Dangerous Hawk offense also gets better defensively

By signing 40-goal scorer Marian Hossa as a free agent, the Blackhawks should have one of the NHL's most dangerous offenses again in 2009-10.

But the Hawks also feel they took a big step toward being even better defensively by signing free-agent center John Madden and forward Tomas Kopecky.

Madden, who agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.75 million late Wednesday night, is one of the top defenders in the game. A two-time Stanley Cup champion with New Jersey, Madden won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward in 2001 with the Devils and has been runnerup three times, including in 2008.

"John is a proven winner and one of the premier defensive forwards in the game who also has the talent to contribute with timely offense as well," Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said. "Adding his experience is an important piece to the puzzle."

The 36-year-old Madden will be the Hawks' third-line checking center, replacing Sammy Pahlsson, who signed with Columbus.

"We wanted to make sure we had that type of player," Tallon said. "John is a winner and a quality player. He took less money and term to come to us."

It's not as clear where Kopecky fits in on the depth chart. He is a natural center who could play there on the Hawks' fourth line or he could be a third-line winger.

Kopecky is not a proven scorer, but he is big and physical and can put the puck in the net with the right opportunity.

"It will be up to me to show the coaches what I can do," Kopecky said.

"Tomas Kopecky is a versatile forward who has size and who is very solid defensive forward," Tallon said. "He played some important minutes for Detroit in the playoffs. He's a very useful player."

Kopecky's 109 hits ranked second on the Red Wings, but in the end Detroit management deemed him expendable because he hadn't developed into more of a complete player.

The Red Wings definitely wanted to keep Hossa, but because of salary cap constraints they were unable to squeeze him into their payroll.

Hossa knew there wouldn't be enough money left for him after Detroit gave Henrik Zetterberg a 12-year, $73 million contract in January and Johan Franzen an 11-year contract worth $43 million in April.

"I had hoped to get something done in Detroit, but with the economy and the salary cap it's hard to sign all your star players, and they had a lot of star players," Hossa said. "If there was no salary cap I'd probably still be in Detroit, but you can't sign everyone."

The most Red Wings GM Ken Holland could offer Hossa was a $4 million cap hit spread over 12 years. Hossa got an average of $5.2 million from the Hawks over 12 years.

"We made Marian an offer of $50 million, and he got $62," Holland said. "We made an offer as much as we could. But we still like our team. We still have some very good players."

Tallon won't be satisfied he has the team to challenge the Red Wings until he beefs up his defense, which appears to be at least one regular short after Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Cam Barker and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Brent Sopel remains under contract and figures to be part of the top seven. Tallon said he wants to add a physical, stay-at-home defenseman to settle things down on the back end.

"We're looking for the right guy," Tallon said. "We're in no hurry."

It's possible that guy can be found in a trade with the Hawks having a glut of forwards as assets to offer around the league.

"We have a lot of assets we can trade," Tallon said. "If there's a defenseman available we really like, we might go get him."

Hossa's paydays Here's a breakdown of 30-year-old winger Marian Hossa's 12-year contract for $62.8 million with the Blackhawks: Year Salary 2009-10 $7.9 million 2010-11 $7.9 million 2011-12 $7.9 million 2012-13 $7.9 million 2013-14 $7.9 million 2014-15 $7.9 million 2015-16 $7.9 million 2016-17 $4.0 million 2017-18 $1.0 million 2018-19 $1.0 million 2019-20 $ 750,000 2020-21 $ 750,000 <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=304471">Tallon tries to take the high road on loss of Havlat<span class="date"> [7/2/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=304366">NHL, Blackhawks climb in ultimate standings poll<span class="date"> [7/2/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>