BlogsThis Could Be A Real Problem
Hilarious for the rest of the league, potential disaster for us. FedEx, maybe?
about 8 hours ago
SamFels
15 comments
0 recs
Cap trouble comes early
by wlittle
on Jul 3, 2009 10:44 AM CDT
26 comments
Everyone said it'd be next season for the cap issues to start coming. Well guess what? They're here now.
Mirtle has a great post about teams' current situation. It also touches on the escro/spending issues that are occurring across the league.
He has Chicago sitting with about 4.6 million and 3 empty slots to be filled. Two of those spots are tentatively for Barker and Versteeg. What Chicago did with Bolland was raise the bar. Versteeg and his agent are going to want more than Bolland got. And I'm guessing Barker is going to want upwards of 2.5 million, maybe even 3 (the value of a PPQB is big).
Whatever the case, here's hoping Versteeg can stay. I don't think he's an offensive dynamo, but I do think he's a character guy that we need in the playoffs - when he's on the ice, he reminds me of JR with his willingness to go into those tough areas.
As far Barker goes... here's hoping someone signs him to a ridiculous offer sheet.
OH... and did anyone see the Rangers cap situation? 13 million left for 11 players? Good luck, Sather.
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Well - that sure didn't take long. I just took this picture outside the blackhawks store on Michigan.
I didn't see any Hossa gear on sale inside though. Only one Khabby shirt and no Havlat stuff. Oddly, no Walker gear either.
1 day ago
Matthew Dirt
18 comments
0 recs
Welcoming all the New Kids to Second City Hockey and to SBN
by Matthew Dirt
on Jul 2, 2009 10:12 AM CDT
56 comments
Not a huge shock really - but yesterday was the busiest day in the history of Second City Hockey in terms of visitors and page views. So much like I did when I welcomed people who might be coming over when SBN first got us featured on Yahoo! I thought it'd be a good time to say hello to all the new people coming to the site - we hope you stick around.
Here's the quick history again - I started a blog that sucked so I won't even link to it. Sam joined up because he was starting up The Committed Indian. Mirtle asked us to join up with SB Nation and we jumped at the opportunity. Then we added McClure to write on the site with the hopes of it leading to more content but really we write the same amount with more people leaving more to drink or play video games... sometimes both at the same time.
That's about it - we hope you stick around and join in the discussion in the comments.
The most helpful thing you can do if you're a newcomer to the site is probably read this post - including the comments. Otherwise you'll probably have no idea what we're talking about when someone says something like "I think it'd be a good idea to pair up Shooter with Daydream Nation again".
I'm lazy too so I'm going to suggest you also read this great post over at Defending Big D to learn more about FanPosts and FanShots.
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4 Blackhawks Invited to Team Canada's Orientation Camp
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith were all invited to Team Canada's Orientation Camp which will be held in August.
Like you'd imagine, it's a pretty deep roster so there's a good chance all 4 don't make it. This is in addition to Kane and Byfuglien being invited to Team USA's camp .
1 day ago
Matthew Dirt
3 comments
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I Don't Want The Real Story, Marty
by SamFels
on Jul 2, 2009 2:18 AM CDT
in Analysis/Musings
69 comments
I have the feeling this could get ugly for Hawks fans, and I don't think that's right. First off, and let me say that once again I'm only parroting what Chris Block has already said at The Third Man In, but this whole twitter thing is just good PR. You can easily get your story, or at least your version of the story, out to the fans, whereas the Hawks have to weigh whether or not they want to go through the rigamorole of a press conference or press release or whatever. You can endear the fans to you with a mere few taps on your Iphone or Crackberry, despite whatever the real truth actually may be. Havlat's agent can put whatever he wants out there, but if Tallon, McD and Co. want to counter it, who do you think is going to come off as the petulant ones?
Here's what I'm guessing is the story behind this all, and I base this off nothing but my own gut feeling: We've heard about extension negotiations since February. I find it hard to fathom that at no point did the Hawks, from then, ever offer anything other than a 1-year deal. It wouldn't take that long, and you wouldn't go running off to give Hossa 12 years if you wouldn't give Havlat two for all this time. I'm guessing the numbers didn't work, or the lowering of the cap hit became complicated, whatever. But when Kronwall knocked Havlat to sleep, and the Hawks had more than a shoulder and groin to consider for his long-term durability, that's when the multi-year offers dried up.
From Havlat's point of view, this would be a total kick to the balls. Here you are, risking your career coming back out for Game 4 for this team and organization when you had no business on the ice, but now you're seeing your long-term future for that organization that you've put it all out on the line for disappear into thin fucking air. You'd be pissed, I'd be livid. That said, it was Marty's decision to play. I'm sure the Hawks would not have balked if Havlat said he couldn't go, maybe the old Hawks would have.
Simply put, the Hawks acted as a business, which is exactly what they should do. They gave the better player, the more durable player, the long-term deal they no longer felt they could trust to Marty. Because this group under Rocky and McD has done its best to act in the classiest manner possible, I doubt this will ever get into a he-said-she-said slap fight. The thought of Havlat rolling into the UC twice a year with a chip on his shoulder gives me nightmares, but the Hawks made the right decision.
That said, I'll miss JHC. Terribly so, in fact. I can remember the moment vividly when I found out he'd been acquired, I was about to get off the plane back from Europe after attending the World Cup in Germany. For me, that was the moment when the Hawks began their turnaround, if ever so slightly. They had acquired a bona fide star in his prime, and I couldn't tell you when that had ever happened in my lifetime. And all for the price of Whiskey-A-Go-Go Mark Bell. Yeah, maybe they gave Marty too much money right then and there, but judging by the contract he signed today and where we were then, certainly not by much.
It was only eight games that year, but fucking God were they electrifying. He couldn't be stopped, except for shitty Dallas ice. Who knows where he might have taken us if healthy. But that was always the "if", wasn't it? However, personally, I've never agreed with any Hawk fan or writer who called Marty soft, lazy, selfish, or a prima donna. He wasn't out with a bruise here, or a slight strain there. He was out with sprained ligaments in his knee, or a shoulder that was basically Monterrey Jack cheese. He always came back too early, and played when he clearly shouldn't have. His second year we all knew that shoulder would go out at a moment's notice, and yet there he was on the ice regardless, when he should've opted for major surgery long ago.
Last year was our reward, those of us who believed we would see the hellspawn of a hockey player again. Those who scream "contract year contract year!", still make me cringe, because Marty gave what he had. Whatever hesitence that may have looked like laziness would be chalked up to the fear that his career might be over any second. But deep down, we knew it couldn't last. That with every goal buried top corner, every pass right on the tape, every move that left opposing d-men looking like they'd just been labotomized, the price went up. And up. It was probably always going to end this way.
So please, Marty, just move on. I know you're hurt -- only mentally this time --, and upset, and very well may feel that you've been cheated out of a Cup, which isn't coming to Minnesota any time soon. But the Hawks made a business decision, and a sound one, and I know you know that. The Hawks will never come out and badmouth you, at least I hope they don't. So if you do truly appreciate us fans, as you say you do, you won't make us get caught in the crossfire.
69 comments
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Martin Havlat Is Not Happy
by Matthew Dirt
on Jul 2, 2009 12:06 AM CDT
in Free Agency
19 comments
Puck Daddy has a piece up about this already but Havlat seems juuuuuussstt a bit upset about how his whole contract worked out.
From his twitter (man that still sounds so lame):
Excited to be in Minny where I was welcomed and appreciated by management. The real story about what happened in Chicago to come out.
and then:
There's something to be said for loyalty and honor.
Umm.. eep. Looks like the Blackhawks may have some extra PR work to do.
h/t to Runninquicklynowhere and heyrocky..
19 comments
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Puck Daddy on John Madden
by SamFels
on Jul 1, 2009 9:59 PM CDT
13 comments
I asked Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski, from Yahoo's Hockey blog, and one of the bigger Devil fans around, to tell Hawks fans what they're getting in John Madden.
When you think about the kind of checking center the Chicago Blackhawks should have, it's pretty much John Madden. Tenacious player. Total rink rat whose ass-hauling over the years has kept him in the League and eventually turned him into one of the best shutdown guys in the it. He'll Commit To the Indian.
That said, there are concerns. He overstayed his welcome in Jersey, and the dynamic duo of Madden/Pandolfo wasn't as dynamic as the years when they gave Jagr night terrors. His offensive output dipped -- just awful at converting the chances he had. But I suppose the fact he had them was something for a checking center.
You overpaid for one year of a fourth liner with two Stanley Cup rings. But if he regains his form from two years ago, you're going to love him.
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