Posts Tagged ‘Martin Havlat’

Blackhawks Are Fine Despite Few Issues

October 27th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 last night. It was Martin Havlat’s regular season return to the United Center and was held silent by his old club. The ‘Hawks were able to put this win over the Wild together due to solid goaltending from Cristobal Huet, a couple key rebounds in front of the net and a highlight goal from Patrick Kane in the third period.

With Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews missing the last two games with their respective head injuries, the Blackhawks have been able to come away with two victories and four points. Last night was just another win over a weaker Western Conference team. The current stretch of the schedule seems to make the Blackhawks’ problems appear to be not so bad.

If the ‘Hawks were playing tougher opponents, however, would the out come of the last two games differ? Would Seabrook and Toews stepped up and played through their concussion-like symptoms? Would Huet have been good enough to come away with just one goal scored on him in 120 minutes? The great thing is that we don’t have to worry about any of that. Despite all the team’s issues, the Blackhawks are first in the Central Division with fifteen points and a record of 7-3-1.

The biggest beneficiary of the Blackhawks current winning streak has to be The Man from France – as Eddie O tends to call him. Huet has seen his goals-against-average drop to a very respectable 2.49 on the year. It’s always nice to see better numbers, but at this point of the season the forward momentum he gets from winning is more important.

The Blackhawks don’t play another game until Thursday in Nashville with another on Friday at home hosting Les Canadiens. Coach Quenneville should start different goalies in back-to-back games. So what game does Huet get? I’m going to stick by my guns and say that he starts in Nashville, and that Antti Niemi will get the nod vs. Montreal.

There is still no timetable as to when Seabrook and Toews (and Ben Eager) will return, or if one is closer than the other. Forcing them to return to the ice before the concussion-like symptoms have regressed could be detrimental to career of each player. Seeing that Seabrook and Toews are the present and future of the franchise, the right decision will be made here.

In other news, the Blackhawks reassigned Jake Dowell to Rockford. Once again, Dowell could return to the NHL team before Thursday’s game if Toews is still recovering from concussion-like symptoms.

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

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Analysis, Transactions | Comments Off

Huet To Start, Dowell Recalled And More

October 26th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

News…

- Yep, Jake Dowell has been recalled by the Blackhawks. This indicates that Jonathan Toews will miss another game with concussion-like symptoms. Nothing has been reported on the matter, or whither Brent Seabrook will miss tonight’s game as well – Jordan Hendry would replace him again if that is the case.

Update: Toews and Seabrook are out.

- Once again starting in net for the Blackhawks will be Cristobal Huet. Everyone is hoping that he can build on the shutout victory over the Predators. The Minnesota Wild are winless on the road (0-7-0) and have tallied only twenty-two goals on the season, so if Huet plays like he did on Saturday, another night ending in cheers will be his reward.

…and Notes

- The Belleville Bulls have been without Blackhawks’ prospect Shawn Lalonde (Red Rising’s #4) for the last five games with a shoulder injury. He could miss between 2-3 more weeks. Lalonde played nine games this season totaling thirteen points (5 goals, 8 assists) and nine penalty minutes.

- Patrick Kane received a call from Martin Havlat regarding EA Sports’ FIFA soccer game.

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

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in News and Notes, Transactions | Comments Off

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.”

Related Posts:

Tags: , ,
Posted in Off The Ice | Comments Off

Free Agency Begins!

July 1st, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Free agency started less than an hour ago. I will update this post throughout the day when a transaction is made concerning the Blackhawks.

11:45AM – Darren Dreger of TSN is ‘tweeting’ that Marian Hossa is close to signing with the Blackhawks… That would be awesome.

12:48PM – TSN is reporting that sources are telling Dreger that Hossa joining the ‘Hawks is a done deal. This is really exciting. Nothing official has been announced yet.

1:05PM – Bob McKenzie is comfirming what Dreger has been reporting thus far. He adds that it is a twelve-year deal (!!!!) worth $5M per year. Very long contract, but it’s freaking Hossa! Martin Havlat who?

1:06PM – Matt Walker signed with Tampa Bay… Four years at $1.7M.

1:15PM – TSN is reporting that the Hossa deal is worth $62M and is front-loaded. As amazing as this signing is, I hope it doesn’t hinder Tallon’s ability to re-sign Toews, Keith and Kane next season. Contracts will have to be moved.

1:23PM – Too much going on right now. TSN is now reporting that Tomas Kopecky, another Red Wing last season, signed with Chicago for two years. This rivlary will be intense next season.

2:24PM – It seems to be quiet right now. I’m going to take this opportunity to head out and run some errands. I’ll post any updates when I return.

4:19PM – I’m back. While I was away, Nikolai Khabibulin signed with the Oilers to a four-year deal worth $15M.

5:56PM – Sammy Pahlsson singed a three-year deal with Columbus worth $7.95M.

6:33PM – I’m done monitoring the intranet. I’ll tack on any later transactions today to the end of this post.

Other movement – John Madden, formerly of the Devils, signed a one-year contract with the Blackhawks where he will earn $2.75M. Martin Havlat has verbal agreement to play for the Wild.

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

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Transactions | Comments Off

Free Angency Starts Tomorrow

June 30th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

It’s the night before free agency and the Blackhawks have been rather quiet. There are reports that Bolland re-signed to a five-year deal, but nothing official has been announced by the organization about the transaction. There are also reports stating that center Jake Dowell and goalie Antti Niemi have been inked, yet nothing official here either.

Tallon is running out of time regarding Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin. Tomorrow any team will be able to contact either UFA. There have been many rumors and ‘tweets’ referring to Marty’s future in Chicago. One second he is gone, the next he is ready to sign an eight-year deal. Khabby, who hasn’t received as much press, seems to be taking to the idea of returning for less cash and for one year.

The Blackhawks have enough cap space to become players in this summer’s free agent market, and if neither UFA is signed, Tallon will have to resort to free agency to fill in some holes on the roster. Since I enjoy beating dead horses, I feel as though I should reiterate that the money must be there at the end of next season to re-sign Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane. That should be the most important thing to come out of the off-season.

Related Posts:

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Hot Stove | Comments Off

The Twitter Effect

June 26th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Martin Havlat and his agent, Allan Walsh, have taken to Twitter to tell their side of the contract negotiation story. A couple days ago (June 24th) from Prague, Havlat wrote on his account:

Everyone should know I am only thinking about signing with Chicago. It’s where I want to be.

That has been Marty’s sentiment since the Blackhawks’ season ended losing in five games to the Red Wings. Even with him claiming that he only wants to sign, there seems to be a stalemate between Havlat’s camp and Dale Tallon. Today, Tim Sassone is reporting that the contract’s length is what a deal on hold. He wrote that Tallon initially offered a one-year deal, but doesn’t know where talks are at now.

Now this is where this gets a little bit more interesting. Allan Walsh wrote just a few hours ago on his Twitter account:

A report surfaced that Blackhawks are offering Marty Havlat a 1 year deal. While I do not think it appropriate to comment, report is false.

Followed by:

Many different concepts are framework for discussions on Havlat deal.

Who knows what to believe, but it is really interesting to see this played out rather publicly and witness Walsh using a social networking site to bypass the media. Over the course of the off-season, Havlat and Walsh have ‘tweeted’ about their dinner plans between each other and with Dale Tallon. I have a hard time believing that Marty is the one actually ‘tweeting’.

Related Posts:

Tags: , ,
Posted in Hot Stove | Comments Off

Havlat Contract Talks 2.0

June 24th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Yesterday, Tim Sassone of Daily Herald fame wrote that Dale Tallon will meet with Martin Havlat’s agent this week in Montreal. This is the first report in over a week regarding Havlat’s contract talks. Add that to the fact that free agency starts next week and it the chances of Marty returning next season are slim.

Havlat has three options:

1. Leave via free agency. He won’t see a ton of cash thrown his way if he decides to test the market. Organizations aren’t going to spend big money with the salary-cap situation on a player like Marty who is not a franchise player and susceptible to injury.

2. Sign a one year deal with the ‘Hawks. This may be the only way he would earn close to the $6M per year he made in his three seasons in Chicago. A one year contract works for Tallon as he would not want to hinder his ability to re-sign Toews, Keith and Kane next summer with big money tied up in Marty.

3. Sign a cap friendly three to four year deal. Whether the contract is front loaded or if he is willing to take a substantial pay cut, this is the option is the only way Havlat can stay in Chicago ‘long-term’.

I would like to see Marty return. It would be hard for Tallon to replace him with any player in the organization. No one really possesses his combination of speed and play-making ability. I just don’t see a guy like Kris Versteeg providing as much offense as Havlat did for the Blackhawks.

Finding a free agent to replace his role on the team may be difficult, as well. In Sassone’s article he mentioned a couple free agents that could fill Havlat’s spot if he walks – Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa and Mike Cammalleri. Gaborik is more prone to injury than Marty, Hossa’s price tag is too high, and Cammalleri is a viable choice but could opt to take more money elsewhere coming off of a career-year.

But if Marty ends up leaving to sign with another team, his absence would not set the organization back as if Tallon couldn’t re-sign Toews, Keith and Kane when their contracts expire next season.

- Bruce Garrioch, of the Toronto Sun, reported yesterday that Chicago is one of Dany Heatley’s desired trade destinations. Heatley will remain a Senator at least until July 1st when a $4M bonus is owed to him by whatever team owns his rights. No team will trade for him until that bonus is paid out – Chicago will not be one of them.

Related Posts:

Tags: , ,
Posted in Hot Stove | Comments Off

Re-sign Marty Already

June 14th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The season is over. The mighty Detroit Red Wings lost in game seven to the Pittsburgh Penguins. First order of business for the Blackhawks should be to re-sign unrestricted free agent (UFA) Martin Havlat. Reports have stated that he would like to return, and that Marty’s camp has been in contact with Dale Tallon already. The fact that there doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency surrounding this tells me that a deal will get done before the free agent frenzy starts on July 1st.

A major concern that would come with re-signing Marty is that his new contract would hinder the front office’s ability to lock-up Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith – each are restricted free agents (RFAs) next year, and are cornerstones to the Chicago Blackhawks’ resurgence. This doesn’t have to be the case.

Havlat is a great talent, and it would be hard to replace him if Tallon let him walk this summer. He is a good two-way forward with the ability to create scoring chances for himself and others on the ice. As valuable as Marty was to the team this season, the $6M he made in his three years in Chicago was too much. His value lies somewhere between the $4M to $5M range, and that won’t break the ‘Hawks bank if a deal at that price can be struck.

With the Khabibulin likely to sign elsewhere, and a cheaper contract for Marty, Tallon will have freed up some cash. He may have to resort to a lot of creativity with the cap, move an RFA this summer, and trading a bloated contract or two to get it done. The point is that re-signing Marty doesn’t have to interfere with Chicago’s future plans.

Related Posts:

Tags:
Posted in Hot Stove | Comments Off