New faces give Blackhawks new optimism
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman's off-season game plan was simple: Keep most of the team's core intact while adding the right pieces to make it a much tougher club for opponents to play against.
Did Bowman add the right pieces in forwards Andrew Brunette, Jamal Mayers, Daniel Carcillo, Rostislav Olesz and defensemen Steve Montador, Sean O'Donnell and Sami Lepisto?
That question will begin to be answered on Friday when the Hawks report to training camp at the United Center.
The Hawks believe they have a team ready to challenge for its second Stanley Cup in three years, and there's no reason to doubt such optimism.
“It's a nice mixture of guys added to the ones who have been here a long time,” Bowman said. “I think it's going to give us a little more of a bounce in our group and a little more excitement. It's going to be fun to see how it all plays out.”
Among the additions at forward, Brunette might have just turned 38 but he was brought in to play on the top two lines and to provide a presence around the net, certainly on the power play, to replace the departed Troy Brouwer and Tomas Kopecky.
Brunette had 18 goals and 46 points for Minnesota last season, but the Hawks envision those numbers improving as he plays with the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa.
“There's tons of skill here,” Brunette said. “You can talk about the toughness, but I think the skill level of this team is as high as there is in the league.
“I've played under Joel (Quenneville) for years in Colorado and it's a fun way to play the game. In Minnesota it was a defensive scheme for many years. That wins too, but it will be a nice change to be back with Joel. I had some of my best years with him in Colorado.”
Carcillo and Mayers are likely to be regulars on the fourth line, although the Hawks see Carcillo as someone who can provide a jolt of energy on the top lines with the skill to play there when needed.
“Everybody always talks about that I can fight, that I'm tough and that I can hit, but I pride myself in my game as well,” Carcillo said. “I never want to be that fourth-line guy. That's kind of what I turned into last year (in Philadelphia) and what they wanted me to be and I had a really, really hard time with it.
“It's tough for me to do my job if I'm on the ice for two minutes because you're not into the game, you're not into the opponents' head and they don't have to worry about you. I'm at my best when they're worrying about me. I'm looking forward to getting back to doing what I know I can do.”
If there's a wild card among the new forwards it's Olesz, acquired from Florida for Brian Campbell.
Olesz never has lived up to expectations after the Panthers drafted him seventh overall in 2004. But Bowman said Olesz, who comes with a hefty $3.1 million cap hit, does figure into the team's plans and that maybe playing on a better club will help bring out his considerable talent.
On defense, Montador will play in the top four and be counted on to be a key penalty killer while O'Donnell and Lepisto will provide depth on the back end.
Bowman said getting a defenseman in free agency was his top priority and that Montador was the Hawks' No. 1 choice.
“We didn't have the style of player that Steve brings,” Bowman said at the time of the signing. “We had some guys that play a smaller style and use their quickness and they're puck movers, but we wanted to get somebody with size and strength and plays with an edge.”
The other key new face will be in the backup goalie role with veteran Ray Emery and rookie Alexander Salak battling in camp to play behind Corey Crawford.
Bowman has called it an open competition between Salak, who was acquired with Michael Frolik in the trade with Florida last season, and Emery, who was invited to camp on a tryout basis.