Nice W for the Hawks last night. It's very early, but I'm starting to wonder if a bit of adversity is exactly what this team needed to break out of their morass. The Kings are a very good hockey team, we were coming off a tough game the night before, and we were playing with an AHL-quality defense. Yet we dominated the game and posted a shut-out.
If the Hawks can keep playing like this and seamlessly transition Johnsson, Seabrook, and eventually even Campbell back into the fold, we could all return to the same excitement level we had in December, when the team was making a mockery out of opponents left and right.
But for now, a lot has happened with the Hawks since early January when I was last posting regularly. So I've thrown together a two-parter to update you with my takes:
-Barker is dealt for Johnsson
"I believe it's jogging or yogging. It might be a soft 'J.' I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild."
With this recent loss of Campbell (more to come on that next week), this move is looking even better than it did initially, and I was a big fan at the time. This is even more the case with the possibility of Seabrook missing extended time, especially if Johnsson can get back soon. And what's that prognosis, by the way? Manm I hate how cloak and dagger the freakin NHL is about their injuries. Fine, don't tell me what's wrong, but at least tell me for how long to expect to miss a guy... what the hell?!
I actually liked Barker a lot, but he was making too much money to be a 5th defenseman next year and for whatever reason had taken a step back this season. Even on the power play, which was his bread-and-butter last year, Barker was a non-factor. He's still young, but the Hawks need to win now and his step backward this year wasn't helping.
Though I do think he brought more size and physicality than most fans gave him credit for, but unfortunately Barker just wasn't making the impact he should have. I think he suffered from playing alongside the slow-footed Sopel instead of a more fitting, athletic d-man. But the fact is that both the Hawks and Barker were better off with him going somewhere new. Barker will now have a chance to develop into a plus blueliner, while the Hawks got the short term boost on D and a very solid prospect, to boot.
Johnsson has been around and can do a bit of everything, nothing particularly great, but all good enough to help. Again, the loss of Campbell and possibly Seabrook makes him even more valuable. As we've seen the last few nights - there's just such a difference between plus NHL defenders and journeyman AHL types. Also nice is that the veteran Swede will now likely be paired with his paisan the Hammer, which should help their chemistry. Given how little they've skated together before and what we'll be counting on from them (a strong 2nd unit behind Keith and Soper or a a recovering/struggling Seabrook), I'll take any advantage we can get.
And this young kid the Hawks got as part of the deal - Nick Leddy - supposedly is a pretty quick little defenseman who can really skate the puck. Given the speed and puck-control game the Hawks play, in a few years he might be a nice addition the blueline. Leddy is only 19 and playing his freshman year in Minnesota right now. I'm pretty pumped that Barker was enough of a trading chip to help us both now and later.
-Versteeg and Buff continue to wear the Indian Head.
Non-trades can often be as intriguing as trades. In the case of Versteeg, and to a lesser extent Buff, here was a case of the Hawks just not being blown away by an offer enough to part with a talented and valuable member of their current squad.
I'm glad that Versteeg is still a Hawk. I know he's gone through a pretty iffy stretch of late, and has been inconsistent in the past. But the kid has talent and still is in only his second season in the NHL. His play last year was no fluke - Versteeg was good enough to be one of the Top 3 rookies last season, all while playing for a Cup contender. You don't do that unless you're really bringing something to the table.
There is talk that like Barker, there's just not a place on this team for him, despite his talent. That I disagree with. With Barker, you were giving up a bit of defensive skill in addition to the salary hit for the luxury of his skills. Both of those were significant costs. With Versteeg, you aren't giving up much - he truly can do it all. You're just gonna battle a bit of inconsistency, but that happens with a lot of young players, especially highly skilled ones like Versteeg.
It'd have been silly to give up on him this early - I'm glad the Hawks haven't yet and I hope they don't during the Great Salary Cull of 2010. Versteeg brings a pair of rare gifts when his head is on right - great playmaking and plus defense. For that reason he should always have a spot on this squad. Sure JQ has to work to find him a spot that fits and to keep his confidence up and focus right, but I think it's worth it for all the great things Steeger can do when he's on his game.
As for Buff, the return we got for Barker has me very excited to see what this similar asset can bring. Like Barker, Buff's game is a bit unpolished, but his natural talents and unique abilities make him a rare and valuable piece. Like Barker, Buff will probably prosper in a new, less pressure-filled setting where he can settle into a decent scoring line and do his thing. Unlike Barker, though, I don't see Buff ever figuring it out and becoming a star.
To me, Buff just doesn't have it in the head and heart. I've been waiting for three seasons for this kid to play like the superstar he could be all game long, all season long. I thought a shot at Team USA would have made him a beast in the first half. Instead, Buff continues to disappear for long stretches and actually seems to be quietly regressing in his impact. He's still doing enough to have value around the league, he's still a big dude who can be menacingly physical when it suits him, and he's still putting up some decent numbers (16 G, 12 A).
But on a team that's dominatingly positive, Buff is a -8. On a team with playmakers galore, Buff's on pace to get about the same amount of goals he had the past two years. There was no pre-Olympic surge and there haven't even been that many "Buff came to play" nights, periods, or even shifts.
I still have hope for Buff making a significant impact this season (more to come on that shortly), but I'm now firmly decided that he has to go this off-season.
-Sopel and Huet continue to wear the Indian Head.
In the case of Huet and to a lesser extent Sopel, the reason for their continued presence on the Hawks is the opposite of Buff's and Steeg's - the Hawks couldn't find anyone willing to take on their salary without having to give up too much in addition.
With Sopel, there wasn't a huge motivation to move him - the Hawks respect his grindy way and love how he throws his body in front of shots as if his paycheck has a double-digit minimum bruise requirement. But the fact is on a fast, puck possession team like the Hawks, Sopel is not a good fit.
Sopel could be a nice value piece on a trapping, lockdown physical squad looking to steal 2-1 games. With the Hawks, Sopel's inability to either skate or handle the puck are constantly exposed. I'm just waiting for that horrendous turnover or untimely undressing that leads to a goal in the wrong moment of the playoffs.
With a salary of $2M this year and next, the Hawks would have preferred to move him and find a more suitable defenseman, but that probably wasn't a very likely possibility. There might have been a very slight upgrades, but probably not worth the cost.
Hence Sopel will remain a Hawk for the rest of the season. Fortunately, he's been playing well enough - even while miscast on this team - that he's re-established his trade value and should be fairly easy to offload this Summer. At that point Sopel will only have one year left at what is becoming a reasonable price for what he brings, if he's going to the right type of squad. And the Hawks can reinvest his money on a better fit for their 5th or 6th d-man.
Of course, now that we're down so many defensemen, Sopel's presence is shockingly a positive. Sopel was the guy they paired with Keith last night and he did a fine job of it. After missing nearly all of last year, he's redeveloped his confidence and really taken to his support role on this team. I still would like to see Hendry get the 6th blueliner slot when Campbell comes back, but in the meantime, I'm finally appreciative of Sopel's presence.
As for Huet, the Hawks couldn't have been more motivated to move him, but unfortunately two major hurdles stood in the way. The first is that the Hawks needed to find another goalie to replace him. Not a single goalie moved at the deadline, so it's safe to say this was a clear challenge for the front office.
The second and most obvious hurdle was Huet's contract, such an albatross only a year and a half after it was signed. A year and a half in which Huet's GAA has been a 2.53 (19th) and a 2.40 (10th). As good of a job as the Hawks front office has done, clearly that signing was a major, major mistake when so soon after it, and following such respectable performances, it's an anchor around their necks.
The simple reality is that the price it would have cost to find a team willing to take on Huet in addition to finding a team willing to part with a top flight goalie was just way too high, especially given what history has shown us. Go back to the lockout and check out the Stanley Cup finalists - the list of goalies doesn't read exactly as you'd expect:
06 Finals - Ward beats Roloson. Ward wasn't even the #1 for the Canes most of the year, while Roloson was 15th in the league in both GAA and Sv% - solid, but not dominant.
07 Finals - Giguere beats Emery. Giguere actually missed the first four games of the first round, but his backup Bryzgalov staked the Ducks to a 3-0 lead before Giggy came back and lead the Ducks to the Cup, his second impressive playoff run. Emery had a damn good season, but since has melted down and then not played in the NHL for a year, before returning to post a ho-hum performance this season.
08 Finals - Osgood beats Fleury. The Wings have no true #1, splitting between Hasek and Osgood before finally giving the nod to Hasek to start the playoff. That went terribly, Osgood stepped in and saved the day, and lead the Wings to another Cup. Fleury, up until this run, had been relatively unproven, although he was coming off a good regular season.
09 Finals - Fleury beats Osgood. Fleury doesn't even make the Top 20 in either GAA or Save percentage and is a big part of the reason the Penguins fire their coach in the final month of the season. Yet he's able to bounce back and lead his team to the promised land, besting multi-cup winner Osgood in doing so.
So what am I taking from this? Sure it helps to have a guy like Giguere, who's experienced and playing well. Or a guy like Emery or Fleury in 08, coming off a strong regular season. But it's clearly not a necessity. The majority of those goaltenders were unproven, coming off mediocre years, and/or not even their team's clear #1. Sounds a lot like the Hawks options right now, eh?
The most encouraging example of this was Osgood last year - the guy was 40th (of 46 qualifiers) in GAA and 44th in save percentage! Look at those numbers again. Yet he got the Wings to Game 7 of the Cup, handling the Hawks along the way (something studs Kipprusoff and Luongo couldn't do). Gives you a little more faith that Huet might just find the good after all?
And Osgood is no crazy outlier - reaching back before the lock-out, Khabibulin came off a poor regular season (21st GAA, 26th save %) only to stand on his head while backstopping the Lightning to the Cup. I mean he didn't just help his team to the Cup, he was the primary reason they won it. All after a middling season.
I know it's no fun watching the Hawks goaltenders look so damn shaky out there. It's no fun watching how JQ has completely mishandled them, refusing to commit to Huet, destroying both his confidence and his rhythm well before the situation demanded it. Not once has JQ let either goalie work through the struggles that all goalies, hell all athletes, will go through. And it's definitely no fun to see how the Hawks D has imploded in front of them, maybe both a cause and an effect of the poor play in the crease.
But it's not so bad that I'm freakin out like too many uneducated fans and unimaginative commentators. What has been completely lost in all of this is that Huet has a long track record as a plus goaltender in the NHL. Check out his year-by-year numbers and you find a ton of Top 10 finishes in the goalie stats. Yes, Huet's got nothing of a playoff resume, but neither did a lot of the guys on my list of Cup Finalists above.
And if Huet really can't get it together in time (or JQ doesn't let him), I'm not too freaked out about going with Niemi. He's not the savior everyone first thought he was, but the kid does seem to be at least capable. Given a long stretch of consecutive games behind a Hawks team that actually was dialed in as it should be, I can see Niemi being solid enough.
So sure it would have been great for some magical trade partner to bail the Hawks out of the Huet contract while some other magical partner threw them a proven, hot netminder ready to hoist the cup. But that wasn't even close to realistic possibility.
As it stands, the Hawks goaltending absolutely needs to get better. But if the defense would get their heads out of their asses and JQ would think longterm and develop a strategy for establishing a #1 by the playoffs, instead of by the next game, I could see either Huet or Niemi following the pattern established by many previous goalies of unexpectedly backstopping their teams to the Finals.
Monday - dealing with the Campbell injury, juggling 14 forwards in 12 starting spots, and what I'm hoping to see down the stretch.
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