Four ex-Hawks ready to face old friends

ATLANTA -- Dustin Byfuglien dressed in Atlanta Thrashers blue seems so wrong.

Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel look out of place as well in something other than in their classy Blackhawks uniforms.

In one of the more anticipated games of the season, the Hawks will face their four ex-teammates who played such a big part in winning the Stanley Cup on Saturday night here at Philips Arena.

The game couldn't come at a more curious time. The Hawks have lost five of their last seven games and are 7-7-1 largely because they miss many of the things Byfuglien, Ladd, Sopel and Eager brought to the table, such as defensive consistency and physical play.

“We'll obviously have some motivation over here to maybe prove that maybe they shouldn't have let us go,” Ladd said Thursday before the Thrashers hosted Columbus. “Even if they didn't have a choice, you still have to use that.”

In two separate deals last summer, Hawks general manager Stan Bowman made the decision to trade Byfuglien, Ladd, Sopel and Eager to the Thrashers because of salary-cap problems.

While Bowman got prospect Jeremy Morin and a No. 1 draft pick in the deal for Byfuglien, Sopel and Eager, in a perfect world the Hawks would have liked to have kept as many players as possible off their Stanley Cup roster

But that wasn't possible in the salary-cap world that is now the NHL.

Not with the Hawks having committed huge money long term to players such as Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell.

“A lot of their top players are getting paid a lot and it's hurting their depth a little,” Eager said of the Hawks' current struggles.

“It was their decision to get rid of us. I know they were kind of strapped financially, but we're happy to be here and have bigger roles on this team and we're looking to bring what we learned from them and bring it over here and try to be a good team here.”

Some thought the Hawks would keep Byfuglien after his monster playoff performance when he scored 11 goals, 5 of them game-winners, and was a difference-maker in the series with Vancouver and San Jose.

But Bowman didn't consider the 6-foot-5, 265-pound versatile Byfuglien to be one of the team's core players.

“It's business and you have to move on,” Byfuglien said. “It would have been nice to stay, don't get me wrong. Then again I come here with a different role and moving back to defense.

“I've been happy being here and being back on the point and just continue to have a bigger role here. It's nice to be a go-to guy instead of you don't know if you're going to get that chance to be on the ice in the last minute or not.”

The four ex-Hawks do not hide the fact they are looking forward to the weekend, not only playing the game Saturday but to get together for dinner Friday night with their friends.

While Byfuglien, Ladd, Sopel and Eager now wear blue, they will forever be remembered as Stanley Cup champions in Chicago.

“The bond is always going to be there,” Sopel said. “You're always going to look back and 20 years down the road you're going to remember every single guy that was on that team and what they did throughout the year and throughout the playoffs.

“We're always going to be sticking together. We're on that Cup visibly for 59 more years. We're always going to remember each other for what we did.”

“In Chicago, I think we had such a group that was the same age,” Ladd said. “A lot of guys have known each other for a long time. Me and (Colin) Fraser and (Troy) Brouwer and (Brent) Seabrook have known each other since we were 8, so it goes way back.

“That's the nice thing about winning there. We had such a tight group and it's something we'll take forever.”

Sopel believes the 2009-10 Hawks will go down in history as one of the greatest Cup teams in recent memory because of its depth.

“You look around the league at teams that have won, you don't have that depth,” Sopel said. “That was key for us last year.

“It's definitely going to go down as one of the best ones ever to play the game in Chicago. It's definitely going to go down as one of the best. You look at the talent that was on that team from top to bottom, it's tough to match against many of the other teams that have won.”

Ladd was with Keith last summer back home in British Columbia when the NHL schedule came out.

“When the schedule came out we were kind of looking to see when we play each other and we've been looking forward to it,” Ladd said. “It's going to be a little weird seeing him on the other side of the ice, but it should be fun seeing them all again, too.”

Byfuglien joked that he might take a run at Kane if the opportunity presents itself.

“On the ice, I think I'm going to have fun with Kaner Kaner and Sharpie, we'll have a little bit of fun with,” Byfuglien said. “Hopefully we have some good smiles and laughs and then go to work and be (jerks) against each other for a while and just go back and be friends afterward.

“It's something I'm excited for it, but then again we have a job to do. You know everyone; you just have to have fun with it. But you still have to work hard and not be afraid to hit them and smash them into the boards, too.”