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Rozner: What role will Patrick Sharp have with Chicago Blackhawks

More than a week later, the return of Patrick Sharp to the Blackhawks is still met with equal parts romanticism and skepticism.

And it feels appropriate.

Given his age (35) and mileage, the admirable effort he has given every night and the injury history, concern is completely legitimate.

Sharp was also a huge part of three Stanley Cup runs, collecting 53 points in 68 games those three springs, good for third on the team behind only Patrick Kane (70) and Jonathan Toews (64), not to mention leading all postseason scorers with 10 goals in 2013.

Fans have every right to be excited he's back and hopeful that good health will mean good performance on a team desperate for help, especially at less than a million bucks.

As for where he's going to play, don't kid yourself.

Sharp is a goal scorer when right and he didn't return here — nor did the Hawks sign him — to be a bottom six forward.

They have numerous players who can fill those roles.

Nope, with very low risk they are hoping for serious reward in a top-six role.

He's done very well with Toews in the past, and while that line seems set with Brandon Saad returning, Sharp would also fit nicely on Kane's opposite wing.

Of course, starting lines mean little on a team where head coach Joel Quenneville expects players to handle moving frequently as needed.

“One thing I've learned in my years of playing hockey is that you can't guarantee (anything),” Sharp told the Chicago media on a conference call. “Trying to put the lineup together on a nightly basis, things change quite a bit. And that's the way it should be.

“You should move people around. You should find a lineup that works and I expect that's going to happen.”

This is, of course, dripping with irony.

It was Sharp who could barely get out of Quenneville's doghouse in 2015, forced to the third line in the postseason until the Stanley Cup Final. But he kept quiet and served in whatever menial role was offered, a sharpshooter reduced to the motor pool.

Still, when he got his chance to play with elite NHL players, he played again like an elite NHL player, dangerous and responsible, and somehow piled up 15 points in 23 games, good for fifth on the champs behind Toews, Kane, Duncan Keith and Marian Hossa.

Now, Quenneville needs him to fill a big role and Sharp still has that ability if — again — he can fly like he always has given a measure of good health.

It's probably been years since Sharp was healthy, given his hip issues, but he had a good season two years ago and now has the summer to get himself right after surgery.

Sharp is already skating and the Hawks are optimistic.

“I expect to be 100 percent ready to go from Day 1 of training camp,” Sharp said. “I expect to contribute in whatever role Joel decides to put me in.”

Given his history, Quenneville is almost always going to choose the veteran option over a younger player, which is less a criticism than it is a coach choosing something he knows over something he doesn't.

More simply put, he chooses responsibility over a question mark and potential upside.

It's worth remembering that the Hawks made their run to the top of the conference (20-4-2) late in the season when Nick Schmaltz finally got a chance on the Toews line, but Schmaltz was also buried in the first period of the first playoff game after a mistake — that might not have been his — wound up behind Corey Crawford.

The notion of limiting ice time for a talent like Schmaltz, or placing a skilled player in a bottom six role, does not sit well with many, and that's also entirely fair.

The Hawks must have their best young players contribute in order for the Cup window to remain open for the next several years.

It's merely fact in the cap era.

But the only certainty here is the uncertainty. There are months before camp and scores of games to be played before there are answers to any questions.

Even then, change will be constant — and with a little luck, entertaining.

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's “Hit and Run” show at WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.

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