Jonathan Toews proved early on in the first period of tonight’s Hawks/Preds match-up that he’s worth every red cent of his new 5-year deal when he pulled off what we in my household call a “Superman” goal. You know, the goals scored out of nowhere, faster than a speeding bullet, and in this instance, in midair? (And yes, Tazer’s goal may remind old guard hockey fans of that famous Bobby-Orr-in-midair photo, and rightly so.) (more…)
“Cakes” from Rockford, Illinois writes,
Hey there, love following your stuff!
What are your thoughts on how the Hawks are gonna keep Hjalmarsson around after this year? He is my fav player, just got his name/# on my jersey this fall. I live in Rockford and got to watch him mature as an Icehog :) But at the end of this year he is a restricted free agent I believe, and right now is only making $600,000/yr. That ain’t gonna cut it for someone who Stan Bowman calls one of the top 4 defensemen in the league. How we gonna keep him? And where would you say he ranks in the opinion of the front office compared to the other restricted (or non) free agents on the team at the end of this season? I would say he needs to be their #1 priority, ahead of Ladd, Eager, Fraser, Skille, Niemi, etc.Cant wait to hear your thoughts! Thanks! (more…)
There have been a lot of rumors floating around about which players the Blackhawks’ front office is looking to unload. Possible names floated about have been Cam Barker, Brian Campbell, Dustin Byfuglien, and even Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg. It’s hard to know if these are players the Hawks are considering trading, it these are players other teams want, or if these are players that sports writers and fans are lobbying to get rid of (or all three). (more…)
Wow, I take back everything I said about Colin Fraser not being a good choice for enforcer. Fraser made it quite obvious in two scraps that he is more than equipped to be team agitator in tonight’s Hawks/Avalanche match-up (which resulted in a 3-2 Blackhawks win in OT, of course). I renew my irritation, however, at the overpenalizing of fighting. A 5-minute major penalty for a little roughing that doesn’t even draw blood is excessive. (more…)
Tim Sassone, my favorite writer over there at The Hockey News was spot on in his blog yesterday when he mentioned the ‘R’ word — Rockford. But why bring up just one forward? (And if it has to be just one, it should be Jack Skille, no question. Looking at Andrew Ebbett, you have to ask why Jack Skille was ever sent back down.) I believe it was a commenter on Sassone’s blog that said that bringing up some boys (that’s plural) from Rockford might shake some of these guys just collecting paychecks from their collective reveries. (more…)
You had to be at the Hawks/Wild game tonight to truly appreciate how lousy and yet bizarre the officiating was. On some of those calls I was left wondering what in the world the refs were thinking. Perhaps I shouldn’t complain though because it was the only real spark in a game where both teams were bumbling about. (more…)
What a home-opener last night at the UC between the Hawks and the Colorado Avalanche! Almost makes you wish you were there. (Almost.) But if I hadn’t been at home I wouldn’t have gotten to see the replay (about 6 times) of Niklas Hjalmarsson’s swing-batta-batta swing into the face of the Avs Darcy Tucker. In a word: awesome. And Hjalmy didn’t even get called for high-sticking! (more…)
Today, the Blackhawks issued the results of their Fan’s Choice Awards for the best of the Blackhawks for the ‘08/’09 season. I’m just left scratching my head. (more…)
While Adam Burish’s sneaky wrap-around goal (unassisted) in the first period of the Hawks/Red Wings Western Conference Finals game one match-up today was a sight to behold, the Hawks bumbling cost them. Brent Seabrook whiffed an easy pass off a face-off for a Dan Cleary steal and Duncan Keith did not block Cleary’s ensuing breakaway which led to the Red Wings’ first 1st period goal. (more…)
The Hawks got a slow start tonight, but boy did they pick the puck up and run with it in the 2nd period! (more…)