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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Hawks Stars Show Up In Vancouver 5-2

Hawks finally win in regulation as they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2.

It didn't look good from the start, however. As Vancouver scored just 16 seconds in the game. The Hawks ended the first period down 1-0. However, the second period also started off with a Kris Versteeg turn over and  the Hawks couldn't get it out of the zone. Tom Sestito buried a shot from the slot from a nice feed from former Hawks prospect, Ryan Stanton to make it 2-0. THEN, the Hawks decided to play.

6:39 Hawks get a nice power play goal from Marian Hossa with a sweet feed from Kris Versteeg. (Nice way to amend your mistake Steeger!).

9:39 Brandon Saad gets credited with a goal from a Sheldon Brookbank snapshot at the top of the Key.  Reason for this goal? Andrew Shaw taking away the eyes of Luongo and as Shaw and Saad's stick went flying toward the tip it was Saad who drove it past Roberto Luongo to tie the game.

10: 47 This may have been the prettiest goal. Sharp flies in off the left wing and finds Brent Seabrook deep on the Right boards who found the puck and immediately centered it and with a lucky bouncing puck it found Jonathan Toews who crashed the net to knock it past Luongo for the game winner.

14:11 Patrick Sharp with a bullet shot from the Left dot to make it 4-2. Nice feed from Tazer.

Empty netter at 19:22 (should also be a power play goal) since Brad Richardson got two minutes for slashing Handzus at 18:26. Tazer and Hossa fighting for the puck, but Hossa gets the puck and feeds a wide open Saad for his second goal of the night and his 17th of the year.

ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME BOYS!!!!! (Stop ONLY playing against the top ranked teams…play everybody this way not just the L.A's, S.J's, Anaheim's, Boston's…but everybody).

Hawks aren't at home until March. Now they go to Murderer's Row--- S.J., L.A., Anaheim and finish in Phoenix…..GULP! (last game at NY Rangers in February…but this game is Feb 27th…after Olympics).


Who Needs To Be Held Accountable

Last game in January.......and AGAIN, 16 seconds into the game and the Hawks are already behind. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

They used to score 4 and 5 goals a night. If that happens, it's only because their opponent is doing the same thing. There is a total lack of "drive" right now. Who's the cancer? Where is this dormant behavior coming from? The Hawks need to figure it out, and figure it out quickly. Cut out the cancerous cell and get healthy again.

So, who should be held accountable for this crappy play? Coach Quenneville? Absolutely. In many of his post conferences he talks about it as if it isn't a big thing. How, he likes the play of the guys and it's "just one of those things"..........LOSING is "just one of those things". Losing is as infectious as winning. It can hit a locker room faster than a fart can fill a room.

The Hawks are having to make it a habit of playing "catch up". This in most games they are able to do as you can see by the HUGE amount of OT and SO losses. However, they're dead by the beginning of OT. They're legs are done and psychologically, emotionally and most certainly...physically drained. Hence the lack of OT and SO wins. Can you at all remember WHEN the Hawks have won a game in OT? Whew...too long for me to remember. I'd have to look up. But, I don't think they've done so this year.

As the Hawks start the 2nd period down 1-0 against a very good Roberto Luongo....watch as the Hawks try to figure out HOW to score on Vancouver and the energy that is being dispersed throughout the last 2 periods. They need this Olympic break to get refocused and to get their physically beaten bodies a rest. TOO bad that 10 of them are heading to Sochi. But, thankful that our goaltenders are staying at home.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Raanta Gets Pulled

Wow.....This is the worst month that I can recall since that 9 game slide a few years back when I called for Quenneville's head on a platter.

As the game enters the third period, Corey Crawford's presence and 2 goals (1 by Ben Smith and 1 by Marian Hossa pulled the Hawks even. The Hawks are struggling against everyone. Good team, mediocre team,...it doesn't matter. The Hawks are literally giving the puck away. Their puck management skills is so terrible. They are playing loose with the puck. They aren't thinking. Maybe the Hawks can play inspired and finish off strong. Last article I wrote, the Hawks must have thought they won and stopped playing after 40 and lost 3-1 to a mediocre Winnipeg (who happens to be playing hot under their new coach). Brandon Pirri hasn't seen the score sheet...yet. Still a period to go. I'm pulling for a Hawks win first and foremost,...then a Brandon Pirri goal. Make it a game winner Brandon.

...aaaaaaand the Hawks lose again. 5-4 OT......disgusting!!!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

…and FINALLY It Happens. Brandon Pirri Recalled

As I was sitting down to write today's article….the article was going to be named "Hawks have Cap Space to Bring up Pirri or Morin", I decided to check the amount on capgeek.com  I saw the space was moved down to $495,822. I thought, … this can't be right UNLESS they  moved someone up. And as I was scanning their list……."twa…la"….I see Brandon Pirri's name on the current roster. Immediately, I open up the Blackhawks site and there it is…..PIRRI RECALLED in the first tab. Ahh,…I can finally breathe.

The Hawks are BEYOND struggling right now, and what they are lacking isn't talent,…it's motivation. It's drive. They aren't finishing anything this entire month.

The Hawks need production and when you look at the Hawks +/- the ONLY two players (minus Brad Mills. He only played 3 games) are Michal Handzus -2,…..and disgusting -7 from Bryan Bickell.
The Hawks are sending a message to Bryan Bickell and the message should also go to Michal Handzus as well.

Btw,….compare Handzus with Pirri's stats this year.
                           GOALS        ASSISTS     +/-               SHOT %    GAMES PLAYED
Brandon Pirri        6                    5                +6                 19.4                 24
Michal Handzus   4                    6                 -2                 13.8                 37

Bryan Bickell       7                    2                 -7                 12.5                 39  DISGUSTING!!!!!

Bryan Bickell,…returns to his same old lazy behavior. If you have read my articles you will have seen that in the previous seasons I have chewed up Bickell. I have thought he was a lazy bumm. Then the 2013 playoffs happen. One would think he finally realized his potential and where he should be. That was only to get a $4,000,000 a year salary…a huge raise from his near bottom dweller salary he had previously. The Hawks showed they cared,….and Bickell returned by giving the Hawks his middle finger.


Saad - Pirri - Kane… Offensively, this works. Defensively, (Other than Saad), this is a train wreck. 
Bicker - Shaw - Versteeg…that 3rd line isn't doing it for me. Somethings amiss. 

What also appears to NOT be working is the D-men. Oduya, in particular. What? He can play half the game with nice forechecks, abrasive blue line presence, then look like a total schmuck the other half of the game. This continuum has been evident because of the blatancy of the errors. 
Kostka isn't working for me either. He hasn't done anything blatant, just hasn't done anything to stand out either. 
One name to stand out,…and not positively is Patrick Kane. Look at his stats for January. Gulp…Not the Patrick Kane from October to December,…that's for certain. 

The Hawks lack "spirit" right now. You can see it. The only time they play hard is when they are afraid of losing. That isn't the call sign of a championship caliber team. I'm certainly hoping this call up sparks excitement in the team again. Let's Go Hawks!!!hank God. Hawks were flailing. Wondered when either Morin or Pirri were going to be recalled. With the 2nd and 3rd line NOT clicking, they need change. 
Saad - Pirri - Kane… Offensively, this works. Defensively, (Other than Saad), this is a train wreck. 
Bicker - Shaw - Versteeg…that 3rd line isn't doing it for me. Somethings amiss. 
hank God. Hawks were flailing. Wondered when either Morin or Pirri were going to be recalled. With the 2nd and 3rd line NOT clicking, they need change. 
Saad - Pirri - Kane… Offensively, this works. Defensively, (Other than Saad), this is a train wreck. 
Bicker - Shaw - Versteeg…that 3rd line isn't doing it for me. Somethings amiss. 
Thank God. Hawks were flailing. Wondered when either Morin or Pirri were going to be recalled. With the 2nd and 3rd line NOT clicking, they need change. 
Saad - Pirri - Kane… Offensively, this works. Defensively, (Other than Saad), this is a train wreck. 
Bicker - Shaw - Versteeg…that 3rd line isn't doing it for me. Somethings amiss. 

What also appears to NOT be working is the D-men. Oduya, in particular. What? He can play half the game with nice forechecks, abrasive blue line presence, then look like a total schmuck the other half of the game. This continuum has been evident because of the blatancy of the errors. 
Kostka isn't working for me either. He hasn't done anything blatant, just hasn't done anything to stand out either. 
One name to stand out,…and not positively is Patrick Kane. Look at his stats for January. Gulp…Not the Patrick Kane from October to December,…that's for certain. 

The Hawks lack "spirit" right now. You can see it. The only time they play hard is when they are afraid of losing. That isn't the call sign of a championship caliber team. I'm certainly hoping this call up sparks excitement in the team again. Let's Go Hawks!!!What also appears to NOT be working is the D-men. Oduya, in particular. What? He can play half the game with nice forechecks, abrasive blue line presence, then look like a total schmuck the other half of the game. This continuum has been evident because of the blatancy of the errors. 
Kostka isn't working for me either. He hasn't done anything blatant, just hasn't done anything to stand out either. 
One name to stand out,…and not positively is Patrick Kane. Look at his stats for January. Gulp…Not the Patrick Kane from October to December,…that's for certain. 

The Hawks lack "spirit" right now. You can see it. The only time they play hard is when they are afraid of losing. That isn't the call sign of a championship caliber team. I'm certainly hoping this call up sparks excitement in the team again. Let's Go Hawks!!!What also appears to NOT be working is the D-men. Oduya, in particular. What? He can play half the game with nice forechecks, abrasive blue line presence, then look like a total schmuck the other half of the game. This continuum has been evident because of the blatancy of the errors. 
Kostka isn't working for me either. He hasn't done anything blatant, just hasn't done anything to stand out either. 
One name to stand out,…and not positively is Patrick Kane. Look at his stats for January. Gulp…Not the Patrick Kane from October to December,…that's for certain. 

The Hawks lack "spirit" right now. You can see it. The only time they play hard is when they are afraid of losing. That isn't the call sign of a championship caliber team. I'm certainly hoping this call up sparks excitement in the team again. Let's Go Hawks!!!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Hawks Sending A Message : Bickell Benched Tonight

The Blackhawks are sending a message to Bryan Bickell. He's going to watch the game in street clothes as "defenseman" Michael Kostka replaces Bickell as a forward on the 3rd line. The Blackhawks are playing the Winnipeg Jets in Chicago tonight. The Hawks are doing something that appears out of the ordinary of late….they scored first. They also had the first 8 shots on net. The Blackhawks are taking care of a tired jet-lagged Jets team who didn't arrive in Chicago until after 2 am. We shall keep an eye on how long Q wishes to bench Bickell. Too bad "The Bickell of old" has returned. What a shame.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Hawks Play Mediocre In January

The Hawks have ONLY 4 wins this entire month.

* Atrocious 1st period starts

* Inconsistent 3rd line playing

* No production on Kane Line

* Mediocre play against NON-powerhouse teams

* Johnny Oduya...........enough said.

Johnny Oduya's been BLOODY atrocious. Through the first period of tonight's (Minnesota) game,  he is an astounding -6 and everytime I look up, he's positioned improperly, he doesn't fight for any pucks, he gives away more turnovers then a bakery shop. His thought process is undeniably the worst on the team. He has personally put the Hawks in bad positons of "catch-up" in at least 5 games this January. HE NEEDS TO GO!!!!! I don't care where...just get him the frick out.

I'm pretty tired of the excuses and the acceptance of OT losses as "NO BIG THING"......as much as winning is contagious....so is LOSING. Hawks need to get rid of the remaining cancer cells on the team. Starting with the Cancer known as Oduya-itis.

I have found myself calling him O-Do-NOT,....Oh,..yeah he did....again and again.

I have called him " Johnny O-dumb-ass", O-dammit, Oh-do-u-believe-what-he-just-did?...see a pattern? NOTHING positive. He is this years Hjalmarsson(2013), Bickell (2011-12).

Very close to the Oduya status?.....Nick Leddy. What has he done lately? Snore zone!!!

Time for the Hawks to refocus before the Olympics. Have the Hawks already mentally gone there? It appears so. WAKE UP HAWKS!!!!!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Hawks 3rd Line Woes

The easiest thing to do is write when your team is winning. Conversely, the same could said about losing.
The Blackhawks are having an abysmal January with only 2 victories in January. Their 3rd line has been away on holiday and hasn't returned since Christmas. Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg are not working cohesively together and to make matters worse, their 'guts' of their line, Andrew Shaw, has been moved up to the 2nd line centerman position. This puts Michael Handzus as their 3rd line centerman. Handzus - Versteeg - Bickell. Ahhhhh, not crazy about that combination. Maybe,...just maybe, Bickell needs another 'boot-in-the-ass' by making him a healthy scratch. Put Brandon Bollig there to shake things up for a game or two and bring up Jeremy Morin to fill in that 4th line role. J-Mo worked well with Kruger and Smith. This could work (and they currently have the cap space again to allow this to happen).
Whatever they do,...and sometimes doing "nothing" and allowing the team to work out their issues, can be the best thing to do. However the Hawks aren't getting anything in the net period 1. In fact, they're "chasing". So, by the time they tie up the game, they're dead tired and either give up that losing goal late, or they lose in O.T. or the Shoot-out. This has been their M.O. the past 2-3 weeks. This has got to stop if the Hawks have any hopes of catching St.Louis or Anaheim.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Hawks Will Have To Play "Catch-Up"

As St. Louis and Anaheim are starting to pull away from the pack, this leaves the Hawks sweating it out in the 3rd seed. Anaheim and St. Louis are on a ridiculous pace right now, and the Hawks are stumbling to maintain identity.
Corey Crawford has yet to win since he's come back. Bryan Bickell isn't playing up to his $4m /yr contract.
After being on a ridiculous pace, Patrick Kane hasn't registered a point 4 out of his last 5 games.
It is a bit of concern that the Hawks are still stumbling through the season. They have not found the energy they need to have at the beginning of games and have been playing catch up. Well, NOW, they will have to play catch up to 2 of the single hottest teams in the league who both happen to be in their conference. The Hawks have the ability to catch up, but the desire seems to be the issue. Hawks are "KINGS" of screwing up in the final 4 minutes of a game to either give the game away completely or to push a game into O.T. that had absolutely NO RIGHT being there to begin with. Believe it or not, this issue must be solved before the playoffs. Duncan Keith, though playing his best, and Patrick Kane, though playing his best, need to be more vocal and show that production. The last few games Patrick Kane has been invisible.
Coach Q is so nonchalant, I do wonder where his areas of concern are for this team,(But that concern is as a fan,...not a realistic concern,... for I do see the Hawks are not a team to fold. They are built to last).
So, as the teams get nearer and nearer to Sochi, the Hawks will have 10 players going, and will have to focus their time on saving energy and getting focused for the finish run.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Coach Quenneville Dodges Khabibulin Update

***IT WAS REPORTED TODAY (07/Jan/2014) that Nikolai Khabibulin just had rotator cuff surgery.

Bowman on Khabibulin Video - NHL VideoCenter - Chicago Blackhawks
VIDEO.BLACKHAWKS.NHL.COM
Bowman on Khabibulin - Stan Bowman after Nikolai Khabibulin undergoes successful surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. - With NHL Chicago Blackhawks Online you get all hockey, all access, all the time, live and direct around the league, every goal of every game, NHL Live on XM, classic moments, pod...










Huh? What? I thought he had some type of groin injury? According to Stan Bowman,…he did. During  the game he had a groin injury. Before that injury, Stan notes that the club did some imaging on his shoulder. The groin injury was 6 weeks long. As we saw from Corey Crawford's injury, a groin normally takes 2-3 weeks. So, the Hawks would have been forced to take Khabibulin off of LTIR for the injury if they didn't have this surgery…..CLEVER. So, Nikolai agrees to go under the knife to keep him on LTIR for at least 4-5 months. The Hawks are doing everything "By the letter of the law" here. They kept Khabibulin out as long as permitted with a groin injury. However, they would have been forced to make a decision with either Khabibulin or Raanta this week. So, they went into their bag of tricks and found an old injury that could use surgery or was told that needed surgery at some time.

*It is important that you understand that the Hawks cannot "create" an injury to keep someone on the LTIR.

*It is important to note that each injury has a time limit on LTIR status.

* It is important to note that if a player has an injury and chose not to have surgery, but later changed his mind, that is  also within the guidelines of the rules.

So, the Hawks would have HAD to put Khabibulin back on the team this week and send Raanta back down had they NOT researched and found that he had a Rotator Cuff injury prior to coming with the Hawks that was recommended by a surgeon to have surgery, but the player chose not to have surgery. Every player prior to signing with the Hawks has a physical done by the Blackhawks physicians. The physicians of the Hawks found the shoulder acceptable enough for him to pass a physical.

Are you guy's seeing this? You understand why the Hawks are doing this? If not,…read the blog posted a few days ago I wrote on Khabibulin and you'll understand why.

_________________________________________________________________________________

It is becoming obvious that the Hawks are avoiding any talk about Khabibulin. NO updates on how his status is. NO update to what they plan on doing with him long term. The Hawks brass is avoiding Khabibulin updates like the plague (until today 07Jan/2014).

Here are a few scenarios for you.

1) IF Nikolai Khabibulin returns they have to restructure their line up….again. They are almost at the cap and with a healthy Bickell and Handzus, there isn't much room left.  (approx. $189k and change).

2) IF Khabibulin retires mid season, the team is dinged for a $2,000,000 cap hit. Here is the explanation on this…" (the team) will be penalized in the event the player retires or "defects" from the NHL before the contract expires"… "contracts that fall under the "over-35" rule do not qualify for a cap benefit recapture."…" In these cases, the team is charged with the player's full cap hit.".     In other words, the Hawks would rather pay Nikolai and have him nurse an injury for 8 months, rather than have an ineffective goalie on their team.

3) Khabibulin cannot be sent down to the AHL. He has a 1 way contract.

So, if you owned the Hawks what would you do? Easy answer here. Keep Khabibulin out. Let NO ONE know what the injury is and just avoid all questions on returning. That is EXACTLY  what they are doing. The only way that he returns is if the Hawks feel he can be effective. But, why take the chance when Raanta is 10-1-3 with his brief time in the NHL?

The Hawks could entertain putting Raanta back down and have LaBarbera as a back up. Raanta's hit is $925,000 and LaBarbera's hit is $1m. The Hawks have barely enough money to cover that exchange.  Why would the Hawks do that? To give Raanta more and more playing time. LaBarbera would most likely NOT come into a game (at least, not as a starter), and be shuttled back and forth to Rockford when they wanted to give Corey a break.

I would be very surprised if Nikolai returns. They've shocked me before in the past, but this one would be a HUGE shocker.

Hawks will have about $1m to $1.1m  free on the cap, dependent upon which goalie they send down. This will give the Hawks a little leeway to bring up Pirri or Morin or Nordstrom or some other surprise player from Rockford. This will happen soon.

Brandon Saad was left off of the USA roster and so was Nick Leddy. This wasn't surprising at all. Hawks could use that rest during the Olympics.

Will Brent Seabrook and/or Patrick Sharp make the Canadian Olympic team? Sharp is getting closer and closer to becoming a lock.  Seabrook, who played in the last Olympics in Vancouver, isn't a lock yet. Corey Crawford is on the outside looking in. My guess is that Keith, Toews and Sharp make the team.

Another decider on Antti's near future will be if he makes Team Finland.

Handzus, Hossa, Kruger, Hjalmarsson, Oduya, Rozsival are also being considered for their countries.

Hawks are warming up this morning on Long Island to take on the Islanders this evening. Islanders are on a 2 game winning streak and the Hawks are 7-1-2 with a 1 game winning streak.  The Hawks follow up that game with a visit to New Jersey to finish off this first week of January.


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Chicago Blackhawks Half Way Mark: Real Time Stats

Time to grade the Hawks from  January 2013 - December 2013.

2012-13 season was really a 2013 season only because of the lockout. That season was an amazing season.
Regular Season: 36 - 7 - 5 (77 pts).
Post Season: 16 -7 (Stanley Cup Champions; 5th Cup in Chicago's history)

2013-14 Season: 28 - 7 -7 (Tied for the most points. 3rd best winning % ; St.Louis, Ana)

Patrick Kane: He is having a career year and is 2nd in the league in points for the 2013-14 season. He finished up last season winning the Conn Smythe: Has already had a 12 game and a 14 game point streak this season.    A+

Jonathon Toews: How impressive Kane was, so was Toews. He finished last season with 48 points marking his first season with a point per game. He won the Selke award as the best Defensive Forward in the league and is on pace to be nominated again this season. He is slightly under a point a game this season with 40pts /42games and is night in and night out showing why he is one of the most valued players in the league.    A+

Patrick Sharp: Had an injury plagued season last season, but has come on like storm busters with 41 points in 42 games and 22 goals in attempts to not only lead the Hawks but to make Team Canada for the 2014 Olympics.  IN the last 11 games he has 11 goals and 6 assists. Was last weeks player of the week.       A

Marian Hossa: He is just shy of a point a game pace this year with 34 points in 37 games. (14G/ 20A) Is second in the league in takeaways (1st Datsyuk). Last year he was consistent again and his two way play and mere presence on the team opened up space for his other goal scorers.   A-

Brandon Saad: Aren't players supposed to have a sophomore jinx or a sophomore slump? NOT this guy. Brandon Saad is able to play on any line, and has shown production. He has 14 G 16 A and is on the pace for just under 60 points. I think Saader will pick it up and end up around 65-69 points this season. He is playing so well, the USA team is having difficulty not considering him for a roster spot. He shows he can play with Toews and has starred with Bickell and Shaw.  A-

Kris Versteeg: Welcome back Steeger. For some it was quite difficult to give up on prospects Jimmy Hayes and Dylan Olsen. I didn't foresee Olsen in the Hawks lineup anytime soon. Too many prospects ahead of him that are producing quite well. Hayes, although a big body, wasn't putting forth the 3rd or 4th line energy that Q required night in and night out. So, to welcome back a person like Kris Versteeg that can play Center or Wing on the 2nd or 3rd line was ALL upside. He has started to produce and produce effectively.  He has 15 points in 23 games with the Hawks this season,…and YES, I do believe he will hit 22-25 goals this season. He was 4.3% shot accuracy with Florida. He's an amazing 15.4% with the Hawks. Why? He's not the main focus here in Chicago. He didn't want to be in that losing environment and it showed in his game and his attitude with Florida. This season in Florida he played 18games 2G/5A with a +/- MINUS 9…In Chicago he's a +7.  Steeger will get his 50 points this season on this high scoring team.   B+

Andrew Shaw: Coach Q calls Andrew Shaw 'one of the most underrated players on the team'… He produces points, he sets up, he will dish out hits, drop the gloves, and fight for every inch of ice…even though he's the smallest guy on the team. SOMETIMES, his aggressiveness turns into stupid penalties, but the team is able to coral his emotions and he continues to produce. Remember,…he's still a very young guy, (But there are times you want to choke him for his stupid penalties).  B+

Marcus Kruger: There is an argument that without Michael Frolik that 1-2 penalty killing punch is gone. IS it possible that Kruger is the week link? The Hawks are 28th in the P.K. and as the Hawks are starting to find improvement in their P.K.,…it's NOWHERE where it was last year and that is Marcus' primary special teams job. On the other hand, he has spent hours after practice learning the art of the "face-off" and he's gone from bloody awful to nearly 50%. He is now 2nd to Jonathan Toews with face-off percentage wins.  B

Bryan Bickell: Two words: Playoff hero. Watch the movie 17 seconds and you'll see Duncan Keith amazed at Bickell's accomplishments. NOT just the team, but everybody was amazed. Outcome? 1 nice 4 year contract worth $4m per. This year has started off slow because of his early season injury. He missed 14 games due to the injury. So with 28 games played he's got 6G 2A with a +/- Minus 1. Shot percentage has gone up to 14.3%, but now that he is back with a powerhouse  (and perhaps the best) 3rd line in hockey…Bickell, Shaw and Saad.  I like to call them the "lunch pale line". Gritty,  will do the dirty work and will light you up…expect ALL 3 guys to be above 17 goals. What? Unheard of from a 3rd line. In fact, expect 60+ goals from that line. (Saad and Shaw have a good lead on Bickell).
Bickell will be most productive in the playoffs. That when the Hawks use him the most.        B+

Michael Handzus: Michael was a big surprise coming from San Jose. He was a healthy scratch over there, and became a useful 2nd line centerman with the Hawks. Michael has only played 25 games this year, coming off of surgery he had after the playoffs were finished. He isn't going to give you 70 games anymore, but he is useful and the Hawks like having him. Don't get me wrong, they've tried to replace him with Pirri and Nordstrom and Versteeg, and will try to do so at the end of the year if he isn't productive. But, for the $1m cost they got him for, he's more than productive. He has decreased in speed and I've noticed this year his face-off percentage has dropped off. Overall, a nice role player.   C

Brandon Bollig:  He was on my list of players last year that I couldn't wait to see if they would get rid of him. Not this year. This year, he's felt comfortable and in fact, that fourth line of Bollig, Smith and Kruger has formed a nice little chemistry. Not only did Brandon Bollig get his first point of his career,…he's gotten more than that. 3G/ 5A in ALL 42 games the Hawks have played. NO MORE healthy scratching' for big Bollig!. He's looking to be much more productive and only mixes it up when he feels the need to protect a teammate. Other than that, he stays away from that stuff.  Last year I'd have given him a D-. This year I'll give him a B-…..Overall,…. C-

Morin, Pirri, Mills, Nordstrom: INCOMPLETE. (disappointed that the Hawks sent back Morin and Pirri, however, the cap is a real thing and as long as they are maxed out,…they are only going to come up when someone gets injured.

Duncan Keith: The man is on a rip roaring pace this year. He  has 3G and 36 A, just shy of a point per game. He actually looks better this year than he did when he won the Norris trophy award in 2010. He will be playing in the Olympics and he and Ottawa's Erik Karlsson are separating themselves from the rest of the defensemen on who will win the award this year. Besides points, his puck decisions have been nothing short of brilliance. When he isn't with the puck, his ability to chase down players and take pucks away has also been amazing. Last season, he had another fine year, but this year he has stepped it up and right over the top.   A (B+ for last season, A+ for this season).

Niklas Hjlamarsson: I liked riding Hammer and his indecisions he made last year. This year he is playing much better. Still needs to stop coughing up the puck. But, his general decision making and propensity to shoot more has been obvious. Liking his game much more this season.   B+

Brent Seabrook: The quiet star on the team. He is 7th in the league among defensemen in points. He has the ability to reach 50 points this season. Seeing Seeb's charge on in the offensive zone is actually quite fun to see. However, he will always be known as a blue-line stuffer.  B+

Johnny Oduya: I'm going to ride Oduya's case this year. He is the least productive and least noticeable Hawk this year. This isn't a way to keep your spot on a team that has so much talent waiting to take his place. (i.e. Adam Clendening) There are times when Johnny shows that aggressiveness  and skill with the puck, but his blind passes to neutral zone turnovers and improper defensive set ups are off-putting to say the least.  If someone gets traded at the end of the year, don't be surprised if Oduya's name is on that list….in fact, I predict that Stan Bowman is looking at that option. (You heard it hear first).  C-

Sheldon Brookbank:  Another person I wanted the Hawks to get rid of. Again, this year he has been much more productive. Sheldon only appeared in 26 games all of last year in 48 tilts. No play offs for him. This year, he has 3 points 1G 2A, +/- +3, and he's already appeared in 41 games. He is splitting time with Rozy and Thor.  (Rozsival and Kostka), but when he's out there, he also has been productive. When the Hawks tried this a few years ago,(getting older experienced D-men) ….it SO didn't work. (i.e.O'Donnell, Montador). So, we are glad that Brookbank is finally working out.  D+

Michal Rozsival: Rozy isn't playing all the time. Again, as I stated earlier, he's in a platooning situation with Kostka and Brooksy.  He is doing well and I often wish he would replace Oduya for I think he's a better defenseman than Johnny Oduya.  B-.

Michael Kostka: First year with the Hawks and he better be a good one. He was the reason why the Hawks lost long time prospect Ryan Stanton. He has only played in 5 games and has been a healthy scratch half of the season. The other half of the season he was on LTIR due to a freak injury during warm ups on the Florida trip. C

Corey Crawford: Easy to score on the glove side. Easy to score on the stick side. Blah, blah, blah. All of those guys can look at Corey Crawford's BIG ASS ROCK!!!! 5th winning goaltender in Blackhawks history. This year he was off to a repetitive and long start due to the fact that Khabibulin has been a complete mess. He was not able to get any time off.  Then 3 weeks ago, he pulled a groin muscle. But, let's look at his record. 17-6-3.  2.47GAA and a .907 Sv%. He'll be better than that once he comes back this week. NOW that he has a real goaltender backing him up.  A+

Nikolai Khabibulin: Many of us were scared when Stan Bowman signed on Nick. 40 years old and hasn't been much of a goalie after leaving the Hawks. Guess what? He's been a complete train wreck in 4 appearances with the Hawks. 1-0-1 (Thank goodness we don't only look at record)…. with a disturbingly high .500 GAA and a despicable .811 Sv%. He "mysteriously" went down with an injury, a groin injury,(but he JUST had surgery on the rotator Rotator Cuff…He went under the knife this week), and has been a LTIR ever since.
***Side note: 08/Jan/2014 confusing to all Blackhawks fans for after the game we were told that Khabi had a lower body injury…undisclosed and Stan Bowman confirmed in today's interview that it was the groin. HOWEVER, Khabi just had surgery today on the shoulder. Recovery time is 4-5 months. The question was asked if he could come back at the end of the season. He said it is possible. Well, let's be realists here. The Hawks will SEE TO IT that it lasts 5 months if Raanta plays like he's been playing. Thereby, Khabibulin not being available to back up Corey in the playoffs. They would be silly not to.
(I will update my Khabibulin post with more talk on this matter,…but in the meantime let's end this).
 Thank God for small LTIR miracles.    F

Antti Raanta: Was called up from the AHL (Rockford Icehogs) and has been stellar. He's got a splendid 10-1-3 record in 15 appearances/ 13 Game Starts and has a GAA of 2.21 and a .913 Sv%.
He has been delightful with his spirited personality (unlike most goaltenders).  When he has had a rough game, the next game out he's kicked butt.                     A

Kent Simpson: INCOMPLETE:  (he may be worse than Khabibulin…thank goodness they brought in Jason LaBarbera…no grade for LaBarbera for he hasn't played a game yet.)

REAL TIME STATS:

HITS: Andrew Shaw ranks 24th (107), Brent Seabrook ranks 25th (104).

BLOCKS: Niklas Hjalmarsson ranks 17th (79), Brent Seabrook ranks 33rd (71), Johnny Oduya ranks 40th (68).

GIVEAWAYS: (The stat no one wants to be part of).  Niklas Hjalmarsson 3rd (48)

TAKEAWAYS: Marian Hossa 2nd (48), Brandon Saad 10th (37), Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews tied for 18th (32)

FOW: Jonathan Toews 4th (481), Marcus Kruger 59th ( 254).

FACE-OFF %: Marcus Kruger (minimum of 200 F.O.) 12th (58.2%)wow!!! ,
Jonathan Toews 14th (57.0%)

POINTS: P.Kane 2nd (53), P.Sharp 10th (41), J. Toews 12th (40), D.Keith 15th ( 39),
M.Hossa 30th (34).  Impressive to have 5 guys in the top 30.

GOALIE WINS: Corey Crawford 10th (17-6-3), Antti Raanta 23rd (10-1-3). Two goalies top 25.

TOTAL; W-L-T RECORD FOR CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS FOR THE 2013 YEAR.
2013 SEASON:         36 -7 -5
2013 PLAYOFFS:    22 -7
2013-14 SEASON:   28 -7 -7
GRAND TOTAL:   86 -21-12  (includes Stanley Cup 2013)