Hawks could be legitimate Cup contenders next season
Let's not put the cart before the horse here, but I dreamed the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.
And when the great moment came for NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to hand the Cup off to the Hawks' captain, into whose arms did he put it? Dirk Graham's.
OK, so dreams aren't perfect, and I'm sure I had one like that in the first place because before bed the other night I watched on the NHL Network (which I love, by the way) as the New York Rangers won Game 7 of the 1994 Finals.
It was one of the most stirring and goose-bump moments in hockey history when the Rangers broke their 40-year drought and won the Cup amid the pandemonium at Madison Square Garden.
We can only dream about what it would be like for the Hawks to win the Stanley Cup at the United Center.
But you know what? Thinking the Hawks could win the Stanley Cup in the not-too-distant future isn't such a crazy thought based on what is happening with this franchise.
The Hawks have three potential offensive superstars to build around in Martin Havlat, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Tampa Bay proved that is a recipe for success in 2004 when the Lightning won it all led by Brad Richards, Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis.
The Hawks have a strong, young nucleus that is only going to get better. There's not another team in the NHL that wouldn't love to have four young defensemen such as Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, James Wisniewski and Dustin Byfuglien. And the Hawks still believe Cam Barker, the third pick in the 2004 draft, is going to be a good one.
It would be a terrific story if the Hawks made the playoffs this season, but let's look at next season for a minute. The Hawks could be serious Cup contenders in 2008-09 if certain things break right.
The Hawks' young players are going to be even better, and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and center Robert Lang will still be around on the final years of their contracts. But the key to everything is how general manager Dale Tallon uses the considerable amount of money he will have at his disposal on filling the gaps with free agents.
Do you think new chairman Rocky Wirtz is going to let Tallon spend? Home games are on TV, right? And John McDonough now has a parking spot at the United Center instead of Wrigley Field.
Darn right Wirtz is going to give Tallon the green light to go for it.
The Hawks have 11 players who will be unrestricted free agents after this season when their contracts expire in Kevyn Adams, Martin Lapointe, Sergei Samsonov, Yanic Perreault, Andrei Zyuzin, Brent Sopel, Magnus Johansson, Jim Vandermeer, David Koci, Jason Williams and Patrick Lalime.
Even if Tallon brings back two or three of them, it still frees up roughly $16 million to spend based on the present salaries of those 11.
Next summer may not be a great year for unrestricted free agents, but there will be some good players available, and Chicago now is a destination.
The Hawks are certain to pursue the best defenseman on the market, and available will be Wade Redden, Nicklas Lidstrom, Dan Boyle, Brad Stuart, Nick Schultz, Jason Smith, Michal Rozsival and John-Michael Liles.
Among the top-end forwards scheduled to be unrestricted free agents are Marian Hossa, Daymond Langkow, J.P. Dumont, David Legwand, Ryan Malone, Vaclav Prospal and Markus Naslund.
Go ahead and dream.
tsassone@dailyherald.com