Hawks' player of the decade has to be defenseman Keith

Posted December 21, 2009 10:00 pm

By Tim Sassone

Until Rocky Wirtz, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane came along and changed everything for the Blackhawks, this was going to be a decade perhaps best remembered for Theo Fleury's arrest at a Columbus strip club, Brian Sutter roughing up Tyler Arnason in a Nashville bar and the total disaster that was Alpo Suhonen as a coach.

The Hawks are ending the decade on a high as one of the NHL's elite teams, making what happened before 2006 seem like a bad dream.

The highlights of the decade all happened in the last few years, which reflects in my list of the 10 best Hawks of the decade.

To make this list a player had to measure up on and off the ice, and that's why you won't find Alex Zhamnov's name.

1. Duncan Keith

The defenseman has improved each year since his first in 2005-06 to the point where he has to be considered one of the favorites to win the Norris Trophy.

2. Jonathan Toews

It's only his third full season, but the 21-year-old captain has the presence of a veteran and is the Hawks' best center since Jeremy Roenick and Denis Savard.

3. Patrick Sharp

Former general manager Dale Tallon traded Matt Ellison for Sharp, who has been one of the game's top goal scorers for the past four seasons and dependable two-way players.

4. Brent Seabrook

Often overshadowed by Keith, his long-time partner, Seabrook has been one of the backbones of the team since his first season in 2005-06.

5. Patrick Kane

The Hawks haven't had a player this dynamic offensively since Roenick. The top pick in the 2007 draft won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year his first season and is almost a point-a-game player for his career.

6. Steve Sullivan

He was one of the only guys worth watching early in the decade when he had 117 goals and 186 assists in parts of five seasons with the Hawks.

7. Eric Daze

His career was cut short by three back surgeries but not before he scored 120 goals during the decade, including back-to-back seasons of 33 and 38 in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

8. Jocelyn Thibault

He took the Hawks to the playoffs in 2002, going 33-23-9 in goal. Thibault won 116 games in four-plus seasons, playing behind some pretty bad clubs, and was more of a leader than the guys wearing letters at that time.

9. Tony Amonte

He was gone after the 2001-02 season, but in the first three years of the decade scored 43, 35 and 27 goals.

10. Martin Havlat

Can a player make this list with only one great season? Why not? It's my list. Havlat was a monster in 2008-09 with 29 goals (many of them in the clutch) and 77 points, helping the Hawks to 104 points and the West finals and accomplishing more in one year than Zhamnov did in five.

Around the rinks

• Thrashers GM Don Waddell said negotiations on a contract extension for superstar winger Ilya Kovalchuk have hit a snag.

"Their position is fixed years with money and we have a different side of that," Waddell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Kovalchuk is believed to be seeking about $10 million a year and would be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Waddell's last resort would be to trade Kovalchuk before the March 3 deadline.

• Florida's David Booth, sidelined for the last two months with a concussion resulting from a head shot by Philadelphia's Mike Richards, is skating and could return after Christmas.

• The Blues have won two games in a row since GM Larry Pleau marched into the dressing room and read his team the riot act following last Friday's 6-3 loss at home to Tampa Bay.

• Edmonton goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, out since Nov. 16 with a back problem, is no closer to returning to the lineup. Anyone surprised may raise your hand.

The list

This was a tough decision, but here are the NHL's top five players of the decade.

1. Niklas Lidstrom, Detroit

The Swedish defenseman won two Stanley Cups, six Norris trophies and was a seven-time first-team all-star selection.

2. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh

He has more than lived up to his hype under intense pressure, winning a Stanley Cup and one Hart Trophy as MVP.

3. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey

Maybe the greatest goalie ever with the most wins and shutouts, he won one Stanley Cup and four Vezina trophies during the decade.

4. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington

A dynamic force and goal-scoring machine, he already has won two Hart trophies.

5. Jarome Iginla, Calgary

He's fifth by a nose over Joe Thornton on the strength of his 359 goals for the decade and better success in the playoffs.

Ex-Hawk of the week

Florida defenseman Bryan McCabe is quietly having another good season with 5 goals, 15 assists and a plus-2 rating as the Panthers have played themselves back into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.

No mention can be made of McCabe without pointing out he was traded by former Hawks GM Mike Smith to Toronto for defenseman Alexander Karpovtsov in 2000 in one of the worst deals in franchise history.

Detroit Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom tops Tim Sassone's list of the best NHL players of the decade. Associated Press file

Blackhawks game day Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday TV: Comcast SportsNet Radio: WGN 720-AM What to watch: The Red Wings have lost two in a row after a four-game winning streak and are coming off Sunday's 3-0 loss at the United Center, where they were outshot 35-20 by the Hawks. Detroit is still minus eight injured regulars, including Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall and Dan Cleary. Jimmy Howard is expected to start in goal. Next: Nashville Predators at the Sommet Center, 7 p.m. Saturday.

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