Archive for the ‘News and Notes’ Category

Blackhawks 2010 training camp roster revealed

September 17th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Players have descended upon the United Center for media day, and training camp will officially begin tomorrow in front of a packed house. The Blackhawks finally announced their camp roster today with two notable players not in attendance – Cristobal Huet and Marcus Kruger. Per Stan Bowman, the plan to move Huet to Europe is still a work in progress, and Kruger stayed in Sweden with an injured foot. Also Mathis Olimb won’t be skating because of the injuries he sustained after Kyle Beach jumped him at prospect camp in July.

2010 training camp roster –

Forwards (33) – Kyle Beach, Bryan Bickell, Dave Bolland, Brandon Bollig, Steele Boomer**, Evan Brophey, Troy Brouwer, Chris DiDomenico, Jake Dowell, Rob Flick, Byron Froese, David Gilbert, Mirko Hoefflin, Marian Hossa, Hugh Jessiman, Patrick Kane, Rob Klinkhammer, Tomas Kopecky, Igor Makarov, Jeremy Morin, Ratislav Palikorovsky**, Philippe Paradis, Brandon Pirri, Fernando Pisani, Ryan Potulny, Ludvig Rensfeldt, Patrick Sharp, Jack Skille, Ben Smith, Viktor Stalberg, Jeff Taffe, Nick Tarnasky**, Jonathan Toews

Defensemen (17) – Nick Boynton, Wade Bookbank**, Brian Campbell, Jonathan Carlsson, Brian Connelly, Jassen Cullimore, Simon Danis-Pepin, Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Dallas Jackson**, Duncan Keith, Shawn Lalonde, Nick Leddy, John Scott, Brent Seabrook, Ryan Stanton, Ivan Vishnevskiy

Goalies (6) – Corey Crawford, Joe Palmer*, Alec Richards, Kent Simpson, Hannu Toivonen, Marty Turco

*AHL contract
** Non-roster invitee

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Morin eligible to play in the AHL

September 15th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Remember yesterday’s post about the CHL taking issue with Jeremy Morin leaving the junior ranks to playing in the AHL? Welp, literally hours after I submitted my post, Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo! Sports – who to my knowledge broke the initial story – submitted an article hours later updating where the issue of Morin’s eligibility for the AHL stands. The NHL ruled in favor of the Blackhawks, and Morin will be able to play regular season games in Rockford as soon as October, I believe.

The league’s ruling doesn’t mean Morin must/will play for the IceHogs in 2010-11. He can stay in Kitchener if he pleases, but there wouldn’t have been an issue if he didn’t want to leave the CHL. Morin will have to make the team out of training camp like any other player, but as the great Magic Eight-Ball would say, “Outlook good.”

Of the 19-year-old prospects potentially playing in Rockford this year, which includes defenseman Nick Leddy and center Brandon Pirri, Morin is the best of the lot. I have my apprehensions regarding the readiness of both Leddy and Pirri for the AHL, but not so much when it comes to Morin. In 58 games with the Kitchener Rangers, he scored 47 goals with 38 assists. He’s got all the tools, and none of his screws appear to be loose.

Anyway, give Sunaya’s article a read (second link above), as well as yesterday’s post about the CHL getting in the way of the Blackhawks’ will (first link above).

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Can the CHL keep Jeremy Morin from playing in Rockford?

September 14th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

If only he could walk on water. (Morin pictured above)

I came across this article a few weeks ago regarding an investigation into Jeremy Morin’s eligibility to play in the AHL this season. The issue brought up in the article is whether the CHL – made up of the OHL, WHL and QJMHL – has the authority to block the Blackhawks from assigning him to Rockford. Morin, who turned 19 on April 16, with one season in the OHL under his belt with the Kitchener Rangers, signed an entry level deal with the Atlanta Thrashers weeks before he was traded to the Blackhawks.

“The umbrella league which governs the OHL, WHL and QMJHL has an agreement in place with the NHL where players drafted out of the CHL can only play in the AHL if they turn 20 years old by Dec. 31 or have played in the CHL for four seasons.”

There appears to be a loophole within the CHL-NHL agreement. Morin was drafted by the Thrashers out of the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) in the 2009 entry draft before he joined the Rangers. There is no such by law in existence between the NHL and any American developmental hockey league, such as the NDTP.

Neate Sager, of Buzz the Net, points out that Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson left the OHL at 19-years-old to play for the Hershey Bears last year. Carlson was drafted out the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2008.

The CHL has their best interest in mind, wanting to keep players around so they have a relatively high talent level with their on-ice product. Because other players have taken the same route to the AHL, it doesn’t appear as though they can get in the way of the Blackhawks’ will. The CHL is taking issue with Morin jumping to the AHL at 19-years-old to bring light to their situation, and this could be something to include in the next version of the collective bargaining agreement.

Here comes the youth

Nick Leddy and Brandon Pirri signed entry-level contracts with the Blackhawks this summer, and will be vying for a spot on the IceHogs’ roster at 19, too. The CHL-NHL agreement that could keep Morin from playing in the AHL doesn’t have any effect on both Leddy and Pirri. They are coming from collegiate programs, but they are eligible to play in the CHL if they chose to. Leddy’s rights belong to the Tri-City Americans (WHL), and Pirri’s to the Saginaw Spirit (OHL).

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Steve Poapst joins IceHogs coaching staff as assistant

September 6th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks announced the return of former NHL defenseman Steve Poapst to the organization by hiring him as an assistant with the Rockford IceHogs last week. He spent four seasons of his career (2000-2004) patrolling the blue line in Chicago, playing a total of 220 games as a Blackhawk. His tenure with the organization coincided with the onset of the 2004-05 lock-out, and played one more season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues before hanging up his skates for the last time in the spring of 2006.

Poapst will join head coach Bill Peters and assistant coach Ted Dent behind the bench in Rockford, and brings a strong background in player development to the coaching staff. Previously, he was the general manager and head coach of the Chicago Steel (USHL) since December 2006, and was named Coach of the Year in 2008. Poapst also runs an annual hockey development camp in the Chicago suburb of Bensenville every summer.

The addition of an assistant coach, such as Steve Poapst in Rockford, will be beneficial to the Blackhawks organization as the IceHogs transition to a team focused on player development. Their roster is projected to be stockpiled with prospects, which is a change from the journeyman laden roster in years past. Prospects like defenseman Nick Leddy and center Brandon Pirri – both left their collegiate programs after freshman year to play in Rockford this season – have room to develop before they are NHL-ready talent, and that’s a big reason why Poapst was brought into the fold.

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Doug Wilson’s master plan comes full circle

September 1st, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Hockey player turned hockey analyst Nick Kypreos broke the news this afternoon that Antti Niemi will sign with the San Jose Sharks as soon as tomorrow. Early reports have Niemi signed to a one-year deal worth $2 million. More details will come out soon enough regarding his contract, but my initial reaction to the numbers at hand is Niemi could have had a similar deal in Chicago.

He can’t be too pleased with the job his agent Bill Zito did this off-season. He failed to acknowledge the 2010 goaltending market. It was oversaturated, and goalies made far from top dollar. Zito postured and claimed to have his client’s best interest all summer, but went into the arbitration hearing with an asking price well upward of $3 million. When Niemi was awarded $2.75 million by the arbitrator, it was easy for Stan Bowman to walk away knowing he had Marty Turco locked up as Plan B.

Niemi leaves a familiar setting behind with the organization that brought him into the NHL, as well as a good situation for any goaltender. He would start over 60 games for the Blackhawks, with one of the best defensive teams in the league playing in front of him every night. In San Jose, Niemi will split time in net with Antero Niittymaki – who also has a $2 million salary-cap hit – for a team built around scoring. His open market value as an unrestricted free agent in 2011 would have been higher if he stayed in Chicago.

Once again, I digress. Doug Wilson’s latest act as general manager of the Sharks was the second part of hopefully a two part plan to screw over the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. First was the $3.5 million offer-sheet to Niklas Hjalmarsson, and now this. His master plan came full circle. Wilson has a Stanley Cup winning goaltender at a reasonable price tag.

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Now we wait on Bowman and Co.

August 1st, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

We are somewhere in the middle of the 48-hour window that the Blackhawks have before a decision needs to be made regarding Antti Niemi and the one-year, $2.75 million contract he was awarded in arbitration. The number is a little higher than expected, but it’s do-able. Once again, the Blackhawks can accept the deal, move him via trade or walk away from it making him an unrestricted free agent. Expect Bowman and company to take their time before announcing their decision whether to keep or move the 26-year-old netminder.

If the Blackhawks opt to keep Niemi, they might have to move yet another body to field a roster of 20 to 21 players. However, there have been rumors that Marty Turco has a tentative deal in place at a cheaper price tag. With Turco in net, the organization would have more wiggle room with the roster.

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Three Blackhawks at US World Juniors developement camp

July 30th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Three Blackhawks’ prospects – Jeremy Morin, Kevin Hayes and Stephen Johns – were invited to Team USA’s development camp that began today in Lake Placid, New York. The camp will encompass practice sessions, inter-squad scrimmages and scrimmages against the Swedish and Finnish squads. There were a total of 42 players invited to the development camp, and the roster will be cut down prior to the first international scrimmage against Sweden on August 3rd. USA Hockey also has a World Juniors blog up so fans can follow the happenings from home. The camp runs through August 7th.

Morin was on the USA Junior national team last year. This is the first time for Hayes and Johns at the Team USA development camp. Nick Leddy was supposed to attend the camp as well, but was pulled after he signed a professional deal with the Hawks earlier this week. Not too sure why, but he is at the Blackhawks Convention this weekend.

Meanwhile, north of the boarder…

Dylan Olsen in the Blackhawks lone prospect invited to Team Canada’s development camp next week. Competition for a roster spot will be stiff this year. Three defensemen from the 2010 squad are returning – Jared Cowen, Calvin de Haan and Ryan Ellis. Olsen – along with Shawn Lalonde – was one of the last players cut from last year’s silver medal squad.

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Blackhawks on hold as they wait for Niemi’s number

July 29th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Antti Niemi and his agent Bill Zito met with the Blackhawks in Toronto to plead their respective cases in front of an arbitrator because they were unable to come to an agreement before yesterday’s hearing. A ruling is expected to be made on Saturday. From what I’ve been reading Niemi’s camp has their hearts set on a number above a $3 million cap hit. Knowing the Blackhawks’ cap situation, it becomes hard to believe all the rhetoric that Zito fed the media regarding his client’s desire to play for Chicago next season.

In Stan Bowman’s conference call earlier in the evening, he said:

“Depending on where it comes in, it’s going to dictate what we have to do. We’re going to try to make it work, but it’s hard – we’re kind of playing a guessing game and I don’t want to speculate because I don’t know where it’s going to be.

“There are numbers that we have in mind which would make it more easy to fit him in versus really difficult to fit him in. We’re just going to have to wait and see.”

The impartial arbitrator will have to either pick the number the Blackhawks submitted, the number Niemi’s camp submitted or choose a salary somewhere in between. If the arbitrator sides in favor of the 26-year-old goaltender, it will likely force Bowman and company to move on. The Blackhawks will have 48 hours to sign Niemi, trade him or walk, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.

Anything above a $2.5 million cap hit could be detrimental to the Blackhawks ability to field a roster of twenty skaters and two goaltenders. It wouldn’t surprise me if Bowman had deals already in place if Niemi’s price tag is too high. There have been rumors floating around that Bowman has already talked to Jose Theodore and Marty Turco, and that suitors have called regarding Niemi’s availability. In one last-ditch-effort to keep their goaltender around, the Blackhawks could move Tomas Kopecky and his $1.2 million cap hit.

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Doug Wilson is a very very bad man!

July 13th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The decision was made yesterday to match San Jose’s four-year $14 million offer sheet to Niklas Hjalmarsson. That will be a $3.5 million cap hit. I still think it’s a little much for the 23-year old Swede, but the Blackhawks do have a couple over valued contracts on the books that overshadow this one. If you do compare it to other deals signed by free agent defensemen this summer, Hjalmarsson’s contract doesn’t look so bad.

As expected, the Hawks are in a tough spot (again) in regards to the salary cap. With fifteen players under contract next season, the organization has only $113,410 (source: cap geek) to spend on five to seven more players to fill out the roster. Teams do have the luxury to go up to 10% over the cap ceiling in the off-season. Antti Niemi’s arbitration hearing is July 29, and it appears as though the Hawks will need to use the extra space this summer until Cristobal Huet’s contract is removed from the mix. If that were done today, the Blackhawks would have $5,738,410 salary-cap space to work with.

Signing Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet, and forcing Bowman’s hand was a tactic that is Machiavellian in nature. The Blackhawks’ cap issues are well known around the league, and San Jose general manager Doug Wilson did all he could to screw the reigning Stanley Cup Champions the best he could within the parameters of the collective bargaining agreement. It’s an evil, yet brilliant strategy. Wilson was able to set Hjalmarsson’s price tag, and now Bowman and company will find it hard to keep Niemi around as a result.

If the Blackhawks opted not to match San Jose’s offer, the Sharks would have added a solid, smart and young defenseman to their roster for relatively little. It was a win-win situation for Wilson.

Coaching staff set

The void left by John Torchetti was filled yesterday by Mike Kitchen, and Mike Haviland signed a contract extension to remain with the Blackhawks as an assistant coach. Kitchen was on Joel Quenneville’s coaching staff when he was in St. Louis years ago.

Changes have been reflected on our In the Organization page above.

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Clock ticking on Hjalmarsson

July 12th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

This pic always cracks me up

Doug Wilson, Sharks general manager and Blackhawks legend, made an already difficult situation harder for Stan Bowman when he signed Niklas Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet. They signed the 23-year old Sweded a four-year deal worth $14 million – a cap hit of $3.5 million per season. If Bowman’s balls weren’t already in a vice, they are now. As of today, the Hawks have four more days to match the offer sheet before Hjalmarsson becomes Sharks’ property.

If the Blackhawks decide not to match they will be compensated with San Jose’s first and third round draft picks in 2011. Since the lockout five years ago, there were only a total of five offer sheets signed before Friday. Only the Oilers offer to Dustin Penner in 2007 wasn’t matched.

No matter how you look at it, the situation Doug Wilson put the Blackhawks in isn’t good. With roughly $3.6 million cap space to work with and 14 players singed, the organization might be forced to choose between Antti Niemi and Niklas Hjalmarsson as to which restricted free agent to re-sign. (Semi-random note: Niemi’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for July 29.)

It’s hard to say what direction the Hawks will go, as they are currently at a crossroads. Personally, I think what the Sharks are offering is a little steep for Hjalmarsson. But if he’s gone by the end of the week, the Blackhawks blue line is going to look mighty thin. There isn’t much out there in the way of desirable free agent defensemen, and the Blackhawks won’t want to tap into their system to fill out three spots on defense. Hjalmarsson was a great complament to Brian Campbell, and was important on the penalty kill.

I went down to Johnny’s Icehouse on Friday for the first day of prospect camp, and was lucky enough have a seat in the section next to management and scouting. By the time I learned of the offer sheet, the section cleared out. Instead of watching the second group’s scrimmage, the Blackhawks’ brass must have entered the war-room as their focus was on the Hjalmarsson situation. Bowman is expected to address the offer sheet today at prospect camp.

Hawks bring back veteran defenseman

Jassen Cullimore, who was an unrestricted free agent, was brought back into the fold when he signed a one-year deal worth $500,000. The deal was struck before the news of Hjalmarsson’s offer sheet from the Sharks, so I’m a little surprised the Blackhawks re-signed the 37-year old defenseman. He won’t make his way off the IceHogs roster next season. Cullimore played 59 games with Rockford last year, and scored two goals with six assists.

Changes have been reflected on our In the Organization page above.

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