Where Hawks ended up after cap woes

As reluctant as general manager Stan Bowman might have been to tinker with a championship roster, the Blackhawks' off-season salary cap problem was real and had to be dealt with soon after all the confetti was swept up after the Stanley Cup parade.

When the dust settled Bowman had shed $16.95 million in payroll, moving out $22.57 million while taking on $5.62 million.

No Stanley Cup champion in recent memory underwent as much change 10 Hawks were moved off the roster but this still is a team that should be right in the hunt for another championship barring a rash of injuries to key players.

Here's a final breakdown of the 10 players who left Chicago after winning the Stanley Cup, and the price of the talent that replaced them for this season:

He's gone He's here Sassone's take

Dustin Byfuglien Bryan Bickell Perhaps it's not fair to say Bickell needs to replace $3 million $541,000 the things Byfuglien did physically and in front of the net, Now with Atlanta but someone does.

Kris Versteeg Viktor Stalberg Stalberg might be as quick as Versteeg, but only $3.08 million $850,000 time will tell if he possess anywhere near the same Now with Toronto skill and clutch goal scoring.

Andrew Ladd Fernando Pisani This has the potential to be a wash as long as the gritty $2.35 million $500,000 Pisani can stay healthy, which has been the knock Now with Atlanta against him in the NHL.

Antti Niemi Marty Turco This is the big one. Niemi won a Stanley Cup, which $2 million $1.3 million means Turco has some big skates to fill. Now with San Jose

Brent Sopel John Scott Scott toughness and physical play is the tradeoff $2.33 million $512,000 here for Sopel's shot blocking and penalty killing. Now with Atlanta

Ben Eager Jack Skille Eager had his moments, but Skille is quicker and has $965,000 $600,000 the potential to be more of a threat offensively. Now with Atlanta

John Madden Jake Dowell Dowell should play with more of an edge, but Madden's $1.25 million $525,000 leadership on and off ice was a big part of Hawks' success. Now with Minnesota

Cristobal Huet Corey Crawford This was a no-brainer for general manager Stan Bowman $5.62 million $800,000 and Huet's deal doesn't count against the cap. In Swiss league

Adam Burish Several Burish and Fraser gave the Hawks a lot of grit, but they $1.15 million role players became too pricey at almost $2 million. Colin Fraser to fill slots Burish is now with Dallas, and Fraser is with Edmonton $825,000