Its been a long summer for the hawks, probably the the most eventful off-season of any sports team I have ever followed. What makes it even more interesting is the fan base of the hawks are so young or out of touch with the way the current NHL works, for good reason: Mr. William Wirtz. Chicagoans are crying bloody murder on the streets, it appears to be a train-wreck offseason. This cannot be farther from the truth. Losing players like Buff and Versteeg, depth players with loads of heart like Eager and Burish is hard to swallow. But getting prospects like Jeremy Morin, Nick Leddy, Ivan Vishnevskiy, and loads of early draft picks in return have created a team that will be good for years to come. Not to mention the immediate impact pick-ups like Victor Stalberg, John Scott(bruiser that makes buff small, wont see much ice time though), and Marty Turco. The Bowmans turned lemons into lemonade like I have never seen on a sports team in the past.
The one problem that seems to be an issue with most fans is Neimi. There are many factors that lead to Marty Turco being the best decision. First, the defense and the Bowman style of team that not only won us the cup, but made Neimi look like a better goalie that he is worth. Our dedication to defense and keeping the puck away from the goalie is an environment where NHL goalie can prosper. Second, the former Blackhawk and now GM of the San Jose Sharks Doug Wilson came after Hammer. The hawks made room to reasonably sign Hammer and Neimi, but the 3.5 mil offer sheet that the Sharks threw at Hammer that the hawks had to match force Stan Bowman to choose between Hammer and Neimi. In their system the defender wins everytime. Third, Neimi’s agent Zito gambled and lost. Neimi may have been the stanely cup champion goalie, but the hawks are the champion team. Neimi beat out the Leighton/Boucher duo to win the cup. Swagger is on the hawks side, going to arbitration was a horrible idea, it took the decision out of Zito and Bowman’s hands and put it in the hands of an arbitrator. In the end it was too much for the hawks to swing. Especially when Turco is waiting to swoop in, a goalie that is willing to take a significant paycut just to be part of the organization. In the hockey world you have to have heart to hoist the cup, that shows heart. Turco critics that describe him as a seriously declining player that is way past his prime are citing the last two years where he was making way more cash a year and had little defense and offense in front of him, no real motivation. Not only does he want to play for the hawks, but he actually has his sights set on the cup, and he is in a “contract year”. That is enough heart for me. Also, his style of play is entertaining hockey, he isn’t afraid to leave the crease and move the puck, helping our defense solve our problems getting the puck out of the zone smoothly. Did I mention its entertaining too.
The worries aren’t totally unwarranted, even with the money saved with Turco, the hawks barely have room to fill the roster under the cap. All of these great pickups and rookies that are ready to make a splash in the NHL are going to have restricted ice time not because of their skill, but because of salary cap space. But I am very excited to finally see what Jack Skille(who actually took a pay cut to be able to play, he was restricted last season because he made too much $$) can bring to a full season, but the rookie star Kyle Beach could be kept in Rockford for the same reason that plagued Skille last year, but the Turco savings will likely solve his problem. And most of these young guys that will be the future depth behind the core wont be NHL ready until at least 2011-12 season. We will most likely see a little bit of Beach, and very little of the Leddy/LaDonde combo[Dunks/Seabs junior], especially after the Boyton and Hendry signings. The sleeper to watch out for is Ivan Vishnevskiy(came over from Atlanta, went to Atlanta in the Dallas Letinen trade) on defense, if he has a great camp we could see him a lot.
That’s all for now.
