Brunette happy to be with Hawks

The way new Blackhawks winger Andrew Brunette sees it, he can't lose.

If he doesn't play on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, there's always a spot on the second line with Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa.

“It's a tough gig, right?” Brunette joked. “Wherever you're slotted on this team you're going to be having fun and creating a bit of offense.”

Brunette looks forward to being reunited with coach Joel Quenneville, under whom he had some of his better offensive seasons in Colorado.

The 37-year-old Brunette comes from Minnesota, where the philosophy was different than it is with the Hawks.

“I played under Joel for years in Colorado and it's a fun way to play the game,” Brunette said. “At times in Minnesota it was a defensive scheme for many years, which wins too, but it's nice to have a little change and be back with Joel. I had some of my best years playing for him in Colorado. He knows what I bring to the table, and I know what he expects.”

General manager Stan Bowman signed Brunette to a one-year, $2 million contract to provide experience and more goal scoring to the first two lines. Brunette is considered a crafty player in tight and should help establish a net-front presence on a power play that was good but could be even better.

“In Andrew's case he's obviously got a lot of experience and been a very durable player, which is important to us,” Bowman said. “His ability to play with good players, I think he's going to fit in very nicely.”

“There's tons of skill here,” Brunette said. “You can preview every line and there's skill. You can talk about the toughness, but I think the skill level of this team is as high as anyone. There's a lot of really smart offensive hockey players.”