And You Are...? (part II)

I started this chain with an intro and write-up on the Goalies last week (here) and am picking it back up today with the blueliners. First, a brief intro taken from that last post to get you up to speed on my purpose here:

...all these new guys in the Hawks sweater are hard to keep up with this early in the year. While only the biggest names get any attention in hockey, the reality is that you definitely need contributions from at least 20 guys over the course of a season. So it's gonna take a while to understand exactly where all that production is coming from with this year.

After 14 games, at least half of which I've seen, I'm starting to get a baseline understanding of what these players might end up being when all is said and done in 2010-2011. And I'm very encouraged, as I thought I would be. It's early and we're still w/o Campbell, one of the most important pieces to our championship puzzle, but we've put up a nice lil win streak and been in every game, despite a very compressed schedule to start the year.

Sure we're getting carried by the core guys, but some of the newcomers are definitely doing their part. Hockey isn't a game where just a few strong players can do it all forever, so all the standings points we've earned mean you should be encouraged by the new guard of role players.

Here's what I've gathered on all the Hawks "newcomers" this year - I quote newcomers because I'm including everyone on this list who wasn't a regular and significant piece of the squad last season, even if they did log some time w/ the Cup winners.

Last Week - Goalies. Today - Blueliners. Day 3 - Forwards.


D Nick Boynton, 31 years old, 10th season, $500k for 1 year, #24

Boynton was an afterthought acquisition last season to even the most diehard of Hawks fans, a guy picked up just before the trade deadline as apparent organizational depth. But when Kim Johnsson died and Jordan Hendry didn't cut it for JQ, Boynton found himself skating in the final few games of the post-season, earning himself the most unlikely of etchings on the Stanley cup.

With Sopel gone and the budget tight, Boynton was thrust into that same grindy 5th blueliner role. He'll be asked to skate on the PK, block shots with reckless abandon, and step up to handle a bit more ice time whenever the Top 4 need it.

Unfortunately, that time just occurred thanks to Campbell's injury (which he fortunately has returned from). That forced Keith to play 30 minutes and Seabrook 26 minutes a night, and for a while, that meant Boynton putting was out there for over 22 a game. On a lot of nights, that was more than the Hammer (getting around 18 himself).

My thought so far - Boynton is definitely a Sopel clone, in that he's mistake-prone, a bit cloddy, definitely physical, and sometimes a bit retarded. But like Sopel, I can see Boynton showing some real some veteran value and if asked to be strictly a 15 minute, 3rd pairing, PK specialist type, end up being a solid piece to a championship puzzle.

But that is far from assured and the recent lowering in ice time and the fact that he was a healthy scratch at the Rangers suggest that JQ isn't sold on his late-season Sopel-like potential. Or maybe JQ is just trying to see what he's got in some of the other newbie blueliners (young and old) or just keeping all of his guys fresh and not allowing anyone to be scratched for too long.

Whatever the case may be, I can't say I'm a huge Boynton fan, but I'm trying to learn the lesson of Sopel last year, where I hated the guy all regular season long, only to see him become a truly invaluable asset to the blueline for the Cup run. Basically, I'm withholding judgment, as even veterans need some time to get used to the system, figure out their role, and then start to thrive in.

So like Sopel, hopefully JQ can keep Boynton in his comfort zone - killing penalties, blocking shots, taking 5th or even 6th blueliner minutes - and allow him to become an asset. Hopefully that early love affair, as represented by his huge ice time, was not a choice of JQ's and instead the coach gets this guys very limited potential.

But there is potential to Boynton being an asset this year - not only is the bottom of the defense a bit suspect, but it's a fact of every team that you can never have enough capable blueliners. Injuries happen and unlike with wings, it's hard to hide guys who can't really cut it on the NHL level. So even if Boynton is just a 7th defenseman, if he can get the job done, he'll be someone the Hawks need again before all is said and done.


D Nick Leddy, 19 years old, rookie, $1.117M per for 3 years, #8

Leddy has already been shuffled back to the minors after JQ initially bought in to the idea of having another puck-moving blueliner out there developing his NHL game, but ultimately decided he just wasn't comfortable enough with the kid to keep him around.

I don't know what to think about this - I guess I'd prefer to see Leddy brought along slowly, given time in the AHL to develop his game to the pro level while also making huge strides forward in size and strength (as 19-year olds will do).

On the other hand, the Hawks definitely could use another player who can skate the puck from the defensive end and with some patience and commitment, Leddy might have blossomed into a very valuable 6th blueliner with offensive skills. Especially because it's not like the Hawks have a lot of other impressive options right now (nor, with the cap as it is, any real prospect of changing that fact).

But that still might happen - if Leddy is given a half season or so to take some steps forward, maybe like Hammer did two years ago, Leddy can rejoin the team down the stretch and step right into a crucial role. For HJ that meant riding shotgun with Campbell on the #2 pairing, a pretty huge responsibility. But the bar would be much lower for Leddy, who'd just have to fill 3rd pairing minutes and maybe even some second unit PP time.

It's hard to really judge a blueliner w/o a bunch of exposure to him, so I'm gonna reserve judgment on this kid. I do think we all should be encouraged by the fact that he played well enough to even warrant a shot and that he wasn't obviously terrible. With some development time and then the right moves to bring him along slowly, Leddy could definitely be the next generation of puck-moving blueliner the Hawks are always looking for.

One thing to definitely keep in mind for future years - the Hawks really won't get much for cap flexibility until they can move Campbell. Now that may never happen, but it's the only option available to the team that is at least palatable. Or would be IF a guy like Leddy would step up into that role.

However, that's not an easy role to fill - in fact, that lack of capable puck-moving defensemen is a big reason Campbell got so much money to begin with and why he continues to be an invaluable part of this team (as we continue to be reminded every time he misses much time). So keep an eye on Leddy - he may just be developing into a hugely important asset.


D Jassen Cullimore, 37 years old, 14th season, $500k for 1 year, #5

I'm gonna forgive the spelling of his name (it's just pronounced Jason, so why not spell it in the universally accepted way?!? Why must parents sentence their child to a lifetime of annoyingly having to correct pronunciation or spelling... but I digress) and instead focus on the fact that last year, at the age of 36, this guy was willing to play a whole season in the AHL with no promise of ever getting back. And then when he was looking at the same thing all over again as a 37-year old, Cullimore again accepted it and kept on plugging along for the Hawks minor league affiliate.

And now he's finally getting the chance he wanted, to return to the NHL and contribute. The fact that it's contributing on a Stanley Cup contender is some sweet ass icing, I'm sure.

For a long time Cullimore was a pretty productive grindy defenseman for the Lightning, even winning a Cup with them right before the lockout. On the other side, the Hawks signed him for some decent change to help bolster their feeble blueline... but as you probably don't remember, he didn't live up to expectations. After two poor years he moved on to Florida where had a bit of a rebirth in the 07-08 year, only to struggle again in 08-09 before finding himself in the minors for all of last season.

I kinda figured Cullimore was just gonna hang around as a healthy scratch until Campbell got healthy, but after JQ gave up on Leddy (understandable) and Hendry (more of a head-scratcher), Cullimore has become a regular on the blueline. In fact, in Campbell's first game back, Boynton was the healthy scratch - not Cullimore.

Again, it's not always easy to judge a defenseman after just a few games, but I haven't noticed him, which like offensive lineman, is a good thing, and the reports I've been reading seem to suggest he's doing alright for himself. Cullimore is ideally not gonna skate more than 15, maybe 17 minutes, grab a small bit of PK time if really necessary.

But if he can be just serviceable next to Boynton or Hendry as a veteran presence, we might have a quietly decent, if limited, third pairing to take some of the pressure off the top 4, at least in the regular season, while also having some depth for the dings and dents that will most certainly come up this year.

Especially with the way Keith and Seabrook log time and the way both of them wore down a bit before the stretch run, the Hawks would do well to have a solid 7 NHL-caliber defensemen they could lean on to keep minutes at more reasonable levels for the Top 4.

Finally, I'll go ahead and say right now that Cullimore, mainly for grinding it out in the AHL at such an advanced age, but also because he's come up and quietly taken care of business, is fast become an irrational favorite of mine. So expect me to be openly celebrating any success he has and giving him an undue amount of patience with his failings.


D Jordan Hendry, 26 years old, 3rd season, $600k for 1 year, #6

Hendry is hardly a newcomer, having played in 43 games last year and a bunch of the post-season. In fact, he has his name on the Cup, something that requires a respectably high level of participation on a Cup-winning team. Still, last season he wasn't a regular in the sense of getting out every night at one position, instead juggling between the 4th line, the 3rd D pairing, and being a healthy scratch. So I figured I'd throw him into the mix as someone worth knowing a bit more about.

This year it looked like he'd have a nightly spot on the blueline all but wrapped up, especially once Campbell went down. Instead Hendry has seen just about everyone get their shot before he has - Leddy, Scott, and Cullimore all skating in games that Hendry watched from the press box.

For whatever reason, JQ just hasn't ever shown much faith in Hendry. And he's done all he could to avoid having to give the kid regular blueline minutes. Moving Buff back, going to Boynton in the Stanley Cup Finals, or just making sure Hendry took as few shifts as possible, JQ has found a way to avoid relying on him for a while now.

While I can definitely see some of the reason - Hendry often looks unsure of himself leading to costly or just annoying mistakes - I'm also of the belief that the kid needs more of a shot than he's gotten. To me that lack of confidence and comfort has a chance to be solved just by getting regular ice time. Especially when Campbell was out, why not give Hendry a start every night next to the same blueliner?

Instead JQ jerked him around, scratching him a lot and limiting his minutes. Through the first 10 games, Hendry had played only 4 times, once for a mere 5 minutes. Look, Hendry doesn't have a ton of upside, that's clear. But he can definitely skate well, handle the puck solidly, and certainly fits with the high-flying nature of this team.

From what I've seen of him - and I've watched him closely in the hopes of seeming he take the next step - he really just needs more experience and confidence. I'm firmly of the belief that if you give Hendry a guaranteed starting spot for the next 20 games aside the same reliable veteran (I'd prefer Cullimore to Boynton, as he seems a smarter, more steady player), that at the end of that stretch, you'd have a nice young 3rd pairing blueline asset on your hands.

And who knows, maybe JQ finally is starting to think the same thing after watching a number of other blueliners look a bit iffy out there so far this year. For the last four games, Hendry has played every one and gotten a steady 12-13 minutes. Hopefully that remains the case for the next couple of months, because his wheels alone make Hendry worth really committing to.

Because as much as Cullimore and Boynton use veteran savvy, physicality, and grit to more or less hold their own, they are limited by the fact that they just aren't very athletic on a team of guys who can just fly around the ice. Sopel was about as good in that role as anyone could expect and he still always looked like a square peg in a round hole on this team. It took a long while for Sopel to truly rise to the level of an asset and it's far from certain that either Boynton or Cullimore will be capable enough in those intangible areas to do so as well.

Plus, as I discussed with Cullimore, a developed Hendry would provide you with always needed blueline depth. Boynton and Cullimore are older, Keith and Seabrook log a ton of minutes, and Campbell's been injured seriously twice in the last six months. You know what you're going to get, more or less, out of Scott, Boynton, and Cullimore. Sure they could use some more ice time to get comfortable in the system, but they don't need to go out there everyday.

However, with Hendry, he definitely does need to be out there every day, again because it's all about confidence and comfort with this kid. Instill those things in him and you should have an NHL-capable blueliner that brings rare athleticism to the 3rd pairing. And if he doesn't take that step forward - well, now you know for sure what you've got in Hendry and can move on.


D John Scott, 28 years old, 3rd season, $512k for 2 years, #32

Only 10 Hawks skaters played in the first 10 games... somehow this guy was one of them. Really. I can't say I've personally noticed him be all that terrible, but you don't have to look very hard to understand it's been the case. First off, nearly every Hawks commentator, even those who are knee deep with the team and thus rarely very critical, have questioned the regular role this guy has on this team. Second, the numbers speak for themselves - he's playing barely 8 minutes a night (despite being part of a very thin and inconsistent blue line) and regularly sitting for long stretches when the games get tight.

Scott's a huge man (6-8, 255) and actively seeks out fights and hits to help keep the opponent honest. So far he's only had one negative night and that was offset by a +2 in the only game he got significant amounts of ice time (nearly 17 minutes in a victory in Buffalo). So there are some obvious justifications for keeping him around.

However, on two separate occasions Scott's dressed and then logged only two and a half minutes of ice time - essentially forcing the team to skate a man short. Everybody complains about how slow and awkward Scott is, while also pointing out that he really hasn't been much of a physical force, neither getting many guys to fight him nor delivering big hits when he's out there.

So why has he dressed for so many games? Some of it has been a misguided sense that the Hawks need the protection. Misguided both in that Scott hasn't actually provided any protection (teams have been just as physical as ever) nor is he really good enough to get on the ice enough to effectively police anything.

Most importantly, his continued place in the nightly lineup has been misguided because, much as I discussed with Hendry above, the Hawks need to develop their depth, both on the blue line and at wing (where Scott has skated a few games). Two universal truths for any Cup Champion are that you can never have enough capable NHL defenseman and that you need strong role players supporting your stars. This is especially the case for a team coming off a very long season that demanded incredible amounts of ice time from its top skaters, is looking to do the very same thing this year, and has minimal cap room to get help from the outside.

Sure, it's nice to have a policeman out there, but if Scott can't justify the minutes with his play, it's pointless to dress him and pretend he's having any effect on the game. It seems clear Scott doesn't have the ability nor potential to be anything but a goon, so he should be a healthy scratch until the demand for some enforcement is clear and undeniable.

Instead, his defensive minutes should be taken for now by Hendry, Boynton, and Cullimore, with Leddy getting time if the need arises and he's made the necessary steps forward as a pro. And Scott most definitely should NEVER dress as a wing in place of Skille or Stalberg or really any of the Hawks forwards. Those guys need every bit of ice time they can get and especially now that Hossa and Bolland are out, the Hawks need every bit of production they can provide. Pissing that away for a one-dimensional brute in 12 of 14 games has been one of the biggest mistakes JQ has made this year.


In general, I'd give the new blueliners an incomplete - pretty much what I would have expected. Sure it'd have been nice for someone to surprise and make an instant impact, but the reality is that most blueliners need time to both get comfortable and to really show what they're capable of. It's been nice that Cullimore has looked decent and that Boynton has seemingly justified a lot of minutes for stretches. It's nice that Hendry has finally gotten a steady dose of starts to string together. It was even nice to get Leddy a taste of NHL action and to have Scott exposed as the total one-dimensional goon he is.

But the reality is that there are 68 more games on the schedule and it will take maybe another 40 or 50 before I really feel like I'll have a grasp on what the Hawks feature after their very impressive Top 4. Do keep an eye out, because hockey is most definitely about quality of depth as much as it is about the headliners, so developing two or three capable NHL-level defenseman will be as crucial to a Cup defense as anything else.