How much did we miss Adam Burish?
An assist AND a fight on his first shift.
Well that didn’t take long.
Fans barely knew he had stepped on the ice before his presence was felt in the box score. Adam Burish, playing in his first regular season game after tearing an ACL in the preseason, came flying off the bench for his first shift in over five months. He skated straight to the back of the net, got his stick on the puck, and pushed a gorgeous wrap-around pass to Patrick Sharp in front of the net for the first goal of the game.
Only 2:34 had come off the clock when the goal was scored, and Burish hadn’t yet been on the ice for ten seconds this season.
At 2:54, Burish brought the other part of his game that fans had missed. Just 20 seconds after notching his first assist of the season, Burish drew his first penalty of the season. And, of course, it was a five minute major for fighting Richard Clune.
When the term “energy player” or “impact player” is used, fans need look no further than Burish for a definition. After throwing, and receiving, a few punches, Burish skated away from Clune with a smile on his face, pumping his fists with obvious excitement. This was the player Hawks fans had fallen in love with over the past couple years, and his emotion on the ice set the tone early.
The Hawks skated through a physical first period that ended with a 1-0 lead favoring Chicago. However, as has become all too familiar for Hawks fans recently, the second period was a different story.
Just under five minutes into the second, Dustin Brown beat Antti Niemi to tie the game. Only 61 seconds after the Brown goal, Jonathan Toews was called for a goalie interference penalty that can be best described as garbage. Toews was not only pushed into Kings’ netminder Jonathan Quick, but Quick extended his right leg to ease himself into Toews. Everyone on the ice, and in the stands at the United Center, thought the penalty was going to be on Los Angeles. It was not. And, as has been the trend for the Hawks in recent second periods, their opponent made them pay. Anze Kopitar scored at the mid point of the power play to give LA the 2-1 lead.
This would become a crucial point in the game, and perhaps the Blackhawks’ season. The recent stretch of poor second periods, punctuated by Sunday’s debacle against Detroit, has seen the flood gates open wide when the Hawks started struggling. When the Hawks lost the momentum, it snowballed in favor of the opponents until the game was either out of reach or the period ended.
Wednesday night saw a different result from the Hawks.
A strong shift from John Madden, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd paid off with Versteeg finding the back of the net to tie the game only 95 seconds after the Kings took the lead. After Versteeg tied the game, the Hawks’ defense settled down and the flow of the action was significantly more controlled through the end of the second. Despite an early flurry and Niemi allowing two tough goals, he rebounded well.
The third period saw 17 minutes of solid checking and back-and-forth action from both teams. Both Niemi and Quick fought off tough shots in traffic to keep their respective teams in the game. After a hard hit into the boards, Dustin Brown decided he wanted to dance with Troy Brouwer. Just as Burish had done early in the first period, Brouwer landed a couple solid blows to win the fight. The hope was that the Hawks’ offense would respond.
Wayne Simmonds helped the Hawks out by taking his second dumb penalty of the game with only 1:23 remaining on a potential breakaway, but the first 83 seconds of the power play expired with the regulation game clock with the score still tied at 2-2. In regulation, Niemi stopped 27 of 29 shots while Quick had a busier night, keeping 38 of 40 regulation shots out of the net. Considering the Kings only allowed 11 shots on net in their previous game, the offensive play from the Hawks was solid; the effort from Quick was exceptional.
In the overtime, on a terrible Los Angeles turnover, Sharp got a one-on-one chance with Quick in open ice and was victorious. His second goal of the game clinched a 3-2 win for the Hawks in a game that should carry a lot of significance for the Hawks.
First, the Hawks had their regular lapse in effort in the second period, but didn’t let the game get away from them.
Secondly, they FINALLY had a netminder battle with another quality goaltender in a playoff matchup and play well. Quick was great for Los Angeles, but Niemi’s effort must be noted. He was strong for all 60 minutes against a very good Kings team, and Hawks fans should hope this propels him into a stretch of solid play that extends into the postseason.
Third, the Hawks saw contributions from all over the ice. Patrick Kane had the second assist on Sharp’s first period goal, extending his point streak to nine game. But Troy Brouwer was credited with six hits, Duncan Keith blocked three shots, Brent Sopel returned to the lineup and skated effectively and the Versteeg-Madden-Ladd line again made an impact. Niklas Hjalmarsson was also a physical force on the ice.
The Hawks are now off until a Saturday matinee in Philadelphia against the Flyers. That game, which will be broadcast on WGN in Chicago, begins at noon Central.
Um, Cristo... that little black thing that's behind you? Yeah, about that...
Andrew Ladd had the first hat trick of the season for the Blackhawks, scoring three of the Hawks’ four goals. Unfortunately, four goals wasn’t enough on Sunday, as the Hawks lost to Detroit 5-4.
Cristobal Huet ripped the heart of the team out by folding liks a sheet of notebook paper in the second period, allowing four goals on just eight shots in the period.
Despite all of the positive thinking and forced attempts to paint the Blackhawks goaltending situation as survivable, until one of the two settles down and grabs the job for himself, the Blackhawks achilles’ heel could keep them from achieving their One Goal this year. After Sunday’s debacle, coach Joel Quenneville indicated that he won’t comment on the starting goaltender situation until after practice, which means the Hawks still have a question mark on their most important position.
Will one of these guys step up? Please?
It only took 37 seconds for the gloves to drop, and the penalties kept coming all night but the Blackhawks handled their business with a stunning 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night.
The Blackhawks ran a clearly frustrated Roberto Luongo after only one period by scoring five goals in the first 20 minutes and Vancouver was never able to get into the game. With their win, the Hawks stay tied for the Western Conference lead with the San Jose Sharks and move within three points of the Washington Capitals for the top spot in the NHL.
Despite being shut down for a full two-minute, two-man advantage after two fights broke out less than a minute into the game, it didn’t take long for the Hawks to get on the board. Andrew Ladd, who was involved in the first altercation of the evening with crybaby Ryan Kesler, scored his 12th goal of the year just 3:48 into the game to give the Blackhawks the lead. Seven minutes, six penalties and two fights later, Duncan Keith scored his 12th goal of the season on a power play to extend the lead. The flood gates were now open, and Luongo’s leash was shrinking.
Troy Brouwer scored his 19th goal of the year only 31 seconds after Keith’s, and the route was on. Kesler made a pretty play, shooting the puck between Keith and Cristobal Huet’s legs to get Vancouver on the board, but Kris Versteeg got off the schnide with his first goal (and only his third point) in his last 16 games. When Jordan Hendry added his first of the season with only 43 seconds left in the period, Luongo looked like he needed a shower. The Blackhawks five goals came on only 14 shots.
Andrew Raycroft replaced Luongo after the first period and would allow two goals on only ten shots in the final two periods. Alex Burrows tried to help Raycroft out by scoring the first goal of the second period and drawing the Canucks to within 5-2, but Marian Hossa made sure the hopes of the visitors were short-lived when he put in his 19th at 16:55.
Tanner Glass had an impressive night for Vancouver, being whistled for five penalties, all for separate offenses. His nine penalty minutes led the way in the game, as Ben Eager and Vancouver’s Andrew Alberts would also serve seven minutes in the box. In total, 18 penalties were called on Friday night. The Blackhawks took advantage of a man-advantage situation on Keith’s goal in the first, but ended the night just 1-7 on the power play; Vancouver was 0-4 on the night.
Hossa, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews all continued their hot scoring streak after the Olympics on Friday night. Kane had one assist, Toews two assists and Hossa one assist and one goal to lead a balanced offense for the Blackhawks. Jordan Hendry, the game’s Number One Star, had one goal and one assist. Also being credited with assists on Friday night were Dustin Byfuglien, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Kim Johnsson and Patrick Sharp.
Huet’s raw numbers weren’t spectacular (three goals allowed on only 23 shots) but he made a number of spectacular saves early on and, for the most part, controlled the puck in traffic when needed. Once the lead was established in the first period, the action spread out and Huet only faced 12 shots in the final two frames.
Over the next three weeks, the Blackhawks will learn a lot about how they stack up against the rest of hockey’s elite teams.
Between now and March 25, the Hawks will play nine games against playoff teams, most of whom made significant moves at the trade deadline to improve their club. When the Hawks play a home-and-home against Columbus, they should have a good idea of what they’ll need to do to win the Stanley Cup.
Starting Friday, when the Vancouver Canucks come to the United Center (after hammering the Red Wings 6-3 on Wednesday), the Hawks will face one of the toughest stretches of games on their calendar. Four of the first five games are at home, against Vancouver, Detroit (now at 11:30 AM in Chicago, thanks NBC), Los Angeles, then at Philadelphia before hosting Washington on the 14th. In that stretch, the Hawks will do battle with teams currently in third, fourth and eighth in the Western Conference and first and sixth in the East.
If the last two games against the Islanders and Oilers seemed rough at times, wait until this stretch. The little mistakes in the corners will turn into goals, and the probability that the Hawks can hold one of these teams to three shots in a third period like they did on Wednesday is zero.
March 14: Ovechkin in Chicago
While the Hawks have faced the Canucks, Red Wings and Kings already this year, the game against the Washington Capitals on the 14th will be the only time during the regular season that they will face the team with the best record in the NHL.
Despite their potent offense and 92 points, the Caps were very busy at the deadline. Washington added defensemen Joe Corvo and Milan Jurcina, and forwards Eric Belanger and Scott Walker in four deals that give them more depth all over their roster. This game will be a nationally-televised gauge for how the Blackhawks match up against the Eastern Conference’s best.
After the first five games, the Hawks hit the road for an intriguing three game trip filled with familiar faces in new places.
The trip starts in Anaheim, where the Ducks added defensemen Aaron Ward and Lubomir Visnovsky at the expense of Ryan Whitney. The Ducks are presently sitting in 11th in the West, but are just three points behind Detroit for the final playoff spot. Adding the trade of Jean-Sebastian Giguere to Toronto for Jason Blake and Tesa Voskala (who was subsequently traded to Calgary for Curtis McElhinney), the Ducks made a number of impact moves to make a run for the postseason.
The Hawks play the following night at the Kings, who made a few strong moves of their own. Gone is Teddy Purcell, but the Kings added Jeff Halpern and Fredrik Modin. LA is the hottest team in hockey right now, running off an 8-1-1 record in their last ten games.
After a Friday night off, the Hawks spend the night of Sat. March 20 visiting the busiest team at the trade deadline, the Phoenix Coyotes. Peter Mueller is gone, but the Coyotes added Derek Morris, Wojtek Wolski and Lee Stempniak to a team that’s been playing very well of late. The Coyotes are just one point behind LA for the fourth seed in the West, and the added scoring of Wolski and Stempniak should only improve their 25th-ranked offense.
The Hawks will then come home and play the Coyotes again on Tues. March 23, concluding the nine-game gauntlet.
Following the home-and-home against Columbus, the Hawks will play each of their final eight games of the regular season against teams that are either currently in the playoffs or within four points of the eighth spot. Perhaps the best playoff barometer will come on Friday, April 2 when the Blackhawks play in New Jersey against the Atlantic Division-leading Devils.
In all, the Hawks’ final 19 games will prove to be a hard testing ground against teams battling for playoff position. Any questions the Hawks have in net will either be answered or magnified, and any scoring droughts will cost them games. When the regular season ends, Hawks fans should have a very good idea of how far this team can go in the playoffs.
Will the Hawks play for this?
Most Chicago fans felt that the Blackhawks would make at least one major move, if not more, before Wednesday’s trade deadline. After all, there are a few areas (goaltending, goaltending and… goaltending) that most fans and analysts thought could use improving if the Hawks are going to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
But then the deadline came and passed… and the Blackhawks did nothing.
The knee jerk reaction to the lack of action from the United Center is a lot of four-letter words and sweaty palms. How are the Blackhawks supposed to win the Stanley Cup with the guys they have? What are we going to do? Help!
Pause.
Deep breath.
OK. Let’s take a step back and look at the Blackhawks from a sane, big-picture perspective. It’s going to be alright.
First of all, let’s be realistic about playoff position. The Blackhawks are going to win the Central Division; they have a 14-point lead on second-place Nashville. Despite a few moves by the Predators, it’s unrealistic to think that the Preds will catch the Hawks with 20 games left in the season. By winning the division, the Hawks are assured of one of the top three seeds in the Western Conference in the playoffs.
Secondly, at the top of the Western Conference there are as many issues with the other teams as there are with the Blackhawks. The Sharks are only two points in front of the Hawks for the top seed, and have questions surrounding their own situation between the pipes. While Hawks fans might have reasons to question Antti Niemi’s lack of experience and Cristobal Huet’s questionable, albeit limited, results in the postseason, the Sharks have a netminder in Evgeni Nabokov that not only has a resume filled with recent playoff failure, but he just crapped his pants in the Olympics for Russia.
There’s no reason to think that the Hawks can’t catch the Sharks for the top spot, and should have at least even confidence with the Sharks, if not better, in the goalie situation in Chicago. With Vancouver nine points behind the Hawks in in third, and with a tough division chasing them, to assume that the Blackhawks will end the year in one of the top two seeds in the West isn’t far fetched.
So the Central Division and seeding in the playoffs shouldn’t be a concern.
The Blackhawks, despite their offensive droughts and struggles in net, still rank near the top of the NHL in most statistical categories. This team is not bad. It’s easy to scream about soft goals and a bad night when the team’s playing for a championship; remember, two years ago the Blackhawks were trying to remember how to spell the word “playoffs.”
Also consider the reality of what’s left this season.
Because of the Olympics, every team in the NHL will have to slam 20 games into the next five weeks. Simple math indicates that teams will average four games per week, with travel, before the playoffs begin. Whenever a trade, no matter the profile of the player, takes place, there is always an adjustment period that will take place. Before the Olympic break, the Hawks added Kim Johnsson from Minnesota and are still working through who will play how many minutes on the blue line.
Practice is where players get to know each other, and where coaches are best able to gauge how players work with each other. It’s hard, in any sport, to establish flow to a game plan when you’re mixing up players that don’t know each other. But with teams having only two, sometimes three days off per week to not only travel but also practice, working new players into the rotation is going to be hard to during the rest of this year’s regular season.
Another factor the Blackhawks had to consider at the deadline is that Dave Bolland has only played a couple games after returning from injury, and Adam Burish is coming back on Sunday. Adding two smart players to the mix, along with Johnsson, gives coach Joel Quenneville too many pieces to have in uniform every night already. The Blackhawks will have enough trouble picking someone to watch from the suite every night.
Let’s not ignore the reality that every team that will compete for the Stanley Cup this spring had players in the Olympics. This presents a few situations for teams to deal with when considering a trade.
First, the immediate impact of a trade on contending teams is players missing from the ice. On Wednesday night, the Blackhawks host the Edmonton Oilers, who will be without Denis Grebeshkov and Lubomir Visnovsky on their blue line; both players were dealt before the deadline. The Oilers received only a draft pick for Grebeshkov, and won’t have Ryan Whitney (acquired for Visnovsky) in uniform yet for the game. So the Blackhawks will face a depleted defensive unit a night after getting their tails whipped in New York.
The Oilers are just one of many teams that will be without players in key positions tonight. If points are at a premium at this time of year, can a team trying to gain the best position possible in April afford a night with two or three AHL guys playing a major role on the ice? No.
Second, the medium-term impact is trying to work new players into the rotation and still get Olympians the rest they’ll need to be fresh in the postseason. Look at Anaheim, for example. Ryan Getzlaf and Cory Perry played seven games in Vancouver for Canada, and now they’re not only losing Whitney but they’re looking at a roster that is adding Aaron Ward and Visnovsky on the blue line.
The on-ice chemistry will either remain a work-in-progress that will have to be figured out during games (again, potentially costing the team valuable points), or will be achieved through practices on the limited off days the team has in the coming weeks.
The long-term impact on a roster is dead legs. Both Ward and Visnovsky should be key contributors for the Ducks down the stretch, but at what expense to the odometer of their Olympians’ legs? With limited time for rest between now and the end of the season, finding time to be off the ice will be crucial for teams hoping to make a deep run.
Look around the Western Conference. Phoenix improved the most, moving underwhelming Peter Mueller out and adding Wojtek Wolski and Lee Stempniak up front and Matthieu Schneider and Derek Morris on the blue line. The Los Angeles Kings also made a couple solid moves, adding Jeff Halpern and Fredrik Modin. But outside of Phoenix, LA and Anaheim, nobody in the West did much to make a dramatic improvement.
In the East, the Washington Capitals certainly made some strong moves, as did the Pittsburgh Penguins. But only one of those teams can play the Blackhawks for the Stanley Cup, and anything can happen in a seven game series.
If the Blackhawks were good enough to be at the top of the conference with what they had, if they stay together and avoid the potential headaches that other teams will have to deal with moving forward, they’ll have a great chance to run deep into the playoffs and possibly compete for a Stanley Cup.
During the Olympic break, there will be a number of opportunities to meet current and former Chicago Blackhawks. Below is a list of events where autograph seekers could meet the Hawks.
At the Chevy Dealers/Blackhawks Fun Zone @ the Auto Show: Bobby Hull – Wednesday, Feb. 17, 5-7 pm Brent Sopel – Saturday, Feb. 20, 12-2 pm Troy Brouwer – Sunday, Feb. 21, 12-2 pm
At Hawk Ford – 6100 W. 95th Street in Oak Lawn: Bobby Hull – Saturday, Feb. 20, 1-3 pm
“Blackhawks Night” @ the Rockford IceHogs - Rockford MetroCentre, 300 Elm Street in Rockford: Kris Versteeg, Troy Brouwer, Colin Fraser, Antti Niemi, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Assistant Coach Mike Haviland and Tommy Hawk - Saturday, Feb. 27 6-6:55 pm
Finally, Andrew Ladd is taking part in the Super Plunge to benefit the Illinois Special Olympics on Saturday, Feb. 27 on Northwestern’s campus in Evanston. If you’re interested in supporting Ladd’s efforts and helping the Special Olympics, you can donte on Ladd’s page here . CommittedIndians‘ founder Tab Bamford, who is an assistant coach on the Riverside-Brookfield High School Special Olympics team, will be jumping with other RBHS representatives that afternoon in the Polar Plunge. Click here to support the RBHS team in the Polar Plunge.
As the Olympics begin, it gives us two weeks to look back at the first 61 games of the season. The standings in the Central Division are updated through the beginning of the break already.
Below are the full team stats for the Blackhawks to date.
Legend: PIM = Penalty Minutes, ATOI = Avg Time on Ice, PPG/A = Power Play Goals/Assists, SHG/S = Shorthanded Goals/Assists, GWG = Game Winning Goals, FO% = Faceoff Win Pct, BS = Blocked Shots.
Legend: SO = Shutouts, TSA = Total Shots Against
Patrick Kane led the Hawks with two goals on Tuesday night.
Even with a fantastic game happening on the ice, the action off the ice might end up being the headlines after tonight’s Blackhawks win over the Stars.
Antti Niemi allowed three goals on 27 shots, Patrick Kane scored two first period goals and Kris Versteeg closed the deal in the shootout as the Hawks finally beat Dallas for the first time in three games this year. With the 4-3 victory, Niemi has now won starts in consecutive games for the first time this year.
Brent Sopel earned huge hero points in the overtime when he skated an entire two minutes penalty, blocked a handful of shots and, just after the penalty expired and without his stick, swatting the puck around the board with his hand to clear the action out from behind the net. After a couple questionable passes early in the game, Sopelshowed up huge in the overtime and should get a good deal of the credit for the Hawks’ second point on Tuesday night. For the game, Sopel played an incredible 4:45 shorthanded.
For the Stars, Marty Turco did all he could to earn a win. He faced 40 shots, 38 of which were in regulation, and allowed just the two goals to Kane and one to Troy Brouwer in the third period. He continued his excellence in the shootout, but takes the loss after Versteeg beat him.
Both teams might have some drama on their rosters between the final horn and tomorrow morning, though.
First, for the Stars, a trade was consummated during the first period that brings young goaltender Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta in exchange for defenseman prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth round draft pick. Vishnevskiy, 21,was one of Dallas’ top prospects after the Stars selected the in the first round of the 2006 draft. The addition of Lehtonen, who has spent time with the Chicago Wolves, means Dallas has three goalies on their roster.
Turco has been a hot name in rumors for months, and this could only build the speculation that his days in Dallas are numbered or even over. Indeed, rumors began to fly even during Tuesday night’s game that the Stars and Flyers were talking about a deal that would send Turco to Philadelphia in the wake of Ray Emery getting hurt. The Stars play in Calgary on Thursday night, so it will be interesting to see how many plane tickets the Stars have when they arrive at O’Hare this evening.
For the Blackhawks, a small observation from the television crew might lead to some intrigue tonight. John Madden and Colin Fraser both left the bench early (Madden in the second period, Fraser in the third) and were not heard from again. For the game, Madden played just 9:12 and Fraser saw only 6:50 on the ice. Versteeg stepped in as a third center as the Hawks played with abbreviated lines throughout the third period. What made the move even more frustrating was that Madden had won 10 of 12 faceoffs before leaving. Versteeg, however, won four of five faceoffs in his time in the circle and looked good between Marian Hossa and Brouwer.
According to coach Joel Quenneville after the game, Madden sustained a lower body injury and is doubtful for the two games this weekend. Fraser appeared to take a puck to the face and did not return. Whether or not these injuries lead to a roster move is questionable; it’s more likely that it could keep Stan Bowman from pulling the trigger before the Olympics. We’ll see if Jordan Hendry skates as a forward over the weekend or if a player is brought up from Rockford, perhaps Jacob Dowell or Jack Skille.
The Blackhawks failed to score on the power play again on Tuesday, going 0-3 with the advantage. The Hawks now haven’t scored with an advantage in six games and have only scored once in 25 opportunities over their last eight games.
It looks like the only person experimenting with lines more than Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville these days is Charlie Sheen…
Reports are that, for Tuesday night’s game against the Stars, Quenneville will again keep Ben Eager on the bench. Because of how effective it was reuniting Patrick Sharp with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, that will remain the top line. Andrew Ladd will move back up onto the second line, playing with Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa. One of the surprises is the third line, where Kris Versteeg appears set to spend some time at center between Troy Brouwer and Dustin Byfuglien. Tomas Kopecky, who was thrilled after skating with Hossa on Saturday and played well in the change, moves back to the fourth line, where he’ll again skate with Colin Fraser (at wing) and John Madden.
The third line of Byfuglien-Versteeg-Brouwer looks especially intriguing, with two big, hitting forward on either side of Versteeg, a smooth criminal who moves the puck exceptionally well in space. Versteeg has been a central figure in many trade rumors lately, so moving him back to center has a bit of intrigue to it because of that potential as well.
The changes would figure to impact Brouwer’s production the most. He was scoring at a pace he’s never displayed at the NHL level while skating with Toews and Kane, and provided a physical force on the line that created space for Kane and Toews to create. However, the creativity on the line with Sharp, Kane and Toews was good last year for most of the season, and it contributed both of the Hawks’ goals in Saturday’s victory.
Antti Niemi will start in net on Tuesday.
For a lot of Blackhawks fans, Jack Skille is a four-letter word. He’s a guy who’s been the next-best-thing for long enough that many feel his time has past, and yet his time might still be coming. Why do we seem to hate Skille so much, and what should the Hawks do with him? Let’s get to know Skille a little better.
First, the case for why Blackhawks fans don’t like Skille.
The Blackhawks draft Skille with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 draft, a class that was headlined by the top pick, Sidney Crosby. There was a lot of good talent off the board by the time the Hawks got to pick (Crosby, Bobby Ryan, Jack Johnson, Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price and Gilbert Brule were the top six), but the problem the Hawks have is the classic Chicago “What If” game with names that followed Skille’s selection at seven.
And that’s just the names from the first round. Mac-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Abdelkader, Paul Stastny, Guillaume Latendresse and Mason Raymond all went in the second round. Kris Letang, Kris Russell, Evan Brophey, Jonathan Quick, Jared Boll, Keith Yandle, Darren Helm, Matt D’Agostini, Sergei Kostitsyn and Patric Hornqvist were all selected after the second round in that class. Heck, the Blackhawks drafted my favorite young player on the current roster, Niklas Hjalmarsson, in the fourth round that year.
Because so many quality players were picked after Skille in 2005, the fact that we’ve only seen limited action with moderate productivity from Skille, the knee-jerk reaction to his “career” has been that he’s a bust. And there’s still a good chance that Skille is exactly that.
But let’s pause for a moment and consider what the Hawks have in Skille, and why we haven’t seen much from the young winger.
Look at some of the guys that have broken into the NHL roster in the last four years. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg and Dave Bolland have all broken into the lineup as puck-moving, scoring, skating forwards on the top two lines.
These guys have been complimented by additions through trades or free agency by Marian Hossa, Andrew Ladd and John Madden to fill out a lot of the top three lines. When you add home-grown Dustin Byfuglien’s transition from defense to the front lines, where is the room for Skille to fit with the NHL roster?
He isn’t a center, so somehow he would need to crack the top-six wings on the roster to break in. Skille isn’t going to be a glove-dropping wing, either, so taking the spot of Ben Eager, Adam Burish or Colin Fraser hasn’t happened, either.
Skille’s been solid for a few years in the minors. This year, Skille’s having agruably his best season as a professional in Rockford, too. In 42 games, he has 35 points (16 G, 19 A) and was an AHL All Star. Last year, Skille had 45 points (20 G, 25 A) in just 58 games. He’s been a productive forward in Rockford who just happens to have a concrete ceiling over his head because of the talented roster in Chicago.
Oh, and he’s still only 22 (he’ll turn 23 in May).
And yet because he hasn’t produced instant offense when he’s had the chance in Chicago (eight points, -5 in 30 career NHL games), the jury appears to have pushed him into the “Bust” category for good.
As the 2009-10 season progresses, the options for Skille will likely remain in Rockford. Because of where he was drafted, he has a cap number of over $1 million, which is higher than some of the names that have been in Chicago more often this year. But Bryan Bickell and Jake Dowell haven’t put up nearly the same production in Rockford that Skille has, and likely wouldn’t be expected to at the next level. A lot of the reason that those two were called up earlier this year over Skille was because the Hawks needed more size on the fourth line when Eager was out, too. Skille’s listed at 6′1 and 205 pounds, so while he has decent size (a giant next to Kane and Versteeg), he isn’t big enough and doesn’t play a rough enough game to replace Eager in the lineup.
Most talent evaluators have moved on past Skille as well. Hockey’s Future, one of the top prospect rating sites, ranks Skille as the Blackhawks #6 prospect behind Kyle Beach, Akim Aliu, Dylan Olsen, Shawn LaLonde and Billy Sweatt. However, this evaluation is on long-term potential, not on more immediate production capability. Skille is the most NHL-ready player in the Hawks system.
Let’s jump to the here and now. Despite that concrete ceiling, Skille still has value to the Blackhawks. Because of his production in Rockford and age, and his restricted free agent status after this year, Skille will be a popular trade chip between now and the deadline. He could step into the lineup for a lot of NHL teams on their third line and be a productive player right now.
However, between now and the trade deadline, the Blackhawks’ tinkering and likely look toward bolstering the blue line will likely involve moving salary off next year’s payroll, though. Versteeg, Byfuglien and Patrick Sharp are NHL players that have a track record that makes them attractive to other teams while their price tage (all over $3 million) mean their likely to be moved to create the necessary cap flexibility for next year.
This is where Skille fits in.
As the Hawks look to make next year’s team affordable under the cap, Skille could become a player Chicago fans get to watch more. There’s a very good chance that next year, the then-23-year old Skille could be a contributing member of the Hawks’ third line, and could be around for a few years to come. Given his success in Rockford, and the Hawks need to move salary, it certainly isn’t time to write off Skille as an NHL player.
