CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
OFF-SEASON PLAYER ADDITIONS
Joey Crabb, RW (Acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers)
Chris DiDomenico, C (Acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs)
Jimmy Hayes, RW (Acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs)
Hugh Jessiman, RW (Signed as a free agent, previously with the Nashville Predators)
Jeremy Morin, LW (Acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers)
Philippe Paradis, C (Acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs)
Fernando Pisani, RW (Signed as a free agent, previously with the Edmonton Oilers)
Ryan Potulny, C (Signed as a free agent, previously with the Edmonton Oilers)
Marty Reasoner, C (Acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers)
John Scott, D (Signed as a free agent, previously with the Minnesota Wild)
Viktor Stalberg, LW (Acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs)
Jeff Taffe, LW (Acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers)
Marty Turco, G (Signed as a free agent, previously with the Dallas Stars)
Ivan Vishnevskiy, D (Acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers)
OFF-SEASON PLAYER LOSSES
Akim Aliu, RW (Traded to the Atlanta Thrashers)
Danny Bois, RW (Signed with Red Bulls Salzburg of Austria)
Mike Brennan, D (Unsigned Free Agent)
Adam Burish, RW (Signed as a free agent with the Dallas Stars)
Dustin Byfuglien, LW (Traded to the Atlanta Thrashers)
Joey Crabb, RW (Signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs)
Mark Cullen, C (Signed as a free agent with the Florida Panthers)
Ben Eager, LW (Traded to the Atlanta Thrashers)
Colin Fraser, C (Traded to the Edmonton Oilers)
Kyle Greentree, RW (Signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals)
Adam Hobson, C (Signed with Rogle of Sweden)
Kim Johnsson, D (Unsigned Free Agent)
Andrew Ladd, LW (Traded to the Atlanta Thrashers)
Peter MacArthur, LW (Unsigned Free Agent)
John Madden, C (Signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild)
Antti Niemi, G (Signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks)
Richard Petiot, D (Signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers)
Marty Reasoner, C (Traded to the Florida Panthers)
Danny Richmond, D (Signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs)
Jean-Claude Sawyer, D (Unsigned Free Agent)
Brent Sopel, D (Traded to the Atlanta Thrashers)
Bill Sweatt, LW (Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs)
Kris Versteeg, RW (Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs)
2009-10 Season Finish: 1st Central Division, 2nd Western Conference, 112 Pts.
2009-10 Playoffs: 2010 Stanley Cup Champions
Won 4-2 against the Nashville Predators in the Quarterfinals
Won 4-2 against the Vancouver Canucks in the Semi-Finals
Won 4-0 against the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals
Won 4-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals
2010-11 Prediction: 4th Central Division, 9th Western Conference
The 2009-10 season couldn’t have gone any better for the Chicago Blackhawks, who were looking to win their first Stanley Cup since 1961. After losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Western Conference Finals, the Blackhawks retooled their roster by adding Marian Hossa, John Madden, and Tomas Kopecky on offense, Kim Johnsson and Nick Boynton on defense, and Finnish netminder Antti Niemi from Europe. The retooling worked, as the Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup and ended their 49-year championship drought. However, the team will be hard-pressed to repeat as Stanley Cup champs in 2011 after salary cap constraints have forced the team to trade away much of the rising talent that helped them win it all in 2010. Jonathan Toews, the 2010 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs, brings an abundance of offensive depth, two-way skill, leadership, and great skating to the team, while Patrick Kane provides lots of goal-scoring depth and playmaking skills for the Blackhawks. Marian Hossa gives the team a very shifty winger with excellent offensive skills and goal-scoring ability, while Patrick Sharp brings plenty of goal-scoring ability to the team, as well as skill on the power play and penalty kill. Dave Bolland and Troy Brouwer bring lots of two-way skill and grit to the Blackhawks, while Tomas Kopecky brings a little scoring-upside, two-way skill, and some toughness to the wing. Newcomer Fernando Pisani gives the Blackhawks some offensive depth and shutdown skill on the wing, while Ryan Potulny brings some goal-scoring skill to the checking lines. Forwards Bryan Bickell, Jeff Taffe, and Jack Skille all bring some offensive depth and grit to the checking lines, while newcomer Viktor Stalberg gives the Blackhawks some speed and offensive upside on the wing. With training camp right around the corner, the Blackhawks have several young, prospect forwards who will look to make the team for the 2010-11 season, including Kyle Beach, Chris DiDomenico, Philippe Paradis, Jeremy Morin, and Jake Dowell. Despite having a number of promising offensive prospects, the Blackhawks might want to consider adding another veteran forward for some depth considering they traded away several forwards in order to get back below the salary cap.
Despite depleting their offense due to salary cap constraints, the Blackhawks’ defense still remains fairly intact from last season and should help keep the team competitive during the 2010-11 season. Duncan Keith, the 2010 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman, brings a tremendous amount of offense, mobility, and skill to the power play on the blueline, while Brian Campbell also brings lots of power play skill and offensive depth to the team’s defense, as well as some grit. Brent Seabrook provides the Blackhawks with some offensive ability, toughness, and shutdown skill on the blueline, while Niklas Hjalmarsson gives the team some size, grit, and puck-moving skill on defense. John Scott, Nick Boynton, and Jassen Cullimore bring lots of toughness, grit, and physicality on defense, while Jordan Hendry provides some puck-moving skill and a little offense from the blueline. Defensive prospects that will be looking to make the team at training camp include Ivan Vishnevskiy, Nick Leddy, Ryan Stanton, Simon Danis-Pepin, and Shawn Lalonde.
The face of the Blackhawks’ goaltending will look a lot different next season with the departure of Stanley Cup hero Antti Niemi, whom the team let become an unrestricted free agent after they declined a one-year, $2.5 million arbitrator awarded contract due to salary constraints. To replace the Finnish netminder, the team signed long-time Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco. Despite struggling a little bit over the last two season, Turco brings plenty of veteran depth and good puck-handling skills between the pipes. The Blackhawks will likely have a different backup netminder for the 2010-11 season, as the team is looking at sending Cristobal Huet to the AHL or Europe to erase his $5.6 million salary from their team in order to operate a little more comfortably under the salary cap. Youngster Corey Crawford and veteran Hannu Toivonen will look to compete for the backup role next season in Chicago, unless the Blackhawks decide to keep Huet on their roster.
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