With Eager and Burish out, do Hawks need an enforcer?
The Blackhawks proved in the playoffs they had plenty of team toughness, but that was then and this is now.
In the aftermath of Willie Mitchell's big hit on Jonathan Toews Wednesday at the United Center, and with middleweight Ben Eager and agitator Adam Burish sidelined indefinitely by injuries, questions about the Hawks' toughness are being raised again.
Do the Hawks need an enforcer-type to protect their skill players over the long regular season, where generally more liberties are taken than in the playoffs?
Two of the Hawks' most skilled forwards, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp, don't necessarily think so.
"To be honest with you, it depends on what kind of guy it is," Kane said Thursday. "You can always use a guy like Eager, and it's going to be nice when he gets back, for sure.
"But if you're saying a guy like David Koci, who can play two or three minutes a night and just be there to maybe get his fight against a heavyweight but doesn't have an impact on the game."
The Hawks are smaller and more vulnerable to physical play without Eager, Burish and even Marian Hossa, but Sharp thinks it's something the team can deal with from within.
"I personally don't feel teams are taking liberties on us," Sharp said. "I think it's a game plan a lot of teams have against us. I don't know if were smaller, but we're definitely a more skilled team up front than most teams. We like to play with the puck and we might not have as many gritty, physical guys on paper.
"That's a strategy other teams have. They want to play Kane physical and Toews physical, but that's something we've dealt with the last couple years and we're going to have to face going forward."
Not many teams have so-called goons in today's NHL, but most clubs do still employ a tough guy to at least deter opponents from going after their stars.
"There's always a need for those guys, and that's why there are players like that in the league," Sharp said. "But everyone can contribute that side of the game. You don't have to go out and fight the (Derek) Boogards and Kocis of the league, but you can go out and play physical and want to get to that puck first.
"I think that's when we're successful, when we're moving our feet and willing to put our bodies in those situations."
It's difficult to get a handle on how Hawks coach Joel Quenneville feels on the subject. But when you try reading between the lines with what he says, you get a feeling the old-school Quenneville wouldn't mind a little more jam from his lineup.
"As a group we've all got to be committed to stick together and battle with our group and find ways to deal with that kind of thing," Quenneville said. "I still love the character we have as a group and how everybody does stick up for each other and protects their own space as well.
"But at the same time, at home we've got to make sure we place a premium on how hard and how well we play at home and take care of that kind of business."
The Mitchell hit was clean. The Vancouver defenseman came out of the penalty box just as Toews took a pass in the neutral zone with a full head of steam and got his shoulder into the chin of the Hawks captain.
The hit wasn't the problem. The Hawks should consider the issue to be it was their best all-around player on the receiving end, and stars need some sort of protection.
It was the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Kris Versteeg who jumped in and grabbed Mitchell after the hit on Toews.
"You've got to stick up for each other," Quenneville said. "With your top guys, you want to make sure that these things can happen, but we don't expect this to be occurring regularly."