Bottom six and back end are big question marks after dramatic offseason changes.
Hockey has gone into hibernation for the summer, but let’s wrap up a wild offseason with one last mailbag:
FORWARDS:
Brandon Saad-Jonathan Toews-Richard Panik
Patrick Sharp-Nick Schmaltz-Patrick Kane
Ryan Hartman-Artem Anisimov-John Hayden
Vinnie Hinostroza-Tanner Kero-Tommy Wingels
Extras: Jordin Tootoo, Tomas Jurco, Lance Bouma
Notes: It’s probably a long shot that Schmaltz bumps Anisimov, at least at the start. But Schmaltz prefers to play center, and had great chemistry with Kane in limited action as his center late last season. Schmaltz’s faceoffs are a concern, but Sharp is a career 49.6 percent at the dot and can alleviate some of those issues. If Schmaltz takes the next step and Anisimov slots in at 3C, suddenly the Hawks look pretty solid down the middle (Kero is the new Marcus Kruger, a reliable fixture at 4C) . Bouma is making $1 million this season, so I doubt the Hawks want him in civilian clothes most nights. So he could bump Hinostroza from the lineup, especially against more physical opponents such as St. Louis. But I like Hinostroza’s speed and ceiling a bit more.
DEFENSE:
Duncan Keith-Connor Murphy
Michal Kempny-Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling-Michal Rozsival
Extras: Jan Rutta, Jordan Oesterle, Ville Pokka, Erik Gustafsson
Notes: Yikes. The Hawks will still score goals. And Corey Crawford is still one of the best goaltenders in the game. But the blue line is the flashing red light on this roster. The Hawks like Murphy a lot, and as a 24-year-old who has spent his whole career on a bad team, he deserves a chance to prove himself on a better team with better structure. But he was under water in terms of possession in all three of his full seasons with Arizona, and he has shown little offensive upside so far. Keith tends to bring out the best in his partners, though, and Murphy being a right-handed shot should help out Keith offensively (left-handed Niklas Hjalmarsson preferred to play his off-side, but for defense, not offense) .
Patrick Kane (left) and Nick Schmaltz enjoyed good chemistry during a brief stint together last season. (Getty Images)
Forsling’s ceiling remains high, and the Hawks are counting on him becoming an everyday NHL player sooner rather than later. After that, who knows? Rutta is a total unknown, and he’s coming from the Czech league, not the KHL, so it’s hard to know if he’s NHL ready. Rozsival is a perfectly adequate third-pairing guy in the meantime, but needs to be playing 25-35 games, not 50-60 games. Oesterle is a left-handed shot, which will make it tough for him to crack the lineup on a regular basis. Pokka has yet to break through, and Gustafsson (who is a lefty but can play both sides) is trying to climb back up the depth chart after spending all of last season in Rockford. The good news is, the Hawks have a lot of options on the back end. The bad news is, it remains to be seen which, if any, are good options.
As for who took the biggest step back in the division, it has to be the Blackhawks. Their top six is better, but their bottom six is not. The defense is significantly worse without Hjalmarsson and Brian Campbell. And they went from one of the best backup goalies in the league, Scott Darling, to an unknown in Anton Forsberg. The Hawks should still be a playoff team, but they likely won’ t sniff another 50-win season.
That said, I get the reasoning behind the trade. Beyond just the cost certainty of having Murphy locked up for five seasons, Hjalmarsson is 30 years old. And while he’s still at or near the top of his game, his style of play is not conducive to a super-long career. Every player declines eventually. And if and when Hjalmarsson starts his decline, it’s likely not going to be gradual, but sudden and precipitous. The human body can only take so much punishment (as Ryan Kesler surely would tell you) .
But Franson’s no guarantee. We all remember such previous veteran PTOs as Daniel Paille, Jan Hejda and Lubomir Visnovsky, right? And he still could be signed by someone else before camp even opens. He turns 30 next week.
Here’s one last question, which I saw in my mentions earlier this week but can’ t find now. It was too good not to use, and I spent way too much time agonizing over it. I was asked for my top 10 bands (in order) , and my single favorite song (no ties) from each of those bands. No. 1 was easy (though the song changes on a daily basis) , Nos. 2-7 were basically interchangeable, and nearly a dozen bands could have gone in Nos. 8-10. Try this yourself. It’s not easy. And enjoy the rest of the summer. I know it’s been a while, but hockey will be here before you know it.
1. Pearl Jam — Hail
2. The Strokes — Reptilia
3. Garbage — Parade
4. The Sounds — Great Day
5. The White Stripes — I’ m Bound To Pack It Up
6. Against Me! — High-Pressure Low
7. Our Lady Peace — Paper Moon
8. Franz Ferdinand — Walk Away
9. Metric — Gimme Sympathy
10. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers — Big Weekend
