The Blackhawks finally won their first Stanley Cup since 1961, setting off an epic celebration in Chicago in the spring. The summer has proven more bittersweet, though, as the Blackhawks have been forced to ship out many of the key components of that championship squad for salary-cap relief. Nine players who saw time in that playoff run have already been cast off, and a 10th — goalie Cristobal Huet — is expected to be jettisoned as well. Chicago still has a talented core in place, but will the high turnover and loss of so many valuable role players turn the Blackhawks into a one-year wonder instead of a potential dynasty?
2009-10 Record: 52-22-8, 112 points (first in Central Division; second in Western Conference; won Stanley Cup, beating Philadelphia in finals, 4-2)
Bruins record vs. Blackhawks: Boston holds a 259-235-79-3 edge in the all-time series against their Original Six rival, but the Bruins lost both matchups last year. Boston fell 5-4 in a shootout on Dec. 18 in Chicago despite two goals from David Krejci and 40 saves by Tim Thomas, then was beaten 5-2 at the Garden on Jan. 7.
When to watch: The Bruins have to wait a while to see the champs, who don’t come to Boston until Tuesday, March 29. The Bruins don’t play in Chicago this season.
Familiar faces: Former Bruin Nick Boynton has bounced around since being traded by Boston in 2006, playing for Phoenix, Florida, Anaheim and Chicago. But the rugged defenseman has found a home with the Blackhawks, joining the team late last year after a deadline deal, winning his first Cup and re-signing with the club on Tuesday. Goalie Hannu Toivonen also came to Chicago at the deadline. He didn’t play in the playoffs, but was with the club for their championship run and will be battling for the backup spot this year. Defenseman Jassen Cullimore was never Bruins property, but he did play in Providence in 1999-2000 while on loan from the Lightning. Newly acquired Swedish forward Viktor Stalberg has New England ties as well, as he played at the University of Vermont before turning pro. The Blackhawks also drafted Boston-College-bound Kevin Hayes (Dorchester, Mass.) in the first round of this year’s draft, then traded for his older brother Jimmy Hayes, who is already at BC, the next day.
Key additions: G Marty Turco (free agent); D John Scott (free agent); F Jeff Taffe (trade with Florida); F Hugh Jessiman (free agent); D Nick Leddy (signed from University of Minnesota); F Viktor Stalberg (trade with Toronto); F Chris DiDomenico (trade with Toronto); F Philippe Paradis (trade with Toronto); D Ivan Vishnevsky (trade with Atlanta); F Jeremy Morin (trade with Atlanta); F Joey Crabb (trade with Atlanta)
Key losses: G Antti Niemi (free agent, Blackhawks walked away from arbitration award); F Andrew Ladd (trade with Atlanta); F Dustin Byfuglien (trade with Atlanta); F Ben Eager (trade with Atlanta); D Brent Sopel (trade with Atlanta); F Akim Aliu (trade with Atlanta); F Kris Versteeg (trade with Toronto); F John Madden (signed with Minnesota); F Colin Fraser (trade with Edmonton); F Adam Burish (signed with Dallas); F Marty Reasoner (trade with Florida)
Burning question: Did the Blackhawks make the right call in net?
Antti Niemi exploded on the scene as a rookie last year. He unseated Huet as the Hawks starter down the stretch and played all but 20 minutes of every game in the playoffs. In his first full season, Niemi, 26, went 26-7-4 with a 2.25 GAA (fourth in league), .912 save percentage and seven shutouts, then went 16-6 with a 2.62 GAA, .910 save percentage and two shutouts (both in the finals) in the postseason. For that, he was rewarded with a modest $2.75 million arbitration award. But the Hawks still opted to walk away from the decision, allowing Niemi to become a free agent and choosing to sign veteran Marty Turco for $1.3 million instead. Turco, 34, has a strong track record with a 2.31 career GAA, but he’s been on the decline for several years (2.72 last year, 27th in NHL; 2.81 in 2008-09). His playoff stats are also solid (2.17 GAA, .914 save percentage), but he last played in a postseason game in 2008 and has won just three playoff series in his 10-year career. The Hawks also won’t have the safety net of Huet (26-14-4, 12th-best 2.50 GAA in NHL last year) around anymore, as they are expected to send him to the minors or allow him to play in Europe to get his $5.625 million cap hit off the books. That leaves career AHLer Corey Crawford (eight NHL games in five pro seasons) and former Bruin Toivonen (last played in NHL in 2007-08 with St. Louis) to battle for the backup spot.
2010-11 outlook: This isn’t quite the same team that skated around the Wachovia Center ice with the Cup raised high after the OT win in Game 6. But while Chicago will miss many of the players they had to get rid of for cap reasons, there’s still a strong core in place to make this a dangerous club. Young stars Jonathan Toews (25-43-68) and Patrick Kane (30-58-88) remain on hand to lead the offense, with help from Marian Hossa (24-27-51 in 57 games), Patrick Sharp (25-41-66) and Troy Brouwer (22-18-40). The defense still boasts some of the best puck-movers in the business with Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson. The big questions will be how Turco fares in goal and how the Blackhawks replace the grit and toughness lost with the exodus of important role players like Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Kris Verseteeg, Ben Eager, Adam Burish, John Madden, Colin Fraser and Brent Sopel.
Did you know? Chicago ended the league’s longest Cup drought this spring when the Blackhawks won their first title since 1961. The Bruins face them just once this year, but when Boston took on Chicago the previous three times that the Blackhawks were reigning champs, it was feast or famine for the B’s. Boston went just 1-4-1 against Chicago in 1934-35 after the Blackhawks won their first Cup in 1934. The Bruins dominated the champs the next time Chicago won though, going 8-0-0 against the Blackhawks and outscoring the 1938 champions 32-7 in their 1938-39 meetings. After the Hawks won in 1961, the Bruins didn’t enjoy their meetings with the Cup holders nearly as much, going just 2-10-2 against Chicago in 1961-62.
Next: We’ll head down to Columbus on Friday to check up on the Blue Jackets.