Nikolai Khabibulin is just one of the many new faces in Chicago this year.

Blackhawks make
moves to move up
By Phil Coffey | NHL.com
Sept. 7, 2005

A recent history lesson centering on the Chicago Blackhawks is bleak. The Hawks have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs just once in the last seven seasons. Plus, Chicago players and fans haven't gotten to celebrate a Stanley Cup championship since 1960-61.

New GM Dale Tallon is aiming to change all that. Tallon, officially appointed GM this summer, wasted no time adding some veteran players to a young Chicago roster in order to achieve the first goal of his regime -- a return to the playoffs.

The Hawks' 20-43-11-8 record in 2003-04 illustrated the need for change. Tallon, then the team's assistant GM, actually got the rebuilding process going last summer, signing veterans Matthew Barnaby, Curtis Brown, and Jassen Cullimore to add some grit and experience to the equation.

The Hawks were among the most active teams in the free-agent market this summer. Tallon signed goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, defensemen Adrian Aucoin and Jaroslav Spacek and forwards Martin Lapointe and Jim Dowd.

The changes don't stop there. Tallon made a change behind the bench, opting not to re-sign Brian Sutter and hiring Trent Yawney, the longtime coach of the team's AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.

Yawney, a former Hawk defenseman, comes back to Chicago with the reputation of being a bench boss who works well with young players. That will be very important for the Blackhawks, who know their future success rests on the shoulders of players like Tyler Arnason, Mark Bell, Kyle Calder, and Tuomo Ruutu.

With all the new faces around the Hawks, Yawney will need to blend young and old, new faces and familiar faces, into a cohesive unit in a hurry. That's because while the Hawks appear to be a significantly improved team, the other teams in the Central Division and Western Conference also have bulked up, meaning the Blackhawks will have to earn their success.

Forwards

In Ruutu, Arnason, Bell, and Calder, the Hawks have four young forwards to build around.

Arnason led the Hawks in scoring in 2003-04 with 22 goals and 33 assists. Bell had 21 goals and 24 assists, Calder had 21 goals and 18 assists, and Ruutu chipped in with 23 goals and 21 assists.

Another young player to keep an eye on is Rene Bourque, who scored 33 goals in the AHL last season.

That's not a bad base to start with. Now, let's begin to fill in the rest of the lineup. Veteran Eric Daze, limited to 19 games in 2003-04, always has been a capable scorer when healthy; he enters 2005-06 with 226 career goals in 600 regular-season games. A healthy Daze would give the quartet of kids some elbow room to stretch their games.

Lapointe, signed as a free agent after three seasons in Boston, isn't a big scorer. However, he brings grit, smarts, and experience to the table -- and he's not an offensive zero, either.

Barnaby is best known as an agitator -- someone who stirs the pot early and often every night. But as his two seasons with the New York Rangers proved, Barnaby also can play, scoring 36 and 32 points respectively in 2002-03 and 2003-04. Brown, a longtime Buffalo Sabre, figures to notch 20 to 30 points and be a strong defensive player too.

Dowd is a veteran center who signed as a free agent from Montreal following four strong seasons with the Minnesota Wild.

Defense

Tallon said Aucoin was one of his top free-agent targets, and the former New York Islander All-Star immediately becomes the team's go-to guy on defense. Aucoin is coming off three strong seasons with the Isles and has scored 12, 8 and 13 goals over the past three seasons while ranking among the league leaders in ice time. The heat will be on Aucoin to continue to continue to put up good offensive numbers while eating up monster minutes.

Cullimore, who last played for the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04, is a stay-at-home defenseman. He figures to have instant rapport with Khabibulin, his former teammate on the Lightning. As with Aucoin, the Hawks will be counting on Cullimore to eat up some big-time minutes.

Spacek is a former Hawk who returns for a second tour of duty after spending time with Columbus. He is a quick, agile defenseman who figures to have an increased presence with the Hawks this season. So will Jim Vandermeer, a former Flyers prospect the Hawks acquired in 2003-04. This season will represent Vandermeer's first real opportunity to become a top-four defenseman.

Chicago fans could see Cam Barker, the third overall pick in the 2004 Draft, earn playing time on the Hawks' blue line this season.

Two youngsters will try to shoulder their way into the mix. Duncan Keith is coming off a strong AHL season and could shoulder his way into the mix. So could Cam Barker, the third overall pick in the 2004 Entry Draft, and Brent Seabrook, the Hawks' top pick (14th overall) in 2003.

Goaltending

The Hawks were a mess between the pipes in 2003-04, as five goalies took turns in the nets. Michael Leighton was the busiest with 34 appearances, going 6-18-8.

Leighton was followed by Craig Anderson, who went 6-14. The injured Jocelyn Thibault was limited to only 14 games, going 5-7-2. Steve Passmore, 2-6 in nine games, and Adam Munro, 1-7-1 in seven games round out the parade of goalies that tried to stop the bleeding.

Hence the Hawks' full-court press to sign Khabibulin, who played a very significant role in helping the Lightning become Stanley Cup champions.

Khabibulin was 28-19-7 in the 2003-04 regular season and excelled in the Stanley Cup playoffs, posting a 16-7 record and a 1.71 goals-against average to carry the Lightning through four demanding rounds to its first championship.

For the Blackhawks to be successful this season, Khabibulin may have to be even better than he was in Tampa -- no small feat. Expect him to play upwards of 60 games. While the Hawks are improved across the board, the Chicago defense will still be staffed by several relatively inexperienced players, meaning Khabibulin will be expected to make a lot of clutch saves. With Thibault traded to Pittsburgh this summer, the backup job is wide open.

Outlook

Tallon has enthusiastically jumped into his position and wasted little time making some significant renovations.

This team has been in a malaise for far too long, and Tallon is eager to return to Blackhawks to the time when Chicago was among the NHL's best teams.

Knowing talk is cheap, Tallon has backed up his words with actions, the most notable being the signing of Khabibulin to a multiyear contract for significant dollars. Adding Aucoin to the mix also was big -- he gives them a base around which to build their defense.

But the real key for the long-term success of the Hawks will be the continued development of the young players like Ruutu, Arnason, Bell, and Calder. That's where Yawney comes in. He has experience working with young players at the AHL level, and that ability to develop talent will be vital to the Hawks, especially if Barker and Seabrook crack the lineup in the next season or so.

Signing players like Barnaby, Cullimore, Lapointe, and Spacek adds some backbone and experience to the current Hawks and should result in some meaningful strides in the standings. But the real improvement will be in the continuing development of the team's growing stable of young players.