Season Preview Questions: Who Can The Hawks Least Afford To Lose To Injury?
by SamFels on Sep 11, 2009 4:45 PM CDT
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Pretty obvious what my answer is going to be on this one. However, let's look at all the possibilities. One thing people forget to mention is that the Hawks were very fortunate in the health department last year. Only Patrick Sharp missed significant time, though Keith and Kane were slowed at times by injuries. They even got 82 games out of Martin Havlat, previously thought to be akin to getting a public health plan in America.
So it would be folly to assume that the Hawks will be so lucky again, considering A) most of the team is coming off by far the longest season of their lives and B) as previously discussed this summer, a good number of them are going to have 6-8 high-intense games tacked on at the Olympics. In fact, the injury bug is already biting, as Hossa is out for the first six weeks at least. But with the load at wings the Hawks have, they can ride that out one would think.
We discussed Huet with our first preview post, and the thought that the Hawks would have to run to Crawford/Niemi/NHL journyman grab bag will keep us up most nights. However, with the expected glut of goals being slammed in at the other end, how good does your goaltending during the regular season have to be? Scum proved last year that your goaltender can be awful during the regular season and win a lot of games, and I think the Hawks could survive a couple weeks without The Marseillase in net. But not too long.
On the blue-line, I actually think the Hawks would suffer more without Campbell than without Keith, and I'll prepare for this blog to light on fire after that statement. While Keith is proba
bly the best all-around d-man on the team (though Seabrook made some huge leaps and bounds on him during the playoffs) the Hawks do not have anyone else who can do what 51 Phantom can do. Keith is just as fast, but not nearly as skilled with the puck, and though Barker might be, he can't penetrate the zone nearly as easily without Soupy's speed. If Campbell were to go down for an extended period of time, you would see the power play suffer greatly, as well as a bunch of mouthbreathers in the 300 Level complaining that for 7 million no one should never get hurt.
But let's face it, we know the answer. On New Years Day 2008, the Hawks were in LA, and looked like they had a real shot at sneaking a playoff spot. Captain Marvel got hurt, was out for a month, and the team collapsed. Sadly, that would happen again if Toews were to miss big stretches. Though our depth down the middle looks good now, it's because everyone's slotted correctly. If Toews weren't around, we'd have to see either Sharp or Versteeg move to center, a role neither is geared for, with #1 minutes probably being distributed to Bolland, for which he is not good enough for, and Madden asked to take on a bigger scoring role, one which he can no longer perform (yet another reason a Marleau trade would work? Discuss amongst yourselves).
Whereas on the wings the Hawks can mix and match and patch things up, losing our best center would be disaster.
Couple notes:
-Anyone going down to the Training Camp Festival Sunday, feel free to provide us with a report on the Fanposts, and we'll move it to the front page.
-don't forget to sign up for an online subscription to The Committed Indian, it's the best distraction from work and best toilet reading around. Link on the left. (This has absolutely nothing to do with my car getting towed today and having to pay to get it out. Nothing at all. Stop thinking that. Really. Nothing.)
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I agree mostly with you except about the stupid frenchie. Detroit has a crappy net minder yes but hes a cup winner. Where as our goalie is probably out pastry making right now. That being said behind him is crawford who looked decent in the one game I saw him in but honestly not nhl quality on a regular basis. As for niemi when I saw him last year at the preseason open practice at the U.C. last year I honestly thought it was a joke and they had someones brother playing in the net for kicks, for shits sake they scored on him like 8 times in a span of 5 minutes. Then I found out it was our 3rd string goalie which scared the crap out of me. That being said I really dont think we have any depth at goalie at all. While I hate huet with a passion I think if he goes down so does our fine ship.
by Section325psychofans on Sep 11, 2009 5:08 PM CDT reply actions
I wouldn't call Osgood
A crappy netminder. Last year’s regular season was the first really off one that he’s had. He’s probably been one of the most underrated goalies the past decade.
by AirTrafficAJ on Sep 11, 2009 11:26 PM CDT up reply actions
His tenures in any uniform other than Detroit
has always left a bit to be desired.
FifthFeather.com
by El Duque's Raft on Sep 12, 2009 12:45 AM CDT up reply actions
May just replace Buff, if we can trade him or he goes down for a considerable amount of time. That dude is amazingly injury-resistant, however.
And part of me would rather see Aliu come up before Beach; he has the size, skill, and attitude, but not the stupid or lazy that Beach demonstrates.
Occam's Razor keeps the cutting clean.
by russellguldin on Sep 13, 2009 3:39 PM CDT up reply actions
And just like last year...
The player the Hawks most need to get injured is Sopel. Any chance nickleback is going on tour again soon?
He's pretty reliable in that department
I have faith in him
FifthFeather.com
by El Duque's Raft on Sep 11, 2009 7:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Nails
I don’t want to see what would happen to our team without Ladd. I see him as the keystone; not the strongest, but you can tell when he’s not there. We’ve been fortunate to have him healthy every day he’s worn an Indian head.
I wouldn’t want to lose Burish either. The edge he brings to the ice would be sorely missed. How could you not like a guy who smiles like a kid in a candy store before, during, and after a fight?
Occam's Razor keeps the cutting clean.
I think it might be that Eags was the bigger target. I am sure Badger will be mixing it up more this season now that he won’t be getting as much PK time, and we’ll have a unit that should kill penalties more effectively.
Occam's Razor keeps the cutting clean.
by russellguldin on Sep 13, 2009 3:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Easy one
1. Huet
2. Keith
3. Seabrook
by Return of the Roar on Sep 11, 2009 11:13 PM CDT reply actions
As you said
The Hawks without Toews are like a parade without clowns. Sure, it’s going somewhere…but it’s just not any fun. After that? The only irreplaceable person is Campbell.
Toews
1. Toews (who is going to clog up the middle for Kane, Hossa, etc)
2. Seabrook (who is going to cover for Keith around the net)
3. Bolland (He is much better than he gets credit for)
Huet is good enough to get the job done, although the $$ amount he is being paid is unreal.
Backup goalies are just that. Not good enough to be NHL goalie for long periods. They are what they are.
We all complained last year that we had two #1 goalies. Now we have a normal situation. When Huet gets hurt, and he will just hopefully not for months on end, whoever backs him up only has to keep the team in the game. Goalies do not win games, they give you an opportunity to win games. Players win games. They play D(keep the puck away from their goalie), and they score goals.
BTW – my kid is a goalie.
"Stay thirsty my friend"
by laaarmer on Sep 12, 2009 9:23 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Well.......
My kid could snap a top shelf wrister over your kid’s glove like nobody’s business.
BTW – I don’t really have a kid
"If you're scared, go buy a dog" - Stacey King
Unproven
That’s what our backup goalies are. Due to their complete lack of NHL-level experience, we do not know what we have in the backups. They could be career backups, they could be worse and not even suitable for backing up in the NHL, or they could be Masons or Hillers and come out of nowhere. I’m not sure that this is a normal situation. We have a #1 who we think is going to be good enough to not hold this talented team back, but unlike many teams who know they have at least a serviceable backup, we pretty much have no idea what lies beyond Huet. It’s a crapshoot really. Luckily the Hawks have 2 chances to get it right (Crawford and Niemi). A little scary, but I’m pretty excited about it.
One last thing. As a goalie, it has always pissed me off when we aren’t considered “players”. Full strength hockey is not 5 on 5, it’s 6 on 6! Can’t get any respect!
The Great Debate
Who is the most irreplaceable piece of the puzzle?
Is it the captain Jonathan Toews? Well the Hawks play did suffer drastically in 2007-2008 when he got injured for there really was no replacement for Lang was never the answer and Bolland wasn’t mature enough to step into that role at that time (interesting what a difference a year can make) so in that instance Toews was irreplaceable, but that was 2 years ago. Now Bolland is more than capable of being a #1 centreman for a short-term basis with Vertseeg not having much of a problem filling in as a #2, for the line-juggling wouldn’t shift drastically at all with Bolland’s line moving up a slot with Versteeg filling in Toews spot with Kane and Sharp.
Is it Cristo Huet? With the lack of a reliable, NHL-proven back-up one could suggest that it is Huet we could least do without-and they may well be correct. The fact is that Crawford is very much unproven and lot of the Hawks success does hinge on his continued developement as an NHL netminder. With that said though, there is a possibility that Crawford could become the next Steve Mason and Cam Ward and if that does happen then Huet becomes more expendable than irreplaceable. It may be massive stretch but there does lie that type of possibility.
What about Duncan Keith? What about him? Well…who else on this team (or in the entire NHL for that matter) can absorb 25-30 minutes a game, most of which are against the opponents top offensive line, while accumulating an average close to +0.5 per game in +/-, not to mention that he is the Hawks top PK defenceman and at times kills the whole two minutes of a PK. Keith is a steady rock on the blueline that absolutely self-destructed during his absence last season for nobody can really replace what Keith brings to the table. Different players bring certain elements of Keith but not as a whole, that is how important Keith is and how special of a defenceman Keith really is and wouldn’t shock me one bit that if Keith can remain healthy this season that he may end up with a Norris Trophy on his mantle. He just brings a confidence level to that team and to that defence corps that just is irreplaceable and is something the Hawks desperately miss and need for continued success this season. Keith’s +63 over the last 2 seasons is a true testament of how important he really is to the Hawks and is therefore simply “Irreplaceable”.
It's never about the eventual destination, but rather the long journey and its challenging obstacles that are presented and what it takes to overcome them, that makes the taste of success all the more worthwhile!!!
...with Soupy well down the list
50 games without a goal last year, and the Hawks survived OK. Keith (all PK, almost no PP) just about matched Phantom’s point numbers last year.
Other than the spin-o-rama, I don’t think Campbell’s got anything on Keith offensively except the opporuntity.
In our end, of course, no comparison.
I also vote Seebs 3rd,
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