Hawks postpone postseason speculation

Just like they don't want to talk about advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals until they actually get there, Blackhawks players also don't want to think about what might happen to the team as currently constituted once the reality of the NHL salary cap hits this off-season.

The bottom line is some players have to go, and two of the players whose names have been bandied about as possibilities for that - Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien - just happened to share the stage together at Saturday morning's press briefing.

"Buff and I don't even know what you're talking about," Sharp said with a laugh when asked about the possibility. "That's the first we've heard about the salary cap."

He kids, of course, but when pressed admits it's a fairly hot topic among his teammates.

"It's been talked about," Sharp said. "But we can worry about that weeks from now. You look at guys that have been in the league for a long time that have played for this opportunity and we realize that it's right there for us.

"So we don't want to start thinking about where players will be next year. We've got to take advantage of what we have."

Sometimes that's easier said than done.

"Yeah, I think that sort of thing where you're thinking about who's going to be back next year, all that sort of thing - a lot of teams deal with that," defenseman Duncan Keith said. "Every team has to face that."

Keith is one of a core group of Blackhawks who doesn't have to worry about that after recently signing a long-term contract. But he's still concerned about who might and might not be back next season.

"I think as players, for us, the best thing to do is not to get caught up in that sort of thing and worry about it," Keith said. "Obviously we like our teammates and we love playing together.

"There will be changes next year, as there will be with every team. But I think the focus right now is just understanding we have what we have right now, the opportunity that's there, giving it everything we have with the team we have right now, then worrying about what happens next year."