Tallon happy with Hawks' defense
The Hawks approached the trade deadline looking to perhaps add a depth defenseman.
Instead they subtracted one from the blue line in James Wisniewski, who was sent to Anaheim in the deal for Sami Pahlsson.
So what about the defense?
Hawks general manager Dale Tallon likes it as it is.
Niklas Hjalmarsson was recalled from Rockford on Wednesday and he now will compete with Aaron Johnson for the sixth spot to play with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Cam Barker and Matt Walker.
"We feel with our goaltending and the ability to move the puck out of our end, and now we have a couple shutdown lines really, that we won't have as many scoring chances against," Tallon said.
The Hawks didn't have a lot of extra money under the salary cap to spend on a defenseman. Helping take on Pahlsson's cap hit of a little more than $1 million was the fact that Craig Adams (and his $600,000 salary) was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh early Wednesday.
"With the cap situation the way it was, we were pretty focused on a center," Tallon said.
Wisniewski was averaging more than 19 minutes with the Hawks. Johnson was one of the team's better defenseman before he hurt his ribs in late November in San Jose. Lately he has been a healthy scratch in 16 of 18 games.
Khabibulin stays put: Dale Tallon claimed he never came close to trading Nikolai Khabibulin.
"There was no discussion (Wednesday) or all week about goaltenders," Tallon said. "I think they realized we've had a good year with both our goalies, and people felt we weren't going to do anything, and we're fine with that. You can't win without great goaltending."
Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet will continue to do what they've done all season and split time, once Khabibulin returns from a groin injury.
"Everyone talked about the fact we would make a move with one of our goaltenders all year," Tallon said. "We weren't going to do it unless there was a tremendous asset coming back.
"The way both of them played and the depth we have at that position, it's one of our strengths, and it's proven to be a strength all year. It's given our young players an opportunity to make mistakes and be aggressive and take chances and play an enjoyable game for the fans."
Khabibulin might return to practice later this week.
False alarm: Several Canadian media outlets reported Wednesday that the Hawks had agreed on a contract extension with Martin Havlat.
There is no deal yet, although the two sides appear closer than ever.
"We're continually talking, and every game it convinces me more that we need to try to get something done," Dale Tallon said. "We love Marty Havlat. He's playing great now and doing the job we expected of him when we first brought him here.
"We'd love to keep him here, and I'm hopeful we can get something done."
Pahlsson's contract: Sami Pahlsson will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and there's a good chance the Hawks will try to keep him.
Pahlsson is earning $1.4 million this season.
Even if the Hawks re-sign Martin Havlat, they will have Nikolai Khabibulin's $6.75 million off the books when he walks as an unrestricted free agent.
"Next year we're in great shape," Dale Tallon said. "It's the following year we have to be ready for, and we've already started the process so that we have the ability to keep our core group and keep this team together as long as we can."
Tallon will need to sign Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith after next season.
The task this summer will be re-signing restricted free agents Dave Bolland, Cam Barker, Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, Kris Versteeg and Colin Fraser.
Tip-ins: Logan Stephenson, the defenseman acquired from Anaheim with Sami Pahlsson, was assigned to Rockford. - The Hawks get the conditional draft pick in the Pahlsson deal, not the other way around, as first reported.