Sundin not coming to Hawks

DENVER - With free agent Mats Sundin reportedly set to decide on a team to sign with by Tuesday or Wednesday, Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon said Friday the all-star center isn't coming to Chicago.

Well, that's what Tallon sort of said.

"We don't have any cap space," Tallon said. "We'd have to move (a player). There are very few teams that have that space for the amount of salary he wants.

"I think he likes our team. They approached us and talked to us and, of course, we had to look at it, but something has to happen to clear up that kind of money."

For the Hawks to sign Sundin, they would likely need to trade either Nikolai Khabibulin ($6.75 million cap hit) or Martin Havlat ($6 million).

"I could do it, but how many teams are going to take that money without giving us some (money) back?" Tallon said. "A lot of teams are in the same boat, trying to move players with high salary, but you're going to have to take something back to move them."

Tallon talked to Sundin in Los Angeles the day after Thanksgiving but hasn't spoken to him or his agent since then.

It's believed Sundin will ultimately sign with either Vancouver or the New York Rangers.

Wiz pushed back: Defenseman James Wisniewski, who was supposed to play Sunday, now won't return to the lineup until Tuesday at Edmonton.

"The doctors didn't want him playing back-to-back games (at Rockford)," Dale Tallon said. "So he played Thursday, will play (tonight) and then Tuesday."

The Hawks wanted Wisniewski to play Thursday and Friday for Rockford then jump into the lineup Sunday against Columbus.

Rocky Mountain home: Denver always will have a place in Hawks coach Joel Quenneville's heart. He played here with the old Colorado Rockies, was an assistant coach with the Avalanche, left, then returned as Avs head coach until last season.

Quenneville still has a lot of friends here, including Avs coach Tony Granato, but that friendship was put aside again for Friday's game.

"When it's time to play, we've got important things to do," Quenneville said. "Being players and coaches, we all want to win in the worst way, but I think we're respectful of one another."