Elliott Friedman of CBC has an intriguing couple bullet points in his latest blog. He says:

“… Strongly believe there was one, possibly two teams who were willing to take Cristobal Huet from Chicago. (Should clarify: I’m more certain about one than the other.) But the Blackhawks decided to stand pat, much to the surprise of other GMs. Unloading Huet’s contract (two years remaining, $5.625 million cap hit) would have cost at least a first-rounder and an established player. (I know you’re going to ask, but I’d be guessing on whom. The source wouldn’t tell me.)…

Why did Chicago decline? Scotty Bowman believes strongly in the Detroit model: If you don’t have a top-three goalie, you protect him with great team defence and puck possession. The Blackhawks – disciplined and talented – have a shot. But, to duplicate the Red Wings’ success, they will have to show two things: their forwards are as committed to back pressure as Detroit’s and their defensive corps is as good. As great as the Blackhawks look, we’re talking Lidstrom/Rafalski/Kronwall/Stuart here. What a tough, tough call to make.”

This will raise red flags all over Chicago. “You mean to tell me the Hawks could have dumped that piece of garbage at the deadline and didn’t?” Let’s hold that emotional response for a moment…

Note that Friedman says the Hawks would have to part ways with “at least a first-rounder and an established player” to make the deal happen. The gamble of GM Stan Bowman is not only dealing with Huet’s contract moving forward, but those two other crucial pieces to the deal.

The reality for Blackhawks fans is that there are players on the NHL roster right now that won’t be in Chicago next year. We’ve discussed it; Kris Versteeg, Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien and others might be wearing a different sweater on Opening Night next year. If the Hawks are going to be in a tight financial situation next year and in the future, the replacement for players like Versteeg, Sharp and Byfuglien are going to need to come from within the organization. But players like these don’t magically show up in August with a gym bag looking for a contract; draft picks, especially high ones, are critical to the Hawks sustaining any success.

The second piece of this gamble is the on-ice cost of dumping Huet. Friedman doesn’t speculate what the Hawks would have received in return for Huet, but what if they weren’t receiving an NHL player in return? If the Hawks’ current playoff outlook is questionable with Huet and Antti Niemi, how much more/less comfortable would you be with Niemi and Corey Crawford as the only netminders ont he roster?

Furthermore, what if the roster player had to be Sharp? Versteeg has struggled with consistency this year, and Byfuglien as hot/cold as anyone on the roster. While Byfuglien’s presence in front of the net was a big part of last year’s success, it’s clear that the player of these three that the Hawks could least afford to be without moving forward is Sharp. Whether it’s his ability to be an effective center or quality play at the point on the power play, Sharp has a big role in the Hawks’ rotation.

Moving Sharp and Huet would have actually hurt the Hawks’ depth.

The other consideration to make is that, if a team was willing to take Huet’s contract now, what are the odds that there will be an available partner to move his contract this summer? As the draft draws near, the Hawks will have to make decisions about current NHL players that will be restricted free agents (Andrew Ladd) and will also have a better grasp of the value of their first round pick. There is still potential for a move to happen that clears the cap space.

This is an interesting piece of information from Friedman, but needs to be digested with a grain of salt.

On Wednesday morning, Scotty Bowman appeared on 590Fanand talked about the trade deadline. He shared a few things about the Blackhawks that were fairly surprising, and contradict the popular rumors of the past few weeks.

First, Bowman indicated that the Blackhawks only have about $500,000 in cap space for the rest of the year. He notes that cap space is an issue for the Hawks.

Secondly, Bowman says the Hawks are possibly looking for a center, and speaks to the number of wings on the market.

Third, when pressed about the Hawks situation in goal, Bowman confidently says the Blackhawks are not looking for a goalie, says the team has their two netminders in place, and goes as far as to say the Hawks’ management is “laughing at” the rumors.

Bowman could be lying to keep options open for the Blackhawks, or he could be shattering many of the rumors that had been flying about the Hawks looking for a new goaltender, a power forward or defensive depth.

Bowman, of course, is the Hall of Fame former coach of, most recently, the Detroit Red Wings who is presently an advisor for the Blackhawks. He is considered by many to be one of, if not thegreatest hockey mind of the last 30 years. His son, Stan, is currently the General Manager of the Blackhawks.

On Monday, the day before the Olympic hockey tournament begins, the so-called “time off” for the Blackhawks is already getting interesting.

ESPN 1000’s “Afternoon Saloon” reported that a source inside the Blackhawks told one of the hosts, Harry Teinowitz, before Saturday night’s game that Antti Niemi would start both weekend games “no matter how he performed on Saturday.” The reason, according to the source, was because the Blackhawks were close to trading Cristobal Huet.

Teinowitz claimed that his source said the Hawks were talking about a deal that involved both Huet and minor league netminder Corey Crawford. He also claimed that the Hawks were shopping for a power forward, and the St. Louis’ Keith Tkachuk was mentioned as an example of the type of player the Hawks were looking for on the market.

First and foremost, the thought of the Blackhawks making any deal that involves both Huet and Crawford seems unlikely on face value. Unless a goalie came back in the deal, moving Huet and Crawford would compromise the organization’s depth too much to make sense. If Huet is not back in Chicago next year, Crawford would figure to somehow be involved in the equation because he would cost very little to retain.

There have been a number netminders rumored to be available. Boston’s Tim Thomas had been linked to the Blackhawks, as has Dallas’ Marty Turco. When Dallas acquired Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta, coincidentally in the middle of the Blackhawks-Stars game, speculation ran wild that Turco’s days in Dallas were over. Nashville’s Pekka Rinne has allegedly been made available, and if Florida continues their fire sale Tomas Vokoun could enter the market as well.

What makes the comments of Teinowitz more intriguing is his claim that the Hawks were looking for a power forward. With a roster that currently includes Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Troy Brouwer and Ben Eager, and with prospects like Jake Dowell, Bryan Bickell and Kyle Beach already in the organization, this rumor also appears to be contrary to logic.

When the Blackhawks dealt Cam Barker to Minnesota for Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy, GM Stan Bowman showed the ability to get considerably better value for his assets than many fans, and analysts, considered possible. Whether or not the jokes about Minnesota collecting former Chicagoans have any weight, the performance of the Hawks over the last two years has likely elevated the value of Blackhawks’ players in the eyes of the rest of the league.

The Blackhawks might not be done dealing, and this latest rumor raises eyebrows. Considering how much money the Hawks still need to cut off next year’s payroll, it’s understandable that the Hawks will continue to be active in the trade market. The smooth transition of Johnsson into the lineup in the last two games before the break certainly helps calm the fears about the team’s chemistry as well.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll certainly hear more rumors. This is the start of two furious weeks of talking between GMs with very few games to keep an eye on, and with all of the talent on display in one arena in Vancouver. If the fans are stir crazy right now, consider how close to loco some GMs will be by March 1.

The Cam Barker Era is OVER!

New Blackhawks' defenseman Kim Johnsson

The Blackhawks traded Barker to Minnesota for defenseman Kim Johnsson and the Wild’s top pick in the 2009 draft, Nick Leddy.

Leddy is the prize in the deal, a solid young defenseman prospect taken 16th overall in 2009, and was described  this way by Hockey’s Future: ”You’d be hard pressed to find a better, more complete defenseman playing in the Minnesota state high school Class A/AA league this season than the Eden Prairie native. Leddy is also one of the early favorites for this year’s Mr. Hockey Award, which recognizes the top high school player from the state of Minnesota.”

Listed at 5′11 and 185 pounds, Leddy joins a deep group of Hawks prospects on the blue line with Dylan Olsen and Shawn LaLonde. He was the third-ranked prospect in the Wild organization. Hockey’s Future also says

The Hawks finally unloading Barker, who has disappointed throughout this year, allows the team to slide a veteran, minutes-eating blue liner into his slot on the third defensive group for the rest of this season. Barker had 14 points (4 G, 10 A) and was +7 for the Hawks this year, averaging just 13:06 on ice this season.

Barker has two years left on the contract extension he received before this season with a cap number over $3 million.

New Blackhawks' prospect Nick Leddy

Update: From Stan Bowman when he met the media.

Re: Johnsson: “He’s been in the playoffs, he’s been in the Olympics… he’s been in high-pressure situations before.” Johnsson played for Sweden in the 2002 Olympics.

Re: Leddy: “He was a big part of the deal… We’ve been very high on him since last year when we were trying to trade up in the draft to get him, actually… His speed is something that’s been talked about quite a bit… He had to be in the mix for this to work.”

I’m going to begin this piece by directly quoting Bob McKenzie’s latest blog from TSN:

Chicago: There is some real question as to whether Chicago should even be included in the group of interested teams.

There is every reason to believe that general manager Stan Bowman has no interest whatsoever in disrupting the chemistry of his high-flying Cup contending Blackhawks for Kovalchuk and they’re totally out of these sweepstakes. That’s the word on the street.

But there are two reasons to at least still mention Chicago as an outside possibility.

One, team president John McDonough is the type of hands-on executive who lives to make a splash and has the “wants” every time a big-name player comes available. There are few bigger than Kovalchuk. McDonough is involved enough that he may try to influence proceedings, even though from a hockey perspective, the interest in Kovalchuk is limited at best.

Two, the Blackhawks know they are going to have to divest some players in the off-season for cap reasons next season. The names most often mentioned are defenceman Cam Barker and forwards Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp. An offer of Barker and Versteeg would be entirely in the strata of what Waddell would love to get for Kovalchuk, but given the cap situation in Chicago, Kovalchuk would be virtually impossible to sign long term. The Hawks could stock their cupboard in the off season trading those players for prospects or picks, so when you add it all up, it doesn’t compute that Chicago is in hard on Kovalchuk.

As we talked about yesterdayand did in early January, the Blackhawks have been penciled in as the darkhorse, “logical” trade partner for Atlanta in the chase to acquire Ilya Kovalchuk. What has kept the Blackhawks on the outside of the discussion for most of the past month is what McKenzie talks about early in his notes on the Blackhawks. Stan Bowman isn’t ready to compromise the depth of the roster as it presently stands for the sake of the “big splash” move. The team is near the top of the NHL in scoring, and has been effective enough scoring the puck so far this year to be in the hunt for the President’s Trophy.

McKenzie posted on Twitter during the game tonight that there was a perceived disagreement brewing between “upper management” and the “hockey heads” for the Blackhawks. If John McDonough steps into the mix, with his admittedly-limited hockey knowledge, and influences Stan Bowman to make a deal here, the future of the Blackhawks could have a dark shadow cast over it quickly.

The unfortunate reality of McDonough’s resume is that, while he is arguably the best at selling a professional sports product in the United States, his tenure at Wrigley Field raised jersey and ticket sales, not championship banners. A lot of that has to do with the marketing department being located too close to the talent evaluation department.

We are sitting at the heart of one of the great times in the history of the Blackhawks. I know that’s an incredibly bold statement, but I’m confident that the numbers bear witness to the great team we’re watching this year. This team is not perfect; Wednesday night certainly pointed out a few flaws. But two areas where this Hawks team does not have problems are depth and scoring.

Would Kovalchuk be a great player for the Blackhawks? Possibly. Could he be the guy to get the franchise over the hump and bring the Cup to Chicago? Not alone he can’t. He might bring an added dimension to the roster and solve a few financial headaches in the process, but one man doesn’t win the Stanley Cup for a city. A team does. The fact that McKenzie, a much more respected source than Ecklund or Spector, would bring this issue up is cause for concern because of McDonough’s history on Chicago’s North Side.

There hasn’t been an empty seat at the United Center in two years, so the marketing department isn’t hurting for commission these days. If the Blackhawks make any trades during the season, it needs to happen because it makes good hockey sense first, sound salary cap sense second, and good business sense third.

The Blackhawks have the best record in the Western Conference, they’re receiving strong contributions from all four lines, and they’re playing arguably the best team defense in the NHL. It just can’t get any better for Hawks fans, can it?

In the last 36 hours, Blackhawks fans have received a lot of good news from their injured reserve list. It looks like both Adam Burish and Dave Bolland will be back after the Olympics.

So wait… one of the challengers for the President’s Trophy is playing without their second line center and one of their better fourth line grinders, and both of them might be back in time for the stretch run toward the playoffs? You have to be kidding me. That’s great news! Right?

Well, not completely.

When Bolland comes back, he’ll likely slide back into his position as the center on the second line. What hasn’t been determined yet is how that will impact the rest of the lines; Patrick Sharp has been doing a solid job filling in for Bolland, but he’ll shift back to his familiar wing position as soon as coach Joel Quenneville can afford to make that move. The dominoes that will roll after that are where things get interesting for Quenneville and GM Stan Bowman.

Currently, the Hawks offense is rolling as well as any team in hockey. As the lineup stands today, it looks something like this:

• Troy Brouwer-Jonathan Toews-Patrick Kane
• Andrew Ladd-Patrick Sharp-Marian Hossa
• Dustin Byfuglien-John Madden-Kris Versteeg
• Tomas Kopecky-Colin Fraser-Ben Eager

Last year, Sharp played on a line with Kane and Toews, and all three had a great season. Considering that Quenneville appears to be content with Hossa on a second line, there’s an opportunity for Sharp to move back onto the top line. However, Brouwer is having a great season; he already has a career high in goals and is among the team’s leaders in hits. He has brought a physical force to the top line with the two 21-year olds, and Quenneville might not want to mess that chemistry up.

The third line has also developed great chemistry, with the speed and puck handling of Versteeg, the size of Byfuglien and the always-in-the-right-place Madden. It’s doubtful that Sharp would slide to the third line considering Hossa and Kane are both right wings and Sharp plays on the left side. If Quenneville decides to leave Brouwer’s physical presence on the top line, Sharp would make a lot of sense opposite Hossa next to the recovering Bolland.

If this hypothetical scenario unfolds, that would push Andrew Ladd to the fourth line. Or could it push Ladd out the door?

It’s been discussed more than health care reform to this point, but in case you missed the memo, the Blackhawks are going to need to move some of their payroll for the 2010-11 season off the roster before next year begins. There have been a number of scenarios discussed, ranging from a deal as simple as Brent Sopel being dealt for a prospect or two all the way up to a package including Cam Barker and Versteeg being dealt for superstar Ilya Kovalchuk. The great mystery isn’t whether or not the Hawks will make a deal, but who’s headed out the door and when.

The calendar might play a role in Bowman’s decision making process as well. The trade deadling is on March 3 this year, which comes less than a week after the end of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. During those Olympics, the NHL will be under a self-imposed trade blackout, eliminating the possibility of any players leaving their teams for the Olympics and keeping their bags packed after the games end. So if the Hawks are going to make a move, it will either be before Feb. 10 or quickly in the four days that follow the Olympics.

From a schematic perspective, if a deal is made during this season, bringing a new face in before the two week break would make assimilating the new player into the roster easier (assuming the new face isn’t an Olympian). That would give Bowman roughly five weeks to make something happen.

Now rewind to the reality that the Hawks will have at least one important member of the offense, Bolland, coming back. If we roll under the hypothetical scenario presented above, the lines could look like this:

• Brouwer-Toews-Kane
• Sharp-Bolland-Hossa
• Byfuglien-Madden-Versteeg
• Kopecky/Ladd-Fraser-Burish/Eager

It looks like there are two players too many on that list. So who goes? Obviously Bowman will look for the best value in return, but also won’t want to upset the apple cart too much. Age, value and future financial consideration will all play a role when Bowman looks to make a deal, whether it’s during this season or after. Let’s take another look at the lines above with their current age and 2010-11 salary cap number for each player following their name.

• Brouwer (23, $1M) – Toews (21, $6.3M) – Kane (21, $6.3M)
• Sharp (27, $3.9M) – Bolland (23, $3.375M) – Hossa (30, $5.233M)
• Byfuglien (24, $3M) – Madden (36, UFA) – Versteeg (23, $3.083)
• Kopecky (27, $1.2M)/Ladd (23, RFA) – Fraser (24, RFA) – Burish (26, UFA) / Eager (25, RFA)

Obviously, there are players on this roster that aren’t going anywhere either during this season or next summer. Toews, Kane, Bolland and Hossa figure to be untouchable, but as you can see, there are a few players on the roster that are providing great value for their salary. Brouwer, for just $1 million, is a young player that has really started to come into his own this year. It’s doubtful that the Hawks would want to move him.

As you can see in bold, there are two unrestricted free agents on the roster currently – Burish and Madden – and three restricted free agents -Ladd, Fraser and Eager - that the Hawks will have to made a decision on either during this season or next summer. Madden took a pretty substantial paycut to come to Chicago on a one-year deal, and it’s doubtful that he would return next year; that takes care of the oldest and most expensive of the group. The rest are why Bowman will have his calculator and phone with him for the next five weeks. 

Eager is the enforcer on the current roster, spending over 27 percent of his “active” time in the penalty box; he’s played 205 minutes on the ice this year, and served 77 minutes in the penalty box. Considering the more efficient, less penalized physical style of play Brouwer has presented this year, it’s doubtful that Eager will return next year. However, considering Eager has only six points this year, the limited value the Hawks could receive to move his presence off the roster likely wouldn’t offset the loss to the team dynamic. Eager’s probably here for the rest of the season.

Fraser is another player that, like Eager, doesn’t fill the stat sheet but his role on the team outweighs the value the Hawks could likely expect in return in a trade. He’s been a key player on the Hawks’ PK this year, and has played solid hockey in the limited minutes he’s received. Whether or not he’s back next year is a separate issue, but it’s doubtful that Fraser goes during the season.

Which brings us to Ladd.

Ladd’s a bigger forward who has 16 points so far this year (seven goals, nine assists), and is young enough that he could make an impact on another team for a few years in the future. The fact that he’s a restricted free agent also means that, if he’s dealt during the season, the receiving team would have first crack at negotiating a contract with Ladd. At 6′2 and 200 pounds, Ladd could be a top-six forward on many other teams in the league, but is already struggling to get more than 13 minutes per night and will only see his role shrink when Bolland returns.

When you add his current salary – $1.65 million – to the equation, the likelihood is that Ladd will be looking for a multi-year deal in the neighborhood of $1.5-2.0 million per season, numbers the Blackhawks certainly wouldn’t spend on a player they can replace from within for half of that cap number.

If the Blackhawks look to move another salary off their books for next season, perhaps Sopel and his $2.333 million cap number, before the Olympics, adding a young forward like Ladd to the mix might entice more teams to approach the table. There are a number of veterans that could become available soon that would present the right combination the Hawks are looking for: an expiring contract and a desire to win a championship.

Because of his size, age, contract and the reality that he’s replaceable, Ladd might be the most likely player on the Hawks roster to be dealt during this season.

Every sports team, at every level, has a list of goals they set for themselves throughout a season. For a team like the Blackhawks, they probably have, shockingly, more than “One Goal,” but rather a list of goals that start with simple, broad goals like having a winning record each month, improving their power play scoring, winning faceoffs, and playing strong defense. As the calendar moves along, though, there begin to come specific goals. Professional athletes generally won’t say they focus on one team or week on the calendar, but any Blackhawks player has had this week circled since July.

Twice, in one week before Christmas, the Blackhawks get to play the hated Detroit Red Wings for the first time since early October. Sunday will be the first time the Wings come to Chicago this year.

For decades, the Blackhawks have watched as the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. Painfully, Chicago fans watched as Chris Chelios raised the Cup over his head in the hated Detroit sweater. These are two Original Six franchises, the only two in the Western Conference, who have hated each other for as long the franchises have existed. Indeed, seconds after the National Anthem ends on Sunday night, you’ll know exactly how Blackhawks fans feel about the visiting Wings.

In the 2008-09 season, for the first time in 15 years, the Blackhawks got close to challenging the Red Wings’ stranglehold on the Central Division. The up and coming Blackhawks, in the first playoff appearance for most of the players on the youngest roster in the NHL, streaked all the way to the Western Conference Finals as the fourth seed, knocking off heavyweights from Calgary and Vancouver along the way.

But in the Conference Finals, it was Detroit. Big Brother was waiting, and the youth of the Hawks finally failed as the deep, experienced Red Wings eliminated Chicago.

In July, however, Detroit found themselves in a strange position. Their leading goal scorer, Marian Hossa, left for greener pastures… in Chicago. So did Tomas Kopecky. Goalie Ty Conklin left for St. Louis, and Jiri Hudler made the biggest move, heading to Russia for the year. Detroit wasn’t as deep any more.

Meanwhile, the Little Brother in Chicago added Hossa, Kopecky and veteran center John Madden to an already-stacked offense. Could the balance of power in the Central Division be headed south and west a few hours?

Back on Oct. 8, the Hawks lost in Detroit 3-2 in the first of a string of poor performances from Cristobal Huet. With Hossa in street clothes after summer shoulder surgery, the veteran Red Wings dominated the Hawks in a game that looked too familiar for comfort.

Which is why, on Sunday, the red hot Blackhawks host the Red Wings in a game that is absolutely a must win.

Detroit is a tough team to break down because they keep winning games despite their inability to stay healthy. They will be without a list of players that sounds more like a Western Conference All Star lineup than an injury report: Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Valterri Filppula, Dan Cleary, Jason Williams, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Andreas Lilja will all be in street clothes.

And yet the Wings had won four in a row before losing to Dallas on Saturday night. In that game, the Wings got some help back from the IR, as Darren Helm returned from a wrist injury to play 19 minutes.

The Blackhawks come into Sunday night’s game in first place, at the top of the Western Conference, with a Huet playing exceptionally well in the net and an offense starting to click with a healthy Hossa scoring as regularly as his salary would indicate he should. They’re 6-2-0 in December, and have only allowed more than two goals in three of the eight games.

What makes Sunday a must win for the Blackhawks is simple: just like Michael Jordan’s Bulls needed to step on Isaiah Thomas’ Pistons and make a statement, so now the Blackhawks of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Hossa must take the next step in their maturation with an emphatic victory.

Yes, the Red Wings are the most injury-plagued roster in the NHL. But that’s precisely why the Hawks must handle their business. Allowing a team without nine of their top players to sneak out of the United Center with a victory would do as much to perpetuate Detroit’s stamp on the division as it would keep the the Big Brother-Little Brother mentality in the two locker rooms.

The Blackhawks must take care of Detroit at home on Sunday.

The Blackhawks have upcoming salary cap issues, which have put them into a lot of trade rumors since this past summer. One of the teams that has consistently been linked with the Hawks is the Carolina Hurricanes, who are struggling to be competitive.

On Monday, TSN reported that the Hurricanes placed defenseman Aaron Ward on waivers. Bob McKenzie wrote that he expects Ward to clear waivers and that a team might have interest in him once he enters re-entry waivers; a team picking up a player on re-entry waivers aplits the player’s salary with his former team for the remainder of the season.

Ward, 36, has a $2.5 million cap number and a contract that expires after this season, which would make him a great rental and salary dump for the Hawks. So far this season, ward has only six points and a minus-15 rating, neither of which are very good for a player averaging nearly 18 minutes per game. However, when you put Ward’s -15 into the context that the best rating on the Canes is even, his plus-minus is as much a sympton of being on a miserable team as it is an idictment of Ward’s play.

ESPN is reporting that the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers are also interested in Ward.

Coach Joel Quenneville is still trying to find the right offensive mix in December.

I know the Blackhawks’ marketing department is really pushing this whole “One Goal” idea, but it might be time for the Hawks offense to think about three or four.

A sign of a good hockey team is their ability to overcome mistakes and shortcomings, and great hockey teams can win despite themselves. In the month of December, the Blackhawks haven’t played great hockey, but they’ve won some games they shouldn’t have already.

In five games this month, the Hawks have scored just nine goals (1.80 per game average, 25th in the NHL in December). In fact, they haven’t scored more than two since their 4-3 shootout victory over Columbus on the Dec. 1.  When you factor into that number that three of the nine goals have come with a man advantage, two during four-on-four overtime hockey, and one was shorthanded, the Hawks have disappeared during even strength hockey this month.

If you look back even further than the beginning of December, in the seven games since the Hawks’ incredible 7-2 win at San Jose, the Hawks haven’t been able to put together anything consistent on offense. In those seven games, the Hawks have scored only 10 goals, with still only three coming at even strength. In those seven games, the Hawks have been shutout once and scored only one goal on three other occasions; maybe it’s time for a new marketing campaign?

The team with so many offensive weapons can’t get the puck in the net, and the struggles have coach Joel Quenneville scratching his head.

After Friday night’s 2-1 loss in Buffalo, most of Quenneville’s comments were about the offense – or lack thereof. Quenneville is regarded as a good strategist who mixes lines well and effectively mixes talent on the ice to maximize his roster, but right now he’s struggling to find the magic.

In December, five of the 12 regular Blackhawks forward do not have a point yet through five games.

Let me say that again: five of 12 Blackhawks forwards have not scored a point in December yet.

Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Troy Brouwer, Colin Fraser and Tomas Kopecky have all been shut out so far this month, as have both Brent Sopel and Cam Barker, one-third of the Hawks’ defensemen. John Madden, Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson have only been able to contribute one point each so far, also a cause for concern.

So even though Marian Hossa has five points in five games, and seven in his eight games this season, the rest of the team has taken a step back in his presence.

The position that is causing the biggest issue in the rotation is the second line’s center spot, usually filled by Dave Bolland. Madden is winning just 50.7 percent of his faceoffs to go with his one point this month, but has played well as the third line center. Fraser has almost completely disappeared in December, with zero points and winning only 39 percent of his faceoffs in the month. He’s also minus-3 in the last five games.

Quenneville has tried both Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp in the second center spot, and both have been effective in the circle: Sharp has won 65 percent of his faceoffs, while Versteeg has won 57 percent of his. But the flow of the offense is different when two players that excel at wing are asked to play in the middle. Both Versteeg and Sharp are playmaking snipers, not players that post up in front of the net. That’s where you should see Byfuglien, Brouwer, Ladd and Eager. Jonathan Toews gets to the front of the net as well as anyone, and he has been rewarded with three goals in his last five games.

On Saturday, the lines Quenneville tried in practice made some dramatic changes to the Hawks’s offense. The lines at Saturday’s practice were:

Patrick Kane – Jonathan Toews – Troy Brouwer

Andrew Ladd – Patrick Sharp – Marian Hossa

Dustin Byfuglien – John Madden - Kris Versteeg

Tomas Kopecky – Colin Fraser – Ben Eager

Earlier in the season, Quenneville tried separating Kane and Toews to “spread the wealth,” and it didn’t work; both players play better when they’re together. But the issue has been that Kane’s a right wing, and so is Hossa; neither has played on the left side, and the experiment didn’t last. The flip side of the argument had been that Quenneville had to put the team’s expensive investment, Hossa, on the top line. Now that Toews and Kane have a higher cap number, though, it appears Quenneville can have the freedom to put arguably the best player on the roster on his second line.

Because of the Blackhawks pending salary cap issues before 2010-11, the offense could become enough of an issue that GM Stan Bowman makes a move to fill a hole somewhere. There have been rumors that Cam Barker and/or Brent Sopel have been discussed with a number of other teams, and a move to add a center to the mix that also helps provide payroll flexibility might be in the cards during this season still.

It is a great testimony to the Blackhawks’ defensive strength and the continues strong play of Cristobal Huet that the Hawks continue to roll in first place in their division. For all of their offensive struggles, the Hawks are killing 91.7 percent of opponents’ penalties in December and rank ninth in the NHL allowing only 2.20 goals per game.

How Quenneville solves this puzzle will be interesting to watch, and whether or not Bowman needs to get involved will also be something worthy of attention. But maybe someone in marketing should start filming commercials with the theme “Three goals”…

Should the Blackhawks inquire about James Wisniewski's availability?

A number of Canadian media outlets are reporting that the Anaheim Ducks, who are currently in last place in the Western Conference, are looking to become active in the trade market. Because of their poor performance so far this year, the Ducks appear to be ready to make some bold moves.

Perhaps the Blackhawks should give Ducks’ GM (and former Blackhawks player) Bob Murray a call.

Though the most popular names being rumored around Anaheim are Scott Neidermeyer and Bobby Ryan, one deal that could make sense for both teams would include bringing a fan favorite back to Chicago.

James Wisniewski, who the Blackhawks dealt to Anaheim for Sami Pahlsson last year at the deadline, is having a career year already in southern California. The 25-year old defenseman has 14 points (1 G, 13 A) in 24 games, and is averaging a career high 24:26 of ice time a night. He’ll be a restricted free agent when his contract, which has a $2.693 cap number, ends this coming spring.

In exchange for Wisniewski, the Blackhawks could send a younger defenseman to Anaheim that’s under contract for two more years. Cam Barker is two years younger than Wisniewski, and will make $3 million for each of the two seasons following 2009-10. Barker’s offensive production wouldn’t be much of a drop off for the Ducks from what they have received from Wisniewski so far this year (4 G, 8 A, 12 pts), so the Ducks wouldn’t be giving up a lot of offense to add Barker.

The benefit to Anaheim is that they would have Barker under contract for two more seasons. The 23-year old should enter his prime in the NHL in the coming seasons, and he could serve as a good point man for the Ducks’ power play, which currently ranks third in the NHL. The Ducks would also be getting younger by moving Wisniewski back to Chicago.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks would unload Barker’s $3 million cap number for next year and bring back a popular player with an expiring contract. Wisniewski was moved last year because of his injury history, but he’s playing more than four minutes per game more than he has at any point in his career. The Blackhawks would be able to cut Wisniewski’s minutes but also suck up some of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson’s minutes by bringing back Wisniewski.

I would be in favor of making this trade, and I think the benefits to both of these organizations could make this deal a real possibility.