in that deal. Ironically, the Hawks would reacquire both Secord and Olczyk years later. Steve Thomas was first traded away by the Hawks in the deal that brought back with it Brent Sutter less than a month into the 91-92 season when the Hawks went to the Cup Finals against the Penguins.
That's right. It has been one year now since we've started this audio dealie. Almost fifty in the can already and looking forward to the next fifty or more in the coming weeks and over the 2010-11 Chicago Blackhawks season.
This show isn't much of a celebration. There was an attempt on my part to pull a HUGE guest. Came close, but still another epic fail in the end. I'll add it to my collection. Not many people are allowed to come on this show. About as many are willing. Maybe I should, but I don't take it personally.
Anyhow, its great to be back in the swing of things and we're looking forward to some special guests to help us bridge the gap between now and October.
On this show, officially our 45th (three or four others were quickly shelved or deleted due to intense technical drama), the "Superstar" returns from his two-month long hiatus to discuss a variety of topics, including, but not limited to:
- Steve Smith's heavy lumber - The Jack Skille Experience coming to an NHL Arena near you? - An amateur, imitation Blackhawks writer - habitual kleptomaniac - Igor Makarov leaving his Mother Russia - Blackhawks seriously lacking in "little geeks willing to get their asses pounded" - Colin Fraser, Danny Richmond sign new deals with Canadian teams - Kyle Beach prefers to beat on smaller guys - Puke on ice - "Blackhawks Night" at the Cell - "Mullet-style" music - whatever that's supposed to mean - White Sox organization debasing the Hawks and their fans cleverly - Mike Modano slams a nasty rumour - Slamming Wisconsin - The passing of Bob Probert - The real story behind his Blackhawks' career - Angry folks - Superstar evidently makes a great point, but Block is not listening - Niklas Hjalmarsson is a bad man - Antti Niemi isn't going anywhere - What the Blackhawks have really lost off the Cup-winning roster? - Viktor Stalberg: The next Great Swedish Superhero? - And much, much more.....
It's a fine line between creativity and stupidity. It's TheThirdManIn~Radio.
TTMI~Radio returns with our first post-Stanley Cup thoughts with Dieter Kurtenbach of the Examiner.com and HereComeTheHawks.net.
We'll return in a day or two with our 1st Anniversary show which my usual side-kick Superstar and I will be recording hopefully tomorrow. Our first show first official show on Blog Talk aired live the day of Dale Tallon's firing, July 15, 2009.
On our next show we'll discuss Bob Probert's career and unfortuate passing. Also, more on the most recent Blackhawks' prospect camp, Kyle Beach and more on how the Hawks will comply with this year's salary cap.
On the docket for today's show:
- Personal reactions to the Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory - Debauchery and let-downs - Liars, Deceivers or just Full of Sh*t? - Stan Bowman walking around with foot in mouth - Niklas Hjalmarsson offer sheet - Hjalmarsson's "worth" - Doug Wilson's objective - ulterior motives? - Annual summer tradition of Hawks wiping egg off their faces - The Bowman myth - Another BIG trade forthcoming - Stan Bowman: Denis Savard of general managing? - Dustin Byfuglien goes to Atlanta - What did the Hawks really lose? - What happens now with Antti Niemi? - How Marty Reasoner fits - Dieter Kurtenbach HATES the Kris Versteeg to Toronto deal - Surprise young prospect Dieter has pencilled in on Hawks 3rd line - Blackhawks would be better off signing Bon Scott - Dismissing prospect rankings and "performance" charts - Dylan Olsen - Lalonde's big chance - What would've led to Hawks walking away from Hjalmarsson offer sheet - Johnny's Ice House - Dave Bolland: A $3.375M third-line center - Where Marcus Kruger stands - Kent Simpson feels shame
All this and so much more on this edition of TheThirdManIn~Radio. Enjoy.
Today, one of the Chicago Blackhawks all-time great defenseman, and current San Jose Sharks general manager, Doug Wilson offered restricted free agent blue liner Niklas Hjalmarsson a 4-year, $14 million dollar offer sheet. The Blackhawks defenseman signed and accepted.
What happens now is the Blackhawks have a week to match this offer of 4 years at an average cap hit of $3.5M a season.
This is a no-brainer for Stan Bowman and his superiors. The Hawks must match. Should they not, the return is a San Jose 1st round draft pick as well as a third.
The trouble with that is this situation is completely different than the one the Boston Bruins benefited from last fall when they dealt Phil Kessel (who Bruins teammates felt was addition by subtraction) to the Maple Leafs and found themselves with the #2 overall pick and Tyler Seguin on 2010 Draft Day.
With Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle it's highly unlikely the Sharks next 1st rounder winds up in the Draft Lottery. Any return on the Sharks next draft pick would likely be 2 to 3 years away from competing in the NHL.
A cap hit of $3.5M a year is a hard pill to swallow and could possibly result in a sign (match San Jose's offer sheet) and trade or the end of Antti Niemi. Another option would be putting Dave Bolland or Patrick Sharp on the trade market. The Hawks were hoping to lock Hjalmarsson down at around $2M a season, or no more than $2.5.
One thing to consider when figuring the Hawks off season spending option is their ability to spend and carry up to 10% over the salary cap ($5.94M over the $59.4M upper limit).
While most everyone anticipates the Blackhawks will hide Cristobal Huet's $5.6M cap hit (two more seasons) in Rockford this fall should they not find a willing taker in a European league, they cannot assign that contract to their AHL affiliate until October. So, if Rockford winds up as Huet's only option, this could prevent the Hawks from signer a key player before the first week of October.
There are limited options currently should Hjalmarsson wind up in San Jose. Kim Johnsson (UFA) would be a good fit at a greatly reduced rate (more like $2M for a year or two), but his impending retirement won't allow this.
Losing Hjalmarsson is probably not an option if you're standing in Stan Bowman's shoes. The organization clearly made their long-term commitment to Duncan Keith this past off season. Brian Campbell's entering the third year of an 8-year $57M contract and he's going to be tough to move at any point, but certainly before year five or six of that deal. With Shawn Lalonde and Nick Leddy in the pipeline, Campbell's successor is already on board.
This offer sheet may have the biggest implication on Brent Seabrook's future. Dylan Olsen, on display at this weekend's prospect camp, is a good bet to takeover for Seabrook in 2011-12 if Seabrook's financial demands are too much for the Blackhawks to bear in the end.
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By now anyone reading this has heard former Red Wings and Blackhawks enforcer Bob Probert passed away on Monday July 5th while boating with his wife and children on a lake just outside Windsor, Ontario. He had turned 45 on June 5th. A tremendously sad, unfortunate ending for a man who was apparently on the positive side of a turbulent life.
-- Sam Fels, editor of The Committed Indian, posted a piece yesterday I did for his publication back on February 27, 2009 on the Blackhawks honouring Probert with a "Heritage Night" over at SecondCityHockey.com. You can also read it here.
I want to say this about it: Sam emailed me the other day saying he wanted to put that op-ed up on his site. He's certainly entitled to do whatever he wants with it. I wrote the piece for his publication and it is thus his property to do with how he chooses. If I felt posting it the day after Probert passed away was in any way poor taste, I would have expressed such to Sam. I did not.
I do not see anything eerie or prophetic about the piece today in hindsight of his death. At this point, we understand Probert died of heart failure as doctors estimated he had 90% blockage at the time of his death. Had he succumed to a drug overdose or something brought on by another replapse, I would have objected to Sam posting this so soon for not wanting in any way for it to be seen as an "I told you so" type of deal. Further, if that were the case, I doubt Sam would have posted it anyhow. What role did his bouts with drug abuse play is probably not measurable. His father died of heart failure at an early age as well.
The column I wrote for the Feb 27, 2009 edition of The Committed Indian was in response to how the Blackhawks, but more importantly how Bob Probert handled his "Blackhawks Heritage Night" five days prior. The purpose wasn't to vilify or slander the man, but to highlight a distinct absence of personal gratitude on what had been intended to be a special night dedicated to him.
Probert was never a great Blackhawk. He was good in 1995-96. But for one season, perhaps two following, he was barely a good one. This is not slander, revisionist history or even opinion - simply fact. John McDonough choosing to honour him one night is entirely his and the organization's prerogative. Bob Probert is a huge name in the world of hockey. Fans remember him fondly as the ultimate NHL tough guy. No one should wonder why the Hawks would want to project Probert's image in an Indian head sweater given the chance. Never mind the player fans want to remember is the Probert whose best day's were all spent in a Red Wings' uniform. The emotion, the fire, the aggression that made him the symbolic warrior of on-ice pugilism quickly faded early and in each passing season as a Blackhawk. Over his last four seasons, he became a guy who couldn't do much more than fight, but he wasn't nearly as good or willing to engage in those battles. But the fans came to see him fight and it abruptly became the only role he was capable of fulfilling. He did so reluctantly and epic battles were few, leaving wide spaces in between.
There's a reason the Blackhawks chose to center a 2009 promotional night around Bob Probert and not Behn Wilson or Jerome Dupont, who one could argue would be just as worthy.
To tell the story of Probert's Blackhawks career properly, you cannot ignore his off ice issues with dependency and law enforcement. The ever-lasting tale of his stint in Chicago will be fighting his most epic battle - with dependency - and winning, with the help of Bill Wirtz and the entire Blackhawk organization. True, his years eight years spent in this city went without incident and were presumably lived clean. However, were it not for the preceeding motorcycle accident and cocaine found in his system immediately afterwards, he may have never been a Blackhawk. The Rangers were hot on his watch up until that point. Bill Wirtz took a huge risk on a guy, at least in the beginning, he knew would be a charity case.
For the organization to side-step any acknowledgement of the full-story on that night is certainly understandable from their point of view and is to be expected. Its not to the Blackhawks' benefit to distribute raw facts to an unaware crowd, potentially distracting from their party. However, for Probert to stand there and accept the adulation of thousands without taking a moment to express his gratitude to the people who, in 1995, may, without exaggeration, have saved his life was a serious omission on his part. As I wrote in the piece seventeen months ago; doing so, in my mind, would have vindicated his celebrated distinction into imaginary Blackhawks' lore.
My sincerest condolences go out to his wife, children, family and friends. Especially those closest to him who saw the very best and worst of the man, to his dying day. Probert was adored by many. The memories and impressions he left upon the game of hockey will never be forgotten. Nor should they be. If he can no longer be with us, the least we can do is learn from his past.
-- I'll be working on a full piece on Probert and posting it here on the site early next week.
-- Jesse Rogers did a really nice write-up about his times working and being friends with Probert post-retirement. For all his troubles and demons, you'd be really hard-pressed to find anyone to speak badly about Bob Probert - the man - off the ice. At least when he was clean.
Back in the early 2000's (I'm not sure exactly when this was) I sat next to Bob Probert and Jesse Rogers (I think it was Jesse. I didn't talk to him either. If not I stand corrected.) at an afternoon Cubs' game. Probert was inhaling ballpark peanuts and soda like it was his last meal. He was very quiet. No one around us had any clue who he was. I didn't say much more than "Hi Probie" since I was in full-drinking mode and felt weird about engaging with him at that time all things considered. He seemed like a really down-to-earth, cool guy.
-- In an effort to add size & toughness to his 2010-11 squad, GM Stan Bowman signed 6' 8", 260 pound defenseman John Scott on July 2nd. The 27-year old 2006 Michigan Tech grad has spent his entire pro career in the Wild organization, between Minnesota and Houston (AHL). Scott appeared in 51 games with the Wild in 2009-10, registering 2 points and a plus/minus rating of minus-3. This is a depth move but an affordable one. Scott will play this year for the same money as he did last, $500k and see a raise to $525k in 2011-12. Its a one-way contract, so he makes that amount whether with the Hawks or if he's assigned to Rockford.
-- Our Salary Cap tracker and Depth Chart have been updated. Links are atop this page.
-- The 2010 Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Camp takes place this weekend at the new Johnny's Ice House-West. The facility is also the team's new year-round practice facility. On-ice workouts run from Friday July 9 to Monday July 12 in the mornings. Full camp roster is here - Schedule is here.
-- I'm not sure at this point how much of this weekend's prospect camp I'll be able to attend? If you're heading out there and be willing to do a write-up for the site or just pass along some post-analysis, we'd like to hear from you.
-- Ex-Blackhawk backup netminder Patrick Lalime re-signed with the Buffalo Sabres today. One-year, $600,000 with possible bonuses per Nick Kypreos of Rogers SportsNet. That's a paycut of $400k from what Lalime made in 2009-10. It pays to be a really nice guy around the locker room because Lalime's days as an NHL goalie are all but behind him based on his form of last season. Today is Lalime's 36th birthday. He signed with Buffalo on July 1, 2008 after two seasons withthe Hawks in which he was a crowd favorite behind the beleaguered and besieged Nikolai Khabibulin.
-- Speaking of former Blackhawks, you can watch Peter Bondra's son David Bondra first-hand as a member of the Chicago Steel (USHL) this winter at the Edge in Bensenville. David was a 2009 draft pick (87th pick, 7th round) of the Steel andis leaving his home program in the D.C. area to join the Steel this fall. The kid turns 18 next month and is a left-handed shooting winger like his father. Age-wise, he was eligible for last month's NHL draft. Not sure this means much, but David was drafted 21st overall in last month's KHL amateur draft by Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
-- Speaking of the KHL Amateur Draft, the Blackhawks 2nd round pick (35th overall) Ludvig Rensfeldt was also selected in that draft. Rensfeldt's Russian professional rights were picked up by Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the first round at the #23 pick. The KHL draft was held in early June, so Hawks' GM Stan Bowman picked him knowing (presumably) of Rensfeldt's KHL rights.
Again, this could mean something, or amount to a whole lot of nothing. In Rensfeldt's case, a year from now he could turn pro in Europe and make more money in the interim, waiting for a slot in Chicago's line up to open up. However, as we've seen in the case of Chicago's 2006 2nd round selection (33rd overall), Russian-born Igor Makarov, playing in the Russian pro league may entice a young player's checkbook, but it does little for their development.
Asking why? Want crazier? Lokomotiv Yaroslavl drafted JOHN TAVARES in last month's draft as well, but that pick was voided because Tavares has a NHL contract.
-- Site notes: In the coming weeks I plan on doing a lot of house cleaning on the site. One thing I could use help with is the blog linkage on the left-hand side of the front page. Some of those currently showing are probably dead, or links to inactive sites. If you know of any or see any pertinent blogs we are missing, send me an email and I'll get those corrected.
I've received many emails about the status of the radio show/podcast. It is still alive. For many different reasons there just hasn't been time to do one over the past month. Most of those were on my end. I plan to do one next week and hopefully every week thereafter through training camp.
HockeeNight reviews Hockey: A People's History I have this book as well to review. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to get far along enough to comment on it. We will have author Michael McKinley on the radio show in August. You can order the book on Amazon. The book is a written companion to a CBC documentary. I hope to have a few other special guests on prior to the 2010-11 season as well.
- Ten years ago yesterday (7/6/00), the Hawks picked up big center Mark Janssens off waivers from the Flyers. It would wind up being Janssens' second and final tour of duty with the Blackhawks.
- Denis Arkhipov became a Hawk four years ago yesterday, 7/6/06, when he signed in un-restricted free agency. Nashville had previously owned his NHL rights as he skated there from 2000-04 but he came to the Hawks directly from the Russian Super League, as it was known at the time. He's back there these days in the KHL, as its known now.
- With Glen Sather luring Derek Boogaard to MSG with that ridiculous 4-year, $6.5M contract for a one-dimension fourth liner, (a role which could be obsolete by the time his contract hits the halfway point) former Blackhawks winger Martin Havlat will switch from #14 to Boogaard's vacated #24 this fall. Boogaard had refused to barter with Havlat for the number last summer as occasionally takes place when star players change teams. I guess Boogaard saw himself as a bigger star than Havlat.
- Chicagoan Brett Lebda is leaving the Red Wings in un-restricted free agency today to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Because what the Leafs need is another defenseman. Lebda gets 2 years at a $1.45M cap hit per, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Our Blackhawks Depth Chart and Salary Cap Tracker have been updated up to the opening of the 2010 NHL Free Agency period today at noon eastern.
The following is the official list of restricted free agents who received qualifying offers (presumably on time this summer) from the Blackhawks per Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
-- Qualfied RFA's: (Ages in parenthesis) 2009-10 NHL Salary
Qualifying offers issued to the above players are only meant to retain first right of refusal or right to match any offer sheet presented to such player(s) as they remain RFA-status. These players can accept their qualifying offer, negotiate different terms or take the club to an arbitration hearing which only Andrew Ladd has such option.
-- Non-Qualified restricted free agents - Become Un-Restricted [UFA] July 1st
D-Jordan Hendry (26) D-Michael Brennan (24) LW-Kyle Greentree (26) C/W-Adam Hobson (23) - Signed with Tier-II Swedish pro team Rogle BK RW-Pete MacArthur (25) D-Danny Richmond (25) D-Jean-Claude Sawyer (23)
-- Other Un-Restricted Free Agents (age a/o July 1st) as of today, 11am central
C-John Madden (37) D-Kim Johnsson (34) RW-Danny Bois (27) RW-Joey Crabb (27) (acquired f/ATL in Byfuglien/Eager/Sopel/Aliu deal) **Signed with Toronto 7/1/10 C-Mark Cullen (31) D-Jassen Cullimore (37) D-Richard Petiot (27)
** Multiple outlets, including TSN's Bob McKenzie and Toronto Globe & Mail's James Mirtle, have now reported the official penalty imposed against the Blackhawks 2010-11 salary cap for exceeding the 2009-10 maximum (56.8M) is $4.19M. Most of that is performance bonuses paid to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
This means the Blackhawks will have $4.19 million less money to work with under the 2010-11 maximum of $59.4M.
** Hawks Cap Crisis Update: As of this writing, at 12:15pm central, and figuring Cristobal Huet, Viktor Stalberg, Marty Reasoner and Jake Dowell on the opening night roster, plus the aforementioned 2009-10 cap penalty, the Hawks have approximately $3.5M in space under the maximum with just 14 of 23 roster spots signed up.
Oddly enough, it isn't the irrepressible smiles, bear hugs, boundless joy or photo's of the well deserved celebration that occupy my mind. It's a painting by RoseLee Deutsch, the 82 year old "groupie" who has been following the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks, for almost 6 decades. Through thick and thin she's backed the red clad warriors - and she'll be the first to tell you, "There was a lot of thin!" Gazing upon the painting seems to evoke all those buried feelings of frustration, dashed hope and longing for those who have ventured into the passionate world of Blackhawk hockey.
The painting depicts a broken hearted warrior who wore # 3 for the Hawks, after a crushing defeat in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1971. A player who gave his all, only to see his dream, and countless fans, dashed upon the jagged rocks of the fickle finger of fate. As we "skate away - on the thin ice of a new day" as Jethro Tull sings, please know that the evanescent, ebullient joy we are currently experiencing is not Blackhawk hockey. No, Blackhawk hockey is players like Maggie. It's the tears, sweat, sacrifice, bravery and 110% effort. It's the "I've got your back" mentality of the ultimate team sport. The "you mess with him, you mess with me" mindset.
When Jonathan Toews accepted the Conn Smythe trophy, I couldn't help but wonder if the right choice had been made. If an individual player was to receive it, my choice would have been Danny Briere. He was a riddle that four very good hockey teams never solved this post season. However, to the victors go the spoils so they say; certainly the # 19 car was a worthy choice. My vote for MVP would have been for a player that goes by the name of "TEAM." It would not have been only for this hungry group of kids who wore the Indian Head during the 09/10 season. No, I would have included players like Maggie who never left anything but blood, sweat and tears in the arena. Take another look at RoseLee's painting, despite leaving everything he had out on the ice, the portrait screams - "I let my team down."
Congratulations, you deserve the Stanley Cup that is heading towards Chicago. I know, I know, the series isn't technically over, but who amongst us believes the Flyers can win four of the next five games? I didn't think so.
And before you go off and claim that I am putting a voodoo hex on Chicago's hockey team, I will let you know that if the Hawks do lose in the Finals it will not be because of me. If I had the ability to change the fate of the Blackhawks with my words, the team would have won Stanley Cup long before 2010. And if that was the case, I wouldn't be writing this letter.
I type away because for Blackhawks fans who have been to the depths of sports hell, sitting at the precipice of glory can be a bit bittersweet. I've been struggling with the concept of losing "my" Blackhawks to every suburban kid with an ebay jersey - the off-colored Chinese strips that look nothing like the beautiful jerseys the Hawks actually wear.
I've struggled with this because there was a beauty to having an NHL team in the city that no one cared about. We were in at the base level. We saw terrible hockey, but were also there for the Toews' goal against Colorado and sang Rudy Can't Fail for Tuommo Ruutu. We applauded the move for Adrian Aucoin and then booed everyone of his overpaid strides. We celebrated Petr Bondra's 500th goal despite the fact that we weren't Capitals fans. Ultimately, we cared about the team that an owner didn't care about.
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