From Blackhawks.com:

The 2008-09 regular season marks the Blackhawks’ fifth consecutive on Comcast SportsNet and features a record 58 contests, including 33 at the United Center. Comcast SportsNet will carry both the squad’s season opener against the New York Rangers on Oct. 10 at 6 P.M., and home opener against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The Blackhawks' return to WGN Channel 9 officially launches on Sat., Oct. 11 when the team battles the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center. Chicago will make 20 appearances on the station, which was its home during the 1960’s and early 1970’s.

The Blackhawks will also make at least four appearances on national television this season, highlighted by the NHL Winter Classic 2009 ¬– which pits the Blackhawks against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings – on January 1, one of just two contests the league announced as part of its NBC flex schedule. The Blackhawks will also appear on VERSUS three times during the 2008-09 campaign (Oct. 27 at Minnesota; Jan. 19 vs. Minnesota; March 31 at Montreal).

Might sound funny, but it is really cool to see the name of a TV station next to the home games instead of the usual blank space that we've seen in the past. I didn't even think WGN was going to be showing games until later in the year, but as we see they are going to be showing the second game of the season in Washington. I still can't wait for the drop of the puck.

The Hawks' official site reports that Brian Campbell will be at Wrigley Field tonight, throwing out the first pitch and singing the seventh inning stretch as the Cubs play Houston. It'll be cool to see him out there, about four months before he actually plays a game on the same field.

Also, Duncan Keith will apparently be signing autographs at NAPA Paint And Supplies in West Chicago on September 13th. This is one that I might decide to go and get an auto from Duncan, someone who's turned into one of my favorite players of this bunch.

Also, it's good to know that we are only three weeks away from the first pre-season game, and though I haven't been able to find a definite date on when the Blackhawks begin training camp, it's usually around the 13th or 14th, which would make it only about a couple of weeks away. Can't wait.

This article from Darren Dreger of TSN confirms what I think most of us still believe at this point:

Chicago is in the market for a top left winger, however like so many other teams the Blackhawks deal-making is being held up by the waiting game surrounding Mats Sundin.

Chicago has assets general manager Dale Tallon would consider trading. 

Veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin is at the the top of the list.

Khabibulin has informed the Blackhawks he wants to play 60 games this season.

With newly signed Cristobal Huet soon to make his debut, that's unlikely to happen.

Also unlikely is a team willing to give up more than a draft pick or a prospect for Khabibulin who has one year left at 6.75 million dollars.

Tallon isn't desperate to move Khabibulin, but he is eager, and will patiently wait to see if an injury pops up around the league that may heighten interest.

I wasn't really aware that the Hawks might be in the market for a left winger right now, but it makes sense because that's something they could definitely use, and perhaps they could get a forward in exchange for Khabibulin. As I have said before, I really cannot see this team heading into October with both Khabibulin and Huet both on the roster. As Dreger later mentions in his article, the Hawks could be in cap trouble if they don't move Khabby, and might be forced to put him on waivers, which probably isn't something Dale Tallon wants to do. I see Khabby gone by training camp, if not then, before opening night. If he wants to play 60 games this year, he'll be doing it somewhere else.

Tim Brent, come on down:

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they have signed center Tim Brent (6-0, 197) to a one-year contract.

Brent, 24, was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Danny Richmond (6-0, 194) on July 17. The Cambridge, Ontario, native has recorded one goal and six penalty minutes in 16 career National Hockey League games, which includes being held scoreless in one appearance with the Penguins last season. He also skated in 15 contests with the Anaheim Ducks during the 2006-07 campaign.

I'd assume Brent will be spending most, if not all of the 2008-09 season in Rockford.

No, the Hawks didn't win it yet. Barry Rozner mentions in his article in the Daily Herald today:

Ivan Boldirev-ing

A reminder that Buffalo Grove native Brett Lebda is offering a chance to view the Stanley Cup today from 3-5 p.m. at the Glenview Ice Center. You can also get a picture taken with the Cup for a small donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Runneth over

After Lebda gets his day with the chalice today, Chris Chelios has the Cup Friday, when he's scheduled to sing during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field.

Don't be shocked if he appears during both the Cubs and White Sox games Friday afternoon and evening with the Stanley Cup in tow.

Chelios? Booooooo.

So we're about a month from training camp and the excitement is building. Visions of Jonathan Toews scoring goals, Brian Campbell quarterbacking the power play, and Denis Savard constantly juggling lines are definitely dancing through my head, and I assume everyone else's as well. Who can help it? This season promises to be one for the ages. You'll be telling your grandchildren about it, I'm sure.

And yet, there's one player that I think the Hawks are really going to need to get production from, and I don't know if he can come up with the results. And that player is Martin Havlat.

Flash back to July 9th, 2006. The Hawks acquired Havlat from the Ottawa Senators, while giving up Mark Bell, who headed to the Sharks as part of the deal. When I heard about the trade, I thought "Wait, we got a guy as talented as Havlat, and only gave up an underachiever like Bell? Awesome!". And I do think it was a great move by Dale Tallon at the time.

In his first game as a Hawk, he scored 2 goals and added 2 assists in a Hawk win in Nashville to start the 2006-07 season, and I thought "My god, this guy is going to get at least 100 points and all we had to give up was Mark freaking Bell!". And he continued on that great pace by recording 13 points in his first 6 games, and it looked like we had our first legitimate star forward since probably Jeremy Roenick (or "PR", as he's known to most).

Unfortunately, he injured himself in a game in Dallas in October, and since then, it's been an absolute struggle for him to stay healthy for any period of time. In two seasons with the Hawks, he's played in 91 games and put up 84 points. So, when he has been healthy, he's been good. However, those healthy stints are few and far between.

I love watching Havlat play, and I think that he's one of the top players in the league, when healthy (yes, that caveat is annoying but true) but this is a year where he needs to prove that he's not the most fragile man in the world and stay on the ice more often than on the injured list. This is a good team on paper, and with Havlat out there at 100%, they can be that much better. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Marty.

 

A friend of mine called me this morning, from the line outside the United Center as he is trying to score some 'Hawks tickets. He said there was probably around 80-85 people in line, and a couple of Hawks, Cam Barker and Jack Skille, were there passing out t-shirts, and John McDonough also is greeting fans. Haven't spoken to him since, but I assume the line has probably gotten bigger by now.

Myself? I've decided to go the online route, and have not been able to get any tickets to any of the exciting games I had planned on trying to go to, such as any of the matchups against the Red Wings, and also the home opener. Looks like I will have to settle for anything else I can get, which really isn't a problem. Anyone else with success/failure stories so far today?

I can only sit back and laugh:

Former Calgary Flame captain Theo Fleury is set to make his debut as a professional baseball player this Saturday. Fleury is expected to sign a Golden League contract with the Calgary Vipers, a team he has been taking batting practice with all week. Fleury, who operates a concrete flooring business in Calgary, is expected to play Saturday when the Vipers take on the Yuma Scorpions in a double-header Saturday beginning at 5:05 p.m. (MT).

What in the world? Why would Theo, at age 40, want to try baseball at this point? The guy apparently still isn't quite right in the head, and now he's going to try a new sport? What a joke. I'm still a little bitter over the circus that Fleury created with the infamous Columbus strip club incident back in 2003, and right now this guy should be trying to get his life together instead of trying new sports. Good luck, Theo, you're definitely going to need it.

I've seen this on some other blogs and I thought it would be cool to start it up here. The question is, why are you a Blackhawks fan? what made you root for the Hawks? Who's that relative or friend that got you hooked on the Hawks?

For me, the moment that made me a 'Hawks fan for life was when I was about 10 years old, so this would have been the late 1980's, and I was taken to my first Blackhawks game by my dad. This was one of only a handful of games I went to at Chicago Stadium, and I dearly wish I would have been taken to more before it was knocked down. I remember that the Hawks beat the Leafs that night, Denis Savard scored a goal, and I was instantly hooked. The whole hockey experience was just incredible to me and ever since I've been a die-hard Hawks fan. It's a night in my life I'll never forget and I'm glad I was there to get me hooked on this team for life.

It's just a rumor at this point, but there's talk that Robert Lang may be headed to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for draft picks. Apparently this was reported on "The Team" 990 AM radio station in Montreal, according to a couple of sites I've read on the web today. Still looking for confirmation but there's nothing official on this yet.