Inaugural Blackhawks Exchange

By Peter Christian and Mark Kmiecik

With “the Cubification” of the Blackhawks now complete, it’s time to initiate a regular Blackhawks Exchange feature here at the Sports Bank.  The excellent play of the team and exciting atmosphere at the United Center has given Chicagoans plenty of motivation to leave their homes in single digit high temperatures to go see this team play. And this “marks” the debut (pun intended..hey hey!) of a new TSB contributor, who also happens to be this site’s official legal counsel. Here come the Hawks….exchange!

(PC) It sure is good to see the Blackhawks being mentioned among the league’s best again. One play-off appearance since 1998 is not good for one of the most storied franchises in the NHL. As a devoted fan of the Indian, the last decade must have been rough. How were you able to maintain your interest in a team that in large part gave up caring about you, the fan?

(MK) Well, I first became a fan of the team in the early 90’s right around the time of their Cup appearance against Pit when Stu Grimson and Mike Peluso were policing the Chicago Stadium Ice. I fell in love with the sport and the Hawks continued to do well into the mid 90’s. I’m not a person to abandon a team that I follow just because they’re doing badly. I guess I committed to the Indian from the get go. Let’s not dwell on the past, though. The Hawks are on pace for a franchise record 110 points. Pete, give me three keys to look for in the second half that the Hawks need to focus on to continue their success?

(PC) As with any contending team not named the Red Wings (because they apparently can go 8 deep at every position), remaining healthy is going to be the biggest key to continued success. Solid goalie play down the stretch is also going to be huge. Khabibulin and Huet have both been playing at a high level thus far. Maintaining that high level without burning both goaltenders out will be crucial to whichever goalie is picked to man the load come play-off time.

Lastly, the ‘Hawks ability to score both at even strength and with the man advantage is a big key. Only Boston (2.568) averages more even strength goals than Chicago (2.415), and Chicago is tied for third in power play goals per game (1.00). That type of scoring balance is going to maintain a team when other facets of the game get sloppy or weak as the season wears on. It seems that this team is pretty well put together but do you see any areas of the game that could use improving as the trade deadline nears?

(MK) 2 glaring weaknesses stand out with the Hawks that can be improved at the trade deadline

1.    Faceoffs- The Hawks currently are 28th in the league, 3rd to last, in faceoffs winning only 47.4% of their draws. Clearly, their lack of ability to win key draws, whether in the offensive zone on the power play, or defensive zone on the PK has led to chances for the opposition which need to be limited.

2.    A 2nd line Center- As much as Patrick Sharp has impressed this season, this team needs an experienced second line center. Patrick Sharp is a natural winger as seen by his success last year on the Sharp/Toews/Kane line. Finding one, however, will be challenging as the Hawks are up against the cap. This issue prohibited them from being in the mix to sign UFA Mats Sundin, who eventually went to Vancouver, because they had the cap room. In order to score the 2nd line center, the Hawks will most likely have to move either Huet or Khabibulin and one of their young players such as Cam Barker who has a $2.8 million salary cap hit.

Pete, speaking of the goaltending situation, what do you think Dale Tallon will do with Huet and/or Khabibulin if anything?

(PC) Honestly, I don’t think that either goalie will be moved this season. It seemed apparent earlier this year that Huet was going to be the guy, but after being put on waivers, Khabibulin reinvented himself between the pipes. Ultimately, Huet will likely be the man come playoff time, but having a reliable 2nd fiddle is only going to help the club stay fresh down the stretch. Huet will get plenty of chances to rest even with the team battling for position into the play-offs and the skaters won’t have to scramble and over compensate defensively when their back-up is in net (as the Flames and Canucks have had to deal with in the past). Plus having a player like Khabibulin on the bench in the playoffs can be something of an ace in the hole.

If Huet gets hurt, gets cold or just loses the “it” factor that goaltenders need to have in the playoffs, Nikolai can be inserted without worrying about a drop off at the position. Mark, with all this talk about looking ahead to the playoffs tell me what is different in the atmosphere at the games and in Chicago that has led to the city “falling back into love” with the Blackhawks?

(MK) You can talk all you want about the Cubification of the Blackhawks, which does help drawing back the fans, but I can guarantee you that if there wasn’t a winner on the ice this season, next year we’d see attendance decrease again, maybe not to 12,000 per game as we’ve seen in recent years, but the bandwagoners would be gone in a heartbeat. The fact that this team is good, real good, coupled with the fan convention and various player appearances throughout town has renewed the love affair between the City of Chicago and its Blackhawks.

(PC) That is good news to hear for all hockey fans. It was extremely sad to see one of the Original Six franchises be named the worst professional franchise in North America a few years back. Other than Detroit, an Original Six franchise hasn’t hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1994. As much as I would like to see the Wild win the Stanley Cup, I think the Blackhawks and their fans are the most deserving in the league.

You may also like -

Blackhawks Fan Tells On-Air Reporter Sarah Kustok: "I Love you, You're s ...Blackhawks' Late Surge Gains Pity Point, But Wings PrevailDave Bolland, Alain Vigneault Engage in Silly War of Words