Archive for July, 2009

Once Again, The ‘Hawks Are Under Investigation

July 31st, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Just when the dust settled and the Blackhawks were back to having a close to normal off-season, the NHL has decided to investigate into Marian Hossa‘s twelve-year $62.8M contract. What the league is trying to find out is whether the topic of retiring before the contract expires at the end of the 2020-21 season was discussed during negotiations. If that is the case, it is against the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and the Blackhawks could be fined up to $5M and the loss of future draft picks.

Hossa’s twelve-year contract is broken down into this: First seven years he will make $7.9M; the next year it drops to $4M; then lowers again for the next two seasons to $1M; in the last two years of his Hossa is slated to earn $0.750M. The result is a cap friendly $5.233M contact. If Hossa were to retire before his contract expires, the Blackhawks would be off the hook for the years and money remaining on his contract.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is quoted saying:

We’re trying to understand how it was negotiated and whether the intent and effect is to circumvent the cap. This was the first of the long-term contracts that took a player out past the age 40 and the value of the contract in its ‘out years’ was dramatically lower than its early years. We want to know if the possibility of player retirement was ever discussed or even contemplated.”

There are those around the league that frown upon the practice of signing players to contracts such as Hossa’s. The way his contract is structured is clever, and it’s the final four years of his contract – significantly lowering his cap hit – that has the league’s panties in a bunch. The Blackhawks used the current CBA to their advantage , or what the league is calling ‘circumventing the cap’, with Hossa’s contract.

It’s obvious that the league is out the make an example of the Chicago Blackhawks regarding long-term contracts such as these. Detroit and Philadelphia have signed players to similar structured contracts, but the ‘Hawks did take it a step further. The league will have a hard time proving what was talked about during negotiations, though.

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Hossa Goes Under the Knife

July 24th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

It was reported last night that Marian Hossa will undergo shoulder surgery at some point today on his partially torn rotator cuff. This news comes just one day after the initial story of his injury broke, and that surgery would be the last resort if Hossa didn’t respond well to other methods of rehab.

Stan Bowman said earlier in the week:

If it’s something that needs to be fixed, that would be the way to go. Surgery would be a last resort and we’re not at that point, but if we have to do it, we have to do it.”

The injury was said to have happen when the Red Wings faced the Blackhawks in the Conference Finals, which resulted in Hossa’s lack of production in the Stanley Cup Finals against Pittsburgh. But Red Wing general manager, Ken Holland, claims that Hossa was damaged goods when they signed him last year, and surgery was deemed unnecessary then.

Yesterday, a few days after Bowman made the statement above, he said:

Marian’s injury did not respond sufficiently to our non-operative treatment over the last three weeks, so we have collectively decided to go ahead with the surgery.”

Dealing with the injury now is the right choice. Instead of avoiding surgery and run the risk of having it bother him throughout the season is the better long-term decision for a guy locked up for over a decade.

The four months that Hossa is expected to miss while rehabbing from today’s shoulder surgery will take him away from the action until the end of November. His absence from the line-up will be missed. You can’t replace a player with Hossa’s production, but having him come back healthy will be better than him possibly missing any time late in the season if the injury were to become worse.

This is when having as many capable forwards as the Blackhawks have will prove to be valuable. Hossa’s injury ensures that Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and possibly Dustin Byfuglien will stay with the organization for the immediate future. Like Tallon’s inability to move Nikolai Khabibulin paid dividends, not moving a forward for a defenseman or back up goalie could be the best move made this summer – at least to start the season.

On a slight tangent, the trade rumors about Sharp should be ignored. We don’t know how Stan Bowman works yet, but it would be stupid to move Sharpie. Two years ago he tallied thirty-six goals ranking him 13th in the league that year, and was regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in the league finishing high in the Selke Award voting. Last year he was dealing with a nagging knee injury in the second half of the season that led to a lower number of goals – twenty-six.

At his $3.9M cap-hit next season, it doesn’t make sense to move him now when the team is under the cap, and when the team has a ‘win now’ attitude. However, next summer when the Blackhawks need to re-sign the big three, Sharp might be a goner.

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Hossa’s Injury

July 22nd, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

This summer has been nothing short of a circus for the Blackhawks. With everything that happened this off-season, there is still a huge buzz surrounding the team going into next season. The acquisition of Marian Hossa provided solace to fans through the front office woes. Well, it turns out that Hossa could be out until December with a shoulder (rotator cuff) injury he suffered as a Red Wing.

Apparently the organization knew of the injury when they signed him on July 1st. If surgery can be avoided, Hossa should be available to play before the month of December rolls around.

Little has gone right for the ‘Hawks management this summer, and keeping the fan base in the dark about the Hossa injury doesn’t improve their already damaged image. I’d think the front office would like to avoid another PR gaffe after a summer like this one.

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Blackhawks Sign Danny Bois for One Year

July 20th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Stan Bowman started where Dale Tallon left off. With his first player acquisition as the general manager, Bowman continued to fill out the roster for Rockford by signing right wing Danny Bois to a one-year contract. The press release can be found here.

Bois spent the last five season playing for Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Binghamton. Over his career with the Senator’s organization, he played one game on the NHL roster. In that one game he accumulated seven penalty minutes. Bois should project to stay in Rockford the whole year, but if for some reason he does crack the Blackhawks’ roster, he would be considered a fourth liner.

**In the Oranization page has been updated to reflect roster changes**

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Tip of the Iceberg

July 15th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

From the safety of his keyboard, Martin Havlat speaks. Marty has resorted to Twitter once again to voice his displeasure with the Chicago Blackhawks organization. When he was not brought back prior to free agency, he complained that the Blackhawks lacked ‘loyalty’. Yesterday, he wrote again about the removal of Dale Tallon as general manager.

I guess everyone saw what happened to Dale….yes, the story is starting to come out but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Lot’s of people are telling me to stay quiet but shouldn’t the fans know the truth? It’s your loyalty, season ticket money and emotions here”

Just so everyone begins to understand, Dale was like a 2nd father to me.”

Marty also talked to TSN’s Darren Dreger. You can find his article here, but here is a quote from Havlat in the piece.

My negotiation with Chicago was not between Dale and my agent, it was between Dale and McDonough,” Havlat said “Why? Because McDonough couldn’t stand that Dale was so successful and getting the credit for building the Hawks from a last place team to making the Conference Final in three short years. Remember, we were also the youngest team in the NHL last year.”

There are more quotes like that where Marty takes shots at McDonough in the article.

This could be a simple case of Havlat still hurt that he wasn’t brought back. But his comments provide some insight into the removal of Tallon. Something the other parties involved probably won’t share.

UPDATE (5:25PM): McDonough responds to Havlat and other allegations in an interview on 670 The Score. I’m not too keen on this guy, and am just as upset about the firing (that’s what it was) of Dale Tallon after listening to this.

UPDATE (11:16PM): Dale Tallon takes the high road.

It was a situation where we both agreed that this was best for the franchise,” Tallon said. “We had a cordial discussion, John and I. He wanted to take the team in a different direction and I was fine with it. We feel this is the best strategy.”

I’ve been with Stan for a long time and he’s more than qualified,” Tallon said. “He’s very intelligent and a very knowledgeable guy in all aspects of the game. He’s a good judge of talent and he’s very good with the numbers and the comparables and the CBA.”

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Nepotism Reigns, Tallon Out as GM

July 14th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Are you kidding me? Dale Tallon is fired? If the reports are true, and it’s looking like they are, this doesn’t sit well with me. Ever since Scotty Bowman was brought in as a senior advisor, Tallon’s job security was at risk with his son, Stan, as the assistant general manager. Finally late last night, Tallon was fired as general manager and given the position of senior advisor of hockey operations. Stan Bowman will take over the helm.

Tallon wasn’t a perfect general manager and I didn’t agree with many of his decisions, but you can’t argue with results. Dale took this team from a world of crap to the Western Conference Finals. With the moves he made this summer thus far, the Blackhawks were to be one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup next year. Something that obviously still holds true, but why was Tallon canned after building a championship caliber team?

Ever since Scotty and Stan were brought into the organization, Tallon was constantly looking over his shoulder. The Blackhawks’ brain trust waited patiently for Tallon to make a mistake so they could remove him from the position of general manager and promote Stan Bowman. There is more to it that happened behind closed doors, but I’m going to assume the inability to properly submit qualifying offers to six restricted free agents was the mistake that cost Tallon his job.

Tallon’s footprint on the organization will be felt for a long time. He drafted the likes of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. He brought in top free agents such as Nikolai Khabibulin, Brian Campbell and Marian Hossa under his tenure even if it was for a hefty price tag. Dale was also great at trading for young talent and giving up virtually nothing for them – see Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg.

I don’t like that Tallon was ousted as general manager like this, but I’ll have to learn to accept it. I hope that Stan can earn the trust of the fans, and doesn’t screw this thing up.

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Stanley Cup Goal, Mark Cullen Signed and Trade Speculation

July 13th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

At this point last year the goal was to just make the playoffs, but after Robert Lang’s trade was forced right before the season – due to salary cap complications – it looked to be a harder task. After a successful season where the ‘Hawks tallied 104 points, and had a great run in the playoffs that saw the Blackhawks make it to the Western Conference Finals, the goal this season should be to win it all. The necessary moves were made this summer to make the Blackhawks serious contenders for the championship.

I have no clue what the line combinations will be next year, but here is a stab at it:

Sharp – Toews – Kane
Ladd – Bolland – Hossa
Byfuglien – Madden – Versteeg
Eager – Kopecky – Burish
Brouwer

Keith – Seabrook
Campbell – Hjalmarsson
Barker – Sopel
Johnson

Huet
Niemi/Crawford

This team is built to win now. It could be the best chance that the organization has to bring the Stanley Cup home to Chicago. After the 2009-10 season, the organization will have to move key players in order to lock-up the big three – Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith. That being the case, this should be the year to go after it all.

If the organization were to roll out this roster to start the season, there would be some concern as to how the goaltending would hold up. As wise as it would be to sign or trade for a solid backup to Cristobal Huet, I don’t think Dale Tallon will go that way. Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford are going to be given the chance to battle for the spot.

Today it was officially announced that center Mark Cullen was signed to a one-year contract – thus adding to the organizational depth at forward. Cullen along with Colin Fraser, Jack Skille and a few others projected to start the season in Rockford have enough talent to break the NHL roster. This recent addition will lead to more speculation that Tallon is ready to make a trade, and that he could use the Blackhawks’ depth at forward to fill out the roster via trade.

If that is the case, I believe he will target a defenseman – something that I omitted in my post from last week – to become stronger at the position. Brent Sopel is a liability all over the ice, Niklas Hjalmarsson has only thirty-four games under his belt over the course of two seasons, and Cam Barker still needs more seasoning.

The Daily Herald’s Tim Sassone suggested that Toronto could be a potential trade partner, and that defenseman Garnet Exelby would be a nice addition to the defensive corps. I like where Sassone is going with his suggestion. Exelby is a hitter, is good on the penalty kill, and would play on the third defensive paring. He is also in the last year of his contract, so at the end of the season Exelby would come off the Blackhawks’ books. A player that fits Exelby’s bill could be what the organization is looking for if they opt to make a trade.

**In the Oranization page has been updated to reflect these changes**

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More Minor Signings

July 9th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks made a couple more minor singings today. They inked twenty-four year old left winger Peter MacArthur and twenty-six year old defenseman Richard Petiot to one-year deals.

Signing these guys helps fill out the roster in Rockford. Neither will make much of an impact.

**In the Oranization page has been updated to reflect these changes**

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Versteeg Re-signed; Tallon Poised for a Trade?

July 8th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks were able to clean up the mess that could have let six restricted free agents go on the open market. Kris Versteeg was the last player in that group to remain unsigned, but early this morning it was reported that he signed a three-year deal worth $9.25M.

It would have been devastating for the organization to lose the rights to any of these players this way. GMs around the league must have been salivating over opportunity to sign Cam Barker or Versteeg from under the Blackhawks, but Dale Tallon made this issue a non-issue.

But re-signing Versteeg has put the ‘Hawks right up against the salary-cap ceiling of $56.8M. One could argue that Tallon has primed himself for a trade with the teams’ current salary-cap situation.

Here are a few suggestions for Dale.

Brent Sopel – The obvious choice. If Tallon can move this guy and the remaining two years on his contract would be nothing short a miracle – whatever it takes to move the $2.33M per year cap hit. Aaron Johnson and Jordan Hendry are cheaper and better options as the sixth defenseman.

Dustin Byfuglien – Looking past his performance against Roberto Luongo and the Canucks, Buff just doesn’t seem to understand the role Quenneville wants to use him in. As a converted defenseman, he often looks lost out there as a winger. Let him be some other team’s project at $3M per year. He would garner a lot of interest from other teams, and could bring in some value in return.

Kris Versteeg – He was the surprise of the season for the Blackhawks. Versteeg plays bigger than his five-foot ten-inch stature, and is affective on both sides of the ice. He is a finished product, unlike Byfuglien. His trade value probably won’t be higher than it is now. The price tag on his new contract won’t scare off any suitors either.

- The other day I mentioned that Bryan Bickell was given a qualifying offer from the Blackhawks. Today he signed a one-year deal.

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Danis-Pepin Signed to an Entry Level Contract

July 7th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Yet another transaction…

Defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin signed a three-year deal with the Blackhawks. The Quebecer finished at four-year stint at the University of Maine and should start the upcoming season in Rockford. Read more on the signing here.

This leaves Joe Charlebois as the last unsigned prospect that must be signed before August 15th or his rights will be relinquished.

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