Chicago Blackhawks Preview

Departures
Martin Havlat, Nikolai Khabibulin, Samuel Pahlsson, Matt Walker

Arrivals
Marian Hossa, John Madden, Tomas Kopecky, Richard Petiot

Forwards
New addition Marian Hossa, snaked from division rival Detroit, will look to replace Martin Havlat on the top line at right wing.  The Blackhawks won’t get a chance to see how he responds to his newly awarded 12-year contract until December/January as Hossa is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in the playoffs last season.  Patrick Kane, who has had a tumultuous off-season with the taxi-cab incident in Buffalo, will look to live up to his full potential as he should see first line minutes beside Patrick Sharp and captain Jonathan Toews.  The third line checking center position vacated by Sammy Pahlsson was replaced by another superb checker in John Madden, plucked from the New Jersey Devils in the off-season.

Defenseman
One of the major strengths of last season’s team should be even stronger this year.  With young stars Duncan Keith – the NHL’s biggest steal @ $1.475 million/season – Brent Seabrook, and Cam Barker complimented by veterans Brian Campbell and Brent Sopel, and the up-and-coming Niklas Hjalmarsson, the Blackhawks have a legitimate chance to content for a division title.

Goalies
The biggest question mark for the Blackhawks this season is in goal.  With the loss of Khabibulin, the onus is now Cristobal Huet, who will look to finally earn his $5.6 million/season contract.  Waiting in the wings should Huet fail are youngsters Corey Crawford and Antii Niemi.  Both are coming off very strong seasons in the AHL, and are looking to make an impression on the ‘Hawks staff and make the jump to the NHL.

Strengths
- With Toews, Sharp and Kane firing on all cylinders, this line-up is deadly, if not one of the best in the league.  When Hossa returns, he will add just another weapon to the fold.

- The top four defence of Keith, Seabrook, Barker and Campbell all have the tools to be offensive forces, while still being very responsible in the defensive zone.  Sopel also brings in a wealth of experience once again to help this young ‘Hawks defence mature.

- The playoff experience that this young squad gained last year, including the heartbreak of losing so handily to the Red Wings in the conference finals, should serve as major motivation for this season.

Weaknesses
- Marian Hossa is already hurt….and the ‘Hawks haven’t even opened main camp yet.  Many were worried about the durability of Martin Havlat, but he managed to get through a full-season and most of the playoffs last year.  If Hossa doesn’t recover properly from his shoulder injury, the 12-year deal given to him could continue to be one of the laughers of the NHL.

- If Huet cannot live up to the money he’s being paid, you can be sure the ‘Hawks won’t hesitate to replace him with one of the young stars in their system.  With the success of Washington Capitals Simeon Varlamov last year, teams might be more willing to go to their young backups if the starters falter.

Analysis
On paper, the Blackhawks have one of, if not the strongest team in all of the NHL.  The major question marks are if they can score enough goals without Hossa, and if Huet can give the team enough support on the backend to keep them near the top of their ever competitive division.  If they are able to do this, they should either beat out Detroit for 2nd place in the conference, or remain in their 4th spot overall.

Prediction: 4th in West