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| Monday, July 29 Updated: July 31, 10:45 AM ET Can Hawks get better with age on defense? By Lindsay Berra ESPN The Magazine |
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Last season, the Chicago Blackhawks finished tied for eighth overall in the league and made the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Brian Sutter brought on this revolution with virtually the same players -- with the exception of free-agent defensemen Phil Housley and Jon Klemm -- that had finished 22nd the year before. The feat earned him a nomination for the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year.
Once again, Hawks owner Bill Wirtz and GM Mike Smith couldn't come to terms with a superstar, and Tony Amonte followed former-Hawk Jeremy Roenick's breadcrumb trail to Phoenix. Though Amonte's numbers last season were less than staggering, he was a perennial All-Star whose spot will be difficult to fill. The Hawks were in the hunt for Teemu Selanne, Robert Lang and Scott Young, but the penny-pinching organization has so far failed to make any big free-agent signings to increase offense. Theo Fleury, who played for Sutter in Calgary, is still on the Blackhawks' radar screen. Fleury, whose temper-tantrums and personal problems finally became too much for the Rangers, is an obvious risk, but maybe Sutter knows the secret to Theo's success. Smith, who served as assistant GM in Toronto for two years, signed free agent left wingers Sergei Berezin (from Montreal) and Nathan Dempsey (from Toronto), raising the number of former Leafs on the roster to six -- Berezin, Dempsey, Steve Sullivan, Steve Thomas, Alexander Karpovtsev and Igor Korolev. So, if familiarity can buy him another playoff run, he'll be in good shape. The Blackhawks may seem a little weak at forward, but they combined for a middle-of-the-pack 216 goals last year. With Amonte skating among the cacti, the Hawks should be in trouble. But never you mind, Amonte only scored 26 goals last year. It was 6-foot-6 left winger Eric Daze who put up the numbers (37-32-69). Granted, with Amonte strutting around on the first line, opposing teams paid little attention to Daze on the second, giving the big man a lot more room to maneuver. Daze will likely be moved up next season and will have to deal with first-line pressure, or Sutter could fill Amonte's spot with Berezin. The Hawks will build their lines around their top three centers -- Alex Zhamnov (22-44-66), Michael Nylander (15-45-60), and Igor Korolev (9-20-29). The two Steves provide an extra scoring punch (provided that oft-injured left winger Thomas is healthy and fiery right winger Sullivan remains consistent). Young left wingers Kyle Calder (17-35-52) and Mark Bell (12-16-28) are expected to assume larger roles after productive seasons. In rookie camp, Russian forwards Mikhail Yakubov and Pavel Vorobiev showed goal-scoring potential and will have a chance to make the top 12. Unable to add a quality free agent defenseman, the Hawks again will rely on Housley and Klemm. Housley led Hawks blueliners with 15 goals and 39 points. Klemm, whose reputation is that of a stay-at-home type, was second with 20 points. The pair, who are 38 and 32 respectively, lead an aging defensive corps that features Karpovtsev (32), Boris Mironov (30), Joe Reekie (37), Lyle Odelein (34), Chris McAlpine (30) and Steve Poapst (33), who are mediocre at best. The Blackhawks did add Jason Strudwick, who is a youthful 27, but their best young hope is Steve McCarthy, a 21-year-old who spent a majority of last season in the American Hockey League. The Blackhawks' biggest problem will be in net -- again. Jocelyn Thibault and Steve Passmore will be the same mediocre tandem that they were last year, and again, the Blackhawks have done nothing to improve their situation. They'll need a lot of goals up front and some great team defense to balance out their shaky backstopping. They also will need another miracle coaching performance from Sutter if they want to make a second consecutive playoff appearance. |
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