Five things: Blackhawks poised to move past bummer of a summer

By Wes Goldstein | September 9, 2009

It's hard to imagine any organizations more eager to put this summer behind them than the Chicago Blackhawks.

After enjoying a storybook season in which they re-emerged as a leading NHL entity both on and off the ice, the Blackhawks have stumbled through a couple of months of public relations disasters that took much of the shine off everything they've accomplished in the last year.

Chicago's follow-up seemed impressive at the outset of the offseason when the Blackhawks dove hard into the free-agent pool for the second consecutive time and landed forwards Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky and John Madden. But as training camp approaches, the drama surrounding the team is about the potential impact of less-savory issues, including the money spent on Hossa, the August arrest of budding young star Patrick Kane for a confrontation with a cabbie in Buffalo, and the dismissal of general manager Dale Tallon, the team architect.

Blackhawks president John McDonough justified Tallon's removal in July, pointing to a clerical error the ex-GM made that caused the team to spend more than necessary to re-sign several restricted free agents. But it soon became clear that style as much as substance was at the root of the change. Tallon was part of the regime in place before McDonough arrived, and his preference for re-signing Martin Havlat instead of bringing in Hossa, for example, did not sit well with a boss determined to keep making big splashes.

Of course, the Blackhawks won't know whether it was worth it for a little while because Hossa isn't likely to play before December, thanks to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

In the meantime, the Blackhawks will take to the ice with the league's youngest team -- led by 21-year-old captain Jonathan Toews -- and still have the core of the roster that took them to the Western Conference finals last spring. If goaltender Cristobal Huet does the job he was supposed to last season, the Blackhawks could go even further this time. And that would be the best way of putting this past summer behind them.

Here are five things to know about the Blackhawks.

1. New GM Stan Bowman has been dealing with contractual issues for several seasons while on his way up the ranks for the Blackhawks, but he'll really have his hands full over the next few months. In large part that's because qualifying offers were not sent out in time by Tallon to several restricted free agents, forcing Chicago to pay several players more than they would have otherwise commanded at this stage of their careers. The money in and of itself isn't that big an issue in Chicago, although the Blackhawks are still slightly over the salary cap. But the problems will come in the coming month as next summer's free-agent period gets closer and the team tries to find a way to re-sign core star players Toews, Kane and Duncan Keith.

2. Chicago has one of the best groups of defensemen in the league, led by the enviable tandem of Keith, 26, and Brent Seabrook, 25. How good are they? Good enough for both to get invited to Team Canada's Olympic orientation camp last month. Both now have realistic shots at being on the final roster when it is announced in December. The duo played in all situations and combined for a plus-56 to head up a blue line group that produced the fifth-best team defense numbers in the league last season.

3. The overall talent is obviously there in Chicago and it will improve once Hossa returns to the lineup. Still, there is one major potential drawback to success for the Blackhawks and it is in goal. Huet was signed to a lucrative long-term contract last summer as free agent with the intent of making him the No. 1 and moving out Nikolai Khabibulin. But things didn't work out as planned. Chicago couldn't jettison Khabibulin (he signed with Edmonton this summer), who ended up outplaying Huet and usurping the starting job. Huet sat on the bench for most of the playoff run, getting his shot and turning in a heroic performance in Game 3 of the Western finals when Khabibulin got hurt, but bombing in the next outing as Chicago was eliminated in five. The Blackhawks' alternatives at this point are rookies Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford.

4. Huet wasn't the only free-agent disappointment in Chicago last season, although Brian Campbell's effort wasn't nearly as much of a letdown as it may have seemed from the outside. The real problem for Campbell was perception, thanks to the expectations that came with signing an eight-year deal worth more than $7 million annually. Campbell actually had a productive season, finishing 10th among defensemen in scoring with 52 points and he did a good job helping trigger the Blackhawks' quick-strike attack. And Campbell also ate up more than 22 minutes a night, finishing the season at a plus-5 as well.

5. Clearly the Blackhawks are back on the Windy City sports radar. Chicago sold out every one of its games, leading the league in attendance in the process and has a waiting list behind its 14,000 season ticket holders. And the Blackhawks will get to take advantage of their raucous crowds after returning from a two-game set in Finland against Florida to start the regular season. Once they get back to North America, the Blackhawks will play 12 of their next 17 games at United Center.