Cap Woes Spur Hawks From Lethargy

[Femur]

Cap Woes Spur Hawks From Lethargy
da Hawks Beat
by Buster Hyman

The Chicago Blackhawks, so often characterized by conservative (bordering on staid) management under the ownership of Femur, are proving downright dynamic in this off-season. Three trades and an unexpected buy-out of an up-n-coming player all a full week before the NHL Entry Draft? Clearly, these are not your father's Hawks. Observers and fans are left wondering if this signals a new era in the Windy City; this reporter is (as always) skeptical. More likely, these moves are more of a reaction to the salary cap full nelson put upon the franchise by the trio of geniuses Dale Talon, Stan Bowman, and the aforementioned Femur.

Out are three players who were once expected to be the future of da Hawks: former first round selection Cam Barker, playoff tested goalie Antti Niemi, and bruising centerman Dave Bolland. Coming to the Chicagoland area are goalie Jaroslav Halak and centerman (and “American Icon” - Stan Bowman's words, not mine) Chris Drury. Da Hawks also ended up picking up a couple of promising young players from San Jose: defenseman Derek Joslin and 19 year old winger Charlie Coyle. Joslin is expected to see some time with the big club next season; Coyle's immediate future is a little more cloudy, they will probably keep him in Rockford for a while. Finally, the flurry of trades saw many of the team's 2011 early round draft picks swapping hands; when the dust settled, da Hawks ended up losing some ground in the draft. They had to trade their first (and 18th overall) in the Halak deal, but they did end up with 3 picks between #33 and #47.

What does this all mean? The front office says all moves were designed to take a run at the Cup this year, and we all know that when the front office says something, their lips are moving (Ed. NOTE: the saying is “you know they are lying when their lips move.”) (Writer's NOTE: we all know what the saying is; i was just trying to save space) (Ed. NOTE: yeah, right). More likely, da Hawks had to say bye-bye to a former number 1 pick and this year's #1 simply to deal with their cap issues. Stars Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Brent Seabrook just got hefty raises, and next off-season will see negotiations with Patrick Sharp, Andrew Ladd, and Bryan Bickell. They also were due to make a decision on Barker, but the trade is definitive proof that they already have. Anywho, the upshot of all of this that it will be merry minimums time with the big club! In order to stay under the cap, we will probably see four or five guys playing nightly that make well under three quarter of a mil.

Next up: this Saturday's 2011 Entry Draft; it is impossible to speculate who might be available for da Hawks all the way at #33 (Ed.NOTE: it is not impossible to speculate, in fact, it is what we are asking you to do as our employee)(writer's NOTE: feel free to stop interrupting if you want me to get on with it) (Ed.NOTE: you're right, goodbye), but you can be certain they will be looking at defense and goalie; their two glaring weaknesses.

We will be back to discuss the draft when it is concluded, and we will briefly look at the free agent market after that in this column, but I highly doubt da Hawks will have any money to spend this off-season.

[SharksGM]

Hey if Patty Kane's $3 million salary is burning a hole in your pocket, we can talk about it

[Virtual Jarmo]

Good stuff, Buster. Might put yours on the front page just because of the Buster Hyman byline.