Posts Tagged ‘San Jose Sharks’

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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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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Sweep – Western Conference Finals series review

May 25th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Blackhawks celebrate Cup Finals birth (Getty Images/Jonathan Daniel)

I won’t go as far to say that being swept by the Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals was a choke-job, but the only Shark that showed up in the series was Patrick Marleau. In the four games that the conference finals last, Marleau scored five of San Jose’s seven goal goals and tallied an assist. Outside of defenseman Jordan Hendry, the Blackhawks won the series because it was a complete team effort.

The Blackhawks organization will go to their first Stanley Cup Finals since the 1991-92 season. Stay tuned for the finals preview in the next few days, but for now enjoy reliving the awesomeness that was the (1) Sharks vs. (2) Blackhawks series.

Game #1 – Blackhawks 2, Sharks 1 Defenseman Jason Demers gave the Sharks the early lead when his shot deflected off Duncan Keith’s body into the goal. Antti Niemi stayed cool, and didn’t let the unlucky goal faze him the rest of the afternoon. He didn’t allow another goal, saving forty-four shots allowing his team to steal this first game of the series. Dustin Byfuglien scored the game-winning goal.

Game #2 – Blackhawks 4, Sharks 2 The Blackhawks took both games at the Shark Tank to start the series, and have been great on the road this post-season. They are 7-1 away from the United Center. San Jose was never really in this game as the Blackhawks cruised to victory, and returned home with a 2-0 lead in the series.

Game #3 – Blackhawks 3, Sharks 2 (OT) This one nearly ended in regulation, but the Sharks were able to extend the game into overtime when Marleau netted his second goal of the evening. Jonathan Toews was the best player on the ice for either team. He had two assists, won 59.3% of his face-offs and set a Blackhawk post-season record for consecutive games with at least a point at twelve games. Dave Bolland was a close second for his breakaway goal in the third period, and feed to Byfuglien from behind the net for the game-winning, overtime goal.

Game #4 – Blackhawks 4, Sharks 2 It looked bleak for the Blackhawks when the Sharks extended their lead to 2-0 in the second period. Duncan Keith just had seven teeth knocked out, and Andrew Ladd was already in the locker room with an apparent injury. Like they proved in many games this season, the Blackhawks can’t be kept down. The Blackhawks scored an ugly goal that was eventually credited to Brent Seabrook, then Bolland beat Nabokov to even up the score, Byfuglien tallied his third game-winning goal of the series and Kris Versteeg clinched the trip to the Stanly Cup Finals with an empty-netter.

The Blackhawks swept the series 4-0.

Next up, the Blackhawks will face the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at 7pm to begin the Stanley Cup Finals. Here is the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals schedule.

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(1) Sharks vs. (2) Blackhawks conference finals preview

May 15th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

This is the conference final showdown everyone wanted – (1) Sharks vs. (2) Blackhawks. Let’s get right into it.

Offense – Dany Heatley has been the difference for the Sharks this year. He has the killer instinct that Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau lack. San Jose is just as deep offensively as the Blackhawks, and has had a great post-season from Joe Pavelski. He has fifteen points in eleven games. Advantage: San Jose

Defense – The Blackhawks defensive corps has been affective at clearing Niemi’s rebounds, limiting the number of second chance scoring opportunities for opponents. I don’t see Coach Q changing that defensive scheme for San Jose. Advantage: Blackhawks

Goaltending – For the Blackhawks, Antti Niemi has been what they needed in net. He might not stand on his head every night, but comes up with big saves at even strength and on the penalty kill. Still, Evgeni Nabokov is a ten-year veteran with 293 regular season wins under his belt. Advantage: Sharks

Special Teams – By now you should know about the Blackhawks penalty-kill unit. They are 88.7% on the kill and have scored three shorthanded goals this post-season. Advantage: Blackhawks

Coaching – Sharks coach Todd McLellan is doing something right with a team that usually folds in the post-season. He is in his second season at the helm in San Jose, and his previous playoff experience last year didn’t go so well. Coach Q has 116 post-season games on his resume, and he made the right moves this year to keep a talented Blackhawks team from self-destruction. Advantage: Blackhawks

Prediction – Picking the Blackhawks to win the two previous post-season series has worked well thus far, so why change a good thing? Blackhawks win in six games.

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Brouwer Pouwer: Blackhawks 4, Sharks 3 (OT)

January 29th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

I think my unhealthy infatuation with my boy Troy Brouwer is starting to scare my girlfriend. If you read this blog occasionally you’d be scared too. All kidding aside, the former seventh-round draft pick has been a great fit on the first line. Brouwer is a smart, hard-working, Kokanee-drinking power forward that thrives in front of the net and against the boards. Last night in San Jose, my affection for Brouwer grew stronger when he scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

The way he scored the goal to clinch the 4-3 victory over the Sharks is just another example of the confidence and improved overall play from Brouwer. He went for the slap shot, saw that it wasn’t a good scoring opportunity and skated around the defense to beat Evgeni Nabokov from the slot. No longer can he be criticized for his stone hands or lack of skating ability. Yea, his point total is a result of playing with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but he has earned every goal and assist.

Anyway, back to last night’s game. The Blackhawks came out strong in the first period scoring three straight goals in the first ten minutes of the game, and that was all the scoring the ‘Hawks could muster in regulation. The Sharks took over the game shortly after when Joe Pavelski scored the first of his two goals just shy of the twelve-minute mark. The next two periods belonged to the Sharks as they controlled the puck and pressured the Blackhawks in their zone the rest of the night.

With San Jose pressing in the final two periods Cristobal Huet and the defense limited the potent Sharks to only two more goals. They were contesting the Sharks every opportunity they had and put their bodies in the line of fire. Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Sopel all took a fair share of abuse from the vulcanized rubber puck.

Huet was solid and came up with some great saves last night. I’m never one to come up with excuses for the francophone, but Sharks second and third shots were a result of too much traffic in front of the net. Huet didn’t have much a chance to stop either shot. Because of his performance, the Blackhawks were able to take this one to overtime, and come away with two points with the win.

This game lived up to the hype. The two best teams in the West put on a show for those who stayed up late to watch the whole game. Next up, the Blackhawks will travel to the East Coast for Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes. It’s the last game on the eight-game road trip. Cam Ward has been hot since he came of the injury reserve, so this won’t be the cakewalk some believe it to be.

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The Penalty Kill

January 28th, 2010 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Everybody should know by now that the Blackhawks have one of the best penalty-killing units in the league. They currently rank fourth (85.6%), and have held the top spot at one point. Tonight’s opponent, the San Jose Sharks, has the best penalty kill in the league with percentage of 87.9. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to realize that there is a correlation between either team’s ability to keep opponents from scoring with the man-advantage and winning games.

In the case of the Blackhawks, as many dumb penalties it seems the team takes they have had the third fewest shorthanded instances (174) in the league. Combine that with their penalty-kill percentage and they have only allowed twenty-five power-play goals this season – third fewest in the league.

There is no questioning the value of a goalie to the penalty kill, but it has to be one of the most overused hockey clichés. If a team has piss poor defense, the goalie has no shot of seeing any amount of success on the kill. If the Blackhawks weren’t able to control the puck like they do at even strength or while shorthanded the level of success on the penalty kill would be significantly less. Not only does that keep the other team from setting up shop in the Blackhawks’ zone on the kill, they have scored eight shorthanded goals this season – leading the league, and one ahead of the Sharks.

Coach Quenneville’s use of capable two-way forwards such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, and Marian Hossa on the kill has attributed to the offense along with solid defense while shorthanded. Of the eight shorthanded goals, three were scored in the 7-2 victory over the Sharks in San Jose – one each from Hossa, Sharp and Troy Brouwer. The seasonal breakdown is Hossa leading with three, Kris Versteeg with two and Brouwer, Sharp and Duncan Keith with one.

An interesting stat – Cristobal Huet has been in net for every one of the Blackhawks’ shorties.

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Lineup Notes vs. Sharks

December 22nd, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

The last time the Blackhawks played the San Jose Sharks they beat them big in their own arena 7-2. It was also Marian Hossa’s debut with the ‘Hawks – he started his season off by scoring two goals in the game. There is nothing the Sharks would like to then return the favor by beating the Blackhawks in the United Center. Going into tonight’s match-up, the two teams are tied with forty-nine points atop the Western Conference.

Tonight’s lineup notes – Cristobal Huet will start tonight in net. He is coming off his second consecutive shutout, and will have his work cut out for him as he tries to make it three.

Cam Barker is out again with a lower-body injury, and Jordan Hendry will fill in for him on the defensive pairing. Hendry has seen his playing time increase filling in on defense and on the fourth line as a winger. He’s played well in both roles, and has become a useful player to Coach Quenneville.

Bryan Bickell has been recalled from Rockford, so that means Ben Eager will be out of the lineup for the third consecutive game. Eager is probably suffering from concussion-like symptoms again.

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

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Marian Hossa’s Debut Tomorrow In San Jose

November 24th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Marian Hossa

Marian Hossa

It’s official. Marian Hossa will play tomorrow night in his debut for the Chicago Blackhawks in San Jose. At today’s practice Coach Quenneville played Patrick Kane as a left-winger on a line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the right. Kane shoots left, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem moving him to the other side of Toews. The only adjective I can think of using to describe a line consisting of those three is glorious.

Chris Kuc noted that Hossa also practiced on the No. 1 power-play unit. The line combinations used in today’s practice were 1) Kane, Toews, Hossa 2) Byfuglien, Versteeg, Sharp 3) Ladd, Madden, Brouwer 4) Eager, Fraser, Kopecky. I would think that Quenneville would keep those combinations to start tomorrow night’s game against the Sharks.

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Big Win – Blackhawks 4, Sharks 3 (OT)

November 16th, 2009 by Leigh Michael Dengis

Last night the Blackhawks didn’t play their best game, but still won the game in overtime, with a score of 4-3, against the best team in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks were sloppy, though. Too many turnovers in the neutral- and defensive-zone, and the Sharks were able to disrupt the ‘Hawks in the offensive zone way too easily. Frustrating at times, but the Blackhawks came out on top in this match-up.

Aside from the first two minutes of the second period, Cristobal Huet was great in net. He came up with important saves at even strength and on the penalty kill. Brent Sopel was and has been good (man, that was hard to write). Niklas Hjalmarsson was solid and bailed out Brian Campbell a few times through the night. Jonathan Toews was productive with two assists – one came on a great pass to Brent Seabrook for the game winner – and the recently recalled Bryan Bickell was good as well.

The Blackhawks used Jordan Hendry on the wing once again while Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ebbett were scratched from the lineup. Is Hendry really a better option than Ebbett? He only logged 5:15 of ice time. What is the point of even suiting him up? If Stan Bowman would just place Dave Bolland on the LTIR (long-term injured reserve) the practice of utilizing a defenseman as a winger would end, and the ‘Hawks would be able to role out four complete lines.

Coach Quenneville appears to like the line of Andrew Ladd, Madden and Troy Brouwer just as much as I do. He had to make due with what was provided to him, but he kept the three together. They are an effective checking line that can also be productive in the offensive zone – each tallied a point on the scorecard last night.

The Blackhawks have three days off before they head to Calgary to start the six-game circus road trip. On the trip they will play the three Western Canadian teams, and the three Californian teams.

In closing, to the meathead sitting in front of me last night chanting DETOIT SUCKS! every chance you get, STOP! You’re an idiot.

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