Roenick wonders if Hawks have goalies to win Cup

CALGARY, Alberta - While Jeremy Roenick, now of NBC-TV, likes so many things about his former team, he wondered Wednesday if the Blackhawks have the goaltending to win the Stanley Cup.

"A lot of people say they are the best team in the NHL right now; I cannot argue that fact," Roenick said on the Waddle and Silvy Show on WMVP AM-1000. "Their youth, their enthusiasm - the only thing that everybody says, and I'm going to have to agree with them, is the goaltending situation.

"Can (Cristobal) Huet bring them 16 (wins)? I say no. I think he can probably get you through two rounds. To go 16 games you need a goaltender that is going to stand on his head and steal games.

"(Antti) Niemi is a good goaltender, too, don't get me wrong, they just need that extra boost in goal that I think would make the guys more confident in front of him. And if those guys are even more confident than they are right now, they will be unbeatable.

"They are still two good goaltenders, but I don't know if they could do it for the full 16 wins."

Huet has a record of 5-8 in the playoffs with Montreal and Washington but has never won a series. Niemi never has appeared in the playoffs.

"They can get by with Huet, there's no question about it," Roenick said. "They can get by with Niemi, they're so good.

"It just remains to be seen whether they can really knuckle down and take it to the next level and have this team win a Stanley Cup because, I'm telling you guys, that team is poised this year to win a Stanley Cup as good as they are."