The Huet money is going to take center stage this off season when Khabibulin gets paid elsewhere.

Campbell wasn’t here this year? Despite his liabilities, there were times Campbell did help make things a bit more exciting and he has had a decent run this post season. Watching him early in the year was a breath of fresh air compared to years of watching a transition challenged Hawks team. He’s a weird hybrid to me, a guy that can skate really well, can carry the puck, but who can’t seem to decide whether he wans to excel at defense of offense. He can deliver the occasional big hit, but he can just as easily get tossed around like a rag doll when other teams decide that’s what they want to do. For this year and maybe this year only, I thought he brought something needed to the table. Given his salary though, I think it’s worth asking if the Hawks learned enough this year to get by without his high risk/ potentially high payoff playing.

 It’s not easy to get where the Hawks are right now and I don’t think it’s a lock they run right back to this point and possibly challenge for the cup next year. I feel confident the Hawks will be in that position sometime soon, but when they do, I have a feeling Campbell will not be a part of it.

Reasons I Enjoy Brian Campbell, Not Exclusively As a Hockey Player:

1. The magnificent clash of his hair with the red sweater. It borders on psychadelic in HD!
2. Every time he makes a big hit, he has a totally bewildered expression on his face. “Oh man, I was just skating around randomly and this dude ran right into me and fell down really hard!”
3. Did anyone else watch his mic’d up video on the official site? Not only does he LOOK like Napoleon Dynamite, he also SOUNDS like Napoleon Dynamite. “Sharpie! Puck! SHARPIE!!”
4. The perpetual hilarity of the marketing department still trying to convince the city of Chicago that Campbell is the fastest defenseman on the team, when everyone knows it was a retarded timekeeping error that robbed Duncan Keith of that title at the 08 ASG.
5. … At least you could make up a drinking game for him? One (1) shot every time he has to circle back into his own zone because no one is open to receive a pass. One (1) shot every time he fakes a shot on the PP — only valid if accompanied by a chorus of “SHOOOOOOOT.” And so on.

he just had a bad year. The playoff run was a huge improvement on the regular season. Maybe he needs to change his first name to “Bruce” and start lighting it up with his “boomstick”. Sam you are blowing my mind with the music selections (Mastodon and Tool have been on replay on the iPOD) and now you post a pic of NMA’s 51 Phantom. Probably not everyone’s favorite album (that’s what itunes calls them) but if you like the heavier rock side of NMA you have got to check out “Hernando”. Soups is slightly overpaid, but it seems like he has a nice family and he can support them a little better and they can reassure him that he will have a better year next year. And now that it is so late in the playoff’s I guess I can state the fact that Duncan Keith has been skating on one foot for the whole playoff run. Has anyone else noticed this?

I agree that Campbelll is a gifted athlete but the fact of the matter is he is a “stupid” hockey player. Miles behind Lidstrom, Niedermayer and a host of others. He is a fricking defensemen! Play like one! I agree with moving his sorry ass up to forward. He is responsible for the shorty in my opinion. He made a good play dumping it in, chasing it down and then had his usual brain fart and try to pass if to a forward and whipped it past him to allow the 2 on 1. Nice step up right after our goal to allow Hossa to walk right in. He was a liability in Buffalo and San Jose. There were no tears shed when he left those two organIzations. There will be none when he leaves here as well.

For those who claim he is valuable on the powerplay, lets keep in on the PP but limit his ice time to when we are 5-5. Dress 7 D and lets see what Johnson or Sopel bring to the table. My guess is it will be some defense. I don’t see Lidstrom, Stuart, Erikson, Kronwall, Raflaski and Lebda spinning around of control. The last tape to tape pass that Campbell made was right to Cleary. His deficiencies do not outweigh his contributions at least not in playoff hockey where every shift counts. Oh yeah did I mention he is a box of rocks upstairs?

No one doubts the talents 51 brings to the table. No one doubts that in some ways he has been beneficial to the team and its results for the year.

The issues are CAP MANAGEMENT and value for the money. How you manage your budget over the long term is what will determine the likelihood of an extended run as a contending team.

The way things are shaping up, next year will be much the same as last year minus one very important part – a true A goalie. That means we likely won’t go deep in the post season in 2009. As for 2010, we will have to re-sign all of the kids to keep them – this is the year that scares me.

please feel free to explain to the rest of us why his Corsi and Behind the Net rating is one of the highest on the team. These are two statistics that measure strictly 5-on-5 play if you didn’t know. I anxiously await all your replies.

Campbell has been a roller coaster all year long. And not a good one. He ended up a -3 on Sunday by bad luck. He should only have been a -2. Huet giving up that 30 footer with 20 seconds left was horrific. But the other minuses were well earned.

Campbell’s post season up to the conference has been decent. But he has been down right terrible this series. I would’ve benched his ass after the the fourth goal of the game where he got lost above the blueline while detroit transitioned into the zone leaving a flat footed Versteeg to try and contain Hossa who was skating with speed and the puck. The hawks were back in it a 1-3, BC eff’s up again and we’re down 1-4, 12 bleeping seconds after we scored.

Campbell sank Sunday’s game. You can point to everyone else taking a dump on the game, fine. But I watched that game behind the hawks net and he was easily the worst player on the ice Sunday, and I’m including Huet.

I’ll admit, I’m biased. I don’t like the way he plays. But let’s call a spade and spade. He was god awful Sunday, and the only way to defend his performance is to point to an awesome game 5 (assuming he has one).

Everyone on the team who’s made mistakes and costs a lot sucks shit and should be bought out so we can re-tool and Tallon sucks shit who cares about the Sharp and Versteeg trades and drafting NHLers in late rounds and young teams suck shit because they make mistakes and who cares that we’re even having ALL OF

Sure Campbell has been bad against Detroit. If all of the rest of the Hawks had been sparkling, would we be trailing 3-1?

Campbell in the series is a -5 with 1 point, an assist. Looking a little more at the numbers, Patrick Kane is a -7 with 1 point, an assist in the series. Is there going to be a post saying we should get rid of Kane too? That since he was a #1 overall pick he should automatically be better? Face it, some players have good games, some have bad games. As much as it sucks to give the Wings credit, they deserve credit. They have been the better team, but we know they’re not unbeatable. This thing isn’t over yet. If this is the way we’re going to act about our team every time they face the slightest amount of adversity, maybe we deserved the Hawks of the early 2000’s.

And to think I was fucking negative? Campbell is one of the most prolific offensive defenceman in the entire NHL and proved that all season and his numbers matched pretty closely to those of his previous seasons. Did any really expect 30 goals from this guy? Did you watch Green in this year’s playoffs? Would you rather that guy? Campbell was the Hawks best defenceman in the 2nd round and it was no contest. He was spectacular in both zones and was a threat with the puck everytime he touched it but in this series it has been the complete opposite and on Sunday’s game was the most to blame for the loss but he wasn’t alone…not even close! He’ll turn it around come Wednesday and when the Hawks complete the unimaginable comeback and are crowned the Western Conference Champions come Monday the haters will return as lovers…You watch!!!
As for Huet, I have no problems with him being the starter come next season…but that’s a long ways away. The Hawks still potentially have another 10 games left in the season so why start this shit now? Yes Huet was dreadful on Sunday but so was about 18 others and to pin him as not a playoff goaltender based on that result would be very McGuire like (and I’m not talking Jerry). Huet is very good goaltender that I’m sure the Capitals would have loved to have had come playoff time this season, not the mention the Habs all season for Price definitely struggled with the pressures of being the starter especially in their 100th anniversary season. Let’s give Huet a chance to be the starter for he really wasn’t given that much of a chance this season.
In the end JHC will resign and Campbell and Huet will stay next season and don’t believe Bettman in his warnings of a salary-cap ceiling drop for it’s just gamesmanship on his part (and the owners) with the CBA to be renegotiated after the 2011 season. Everyone is staying put and for a long time and why not? How many changes should Tallon make to a Final 4 team if not the Stanley Cup Finals team?

He has red hair! Holy fuck!