Blackhawks’ Frolik ready for new kind of pressure
DALLAS — Michael Frolik was considered a go-to guy offensively for the Florida Panthers.
While that won’t be the case on a Blackhawks team with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa, Frolik still believes there is going to be pressure on him to be a points producer on a contending team.
“They expected goals from me in Florida and for sure the pressure was there, but it’s everywhere,” Frolik said. “The pressure is going to be here too. There are so many guys who can score goals, but I want to help the team.”
Frolik had only 8 goals in 52 games for the Panthers with 21 assists.
“I’m kind of struggling to score, but I think there are new guys and I can play with different guys in a different system,” Frolik said. “Hopefully it helps.”
Frolik said he was happy and excited to be coming to the team that won the Stanley Cup last season.
“It’s a great hockey club with so many great players,” he said. “It’s a new start for me. I know Marty Havlat and he just loved it here.”
Frolik said he would prefer to play wing, which is where coach Joel Quenneville had him Friday in his Hawks debut.
“We were thinking along those lines (as a center) initially,” Quenneville said. “We’ll work our way through it and see how much ice time he gets and how he fits in. We’ll start him on the wing and see if he gets a shot at center or not. The fact that he can play there is something we could explore at some point.”
Bowman wants Seabrook:
Enough with the Brent Seabrook trade talk — for now, anyway.
The rumors started by Internet bloggers have no validity, according to general manager Stan Bowman, who said Friday the veteran defenseman wasn’t going anywhere before the Feb. 28 trade deadline.
“We’re trying to sign Seabrook and we’ve been trying to sign him for a while,” Bowman said. “It’s been going along amicably. We haven’t gotten it done yet, but we’ve had different ideas back and forth. I met with their agent (Steven Kotlowitz) a couple weeks ago and we’ve talked on the phone quite a bit.
“He’s absolutely on our team. He’s a big part of our group here. Brent’s a big reason we’ve gotten to where we’re at and he’s going to continue to be part of it.”
Of course, things could change after the season if Seabrook remains unsigned and becomes a restricted free agent. Then all bets are off if the number Seabrook has in mind doesn’t match what the Hawks want to pay him.
Tip-in:
Marian Hossa didn’t play Friday and is doubtful for tonight’s game against Phoenix because of the flu. Joel Quenneville said Hossa left Wednesday’s game at Edmonton after the second period because he was ill and not because of a hit he took.