May 29, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (35) shakes hands with Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) after game seven of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. The Blackhawks won 2-1 to win the series four games to three. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The first period started with everyone flying on both sides.  The Detroit Red Wings received the first powerplay when Duncan Keith tripped up Justin Abdelkader.  The Red Wings did everything but score in the 2 minutes especially when Danny Cleary had  a lot of the net empty but couldn’t get it past Corey Crawford.  Crawford was very good during the powerplay including at least three big saves.  If there was something to worry about with Crawford going forward is he was giving up big rebounds. The Hawks went to the man advantage when Joakim Andersson interfered with Andrew Shaw, but the Hawks were up to their old tricks with a pretty weak powerplay.  Viktor Stalberg was up next to draw a penalty and even though the Hawks second powerplay was more productive it still was not succesful and it ended the period with no score.

The second period started very quickly for the Hawks on a stretch pass that finally clicked for the Hawks from  Niklas Hjalmarsson that hit Michal Handzus and Marian Hossa and in the end Patrick Sharp‘s stick for the first goal of the game.  The Hawks were a much faster team until Andrew Shaw took a bad interference penalty when it appeared that Stalberg would be in the Wings zone on an odd man rush.  The Hawks were able to kill the penalty with their normal great penalty killers Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger.  The Hawks had their next powerplay and this is the best way to sum up the two minutes at the United Center.

There are good power plays, there are bad power plays, and then there’s whatever the Blackhawks just did. I think they lost a shot on goal.

— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) May 30, 2013

The Wings controlled the puck more than the Hawks would have liked but with the stellar play of Corey Crawford the horn sounded and the Hawks skated with a 1-0 lead heading to the third period.

The third period started out very ominous almost eerily like Game #6 in Detroit where the road team was able to equalize the game very early in the third period when Henrik Zetterberg dumped the puck into a wide open net with Corey Crawford almost frozen in time.  What was a very loud United Center went almost completely quiet.  The Red Wings went on to own the next 10 minutes of play but also like Game #6 Crawford after a bad goal came up huge for the Hawks the rest of the way for the third period.  Though shots were even at 9 for the third it felt like the Red Wings owned it for most of the play.  The Hawks did have a powerplay in the middle of the period that helped even out the momentum some.  The Hawks did have a big push with four minutes left in the third which led to Brandon Saad winning the puck before getting slammed into the Red Wings bench and while a nifty pass found Hjalmarsson who buried it past Jimmy Howard the back official Stephen Walkom blew the play dead for the hit on Saad.  While Cheslea Dagger was blaring the goal was getting waved off.  The crowd went nuts and your social media timeline whether it was Facebook or Twitter was on fire!!! A truly top 5 worst playoff calls of all-time and with less than 2 minutes left the Hawks would have to re-group.  The Wings had some good chances in the final minute but the horn sounded and Game 7 was heading to overtime even though everyone with a pulse could tell the game should have been over already.

The average time for Game 7 overtimes is 8:52 but this one would only last 3:35 after a huge hit by Dave Bolland ,who was pretty disappointing for the whole series, the puck made it to Brent Seabrook who skated in and threw a wrister that glanced off Niklas Kronwall‘s leg and found the back of the net behind Jimmy Howard and Game 7 was finally a victory for the Blackhawks 2-1.  I’ve watched it a dozen times at least, but here is the OT winner followed by the series ending handshakes.

-The Hawks completed only the 21st NHL comeback all-time down 3-1 in 230 attempts, and the first every by the Blackhawks (NHL.com)

-Joel Quenneville is now 2-3 all-time in Game 7′s and the first time his team has scored 2 goals in Game 7.

-Mike Babcock is now 11-4 head to head against Joel Quenneville after the series loss.

-Brent Seabrook is only the 4th defenseman to score a Game 7 OT goal and the first since 2001 and Darius Kasparaitis

-This was the first Game 7 OT win in Blackhawks team history

-The final four teams left in the playoffs are the last four Stanley Cup Champions only the 2nd time in history this has occurred.

- Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is Saturday at 4pm at the United Center!!

-ONE GOAL

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April 14, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook (7) in game two of the 2012 Western Conference quarterfinals at Jobing.com Arena. The Blackhawks beat the Coyotes 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Brent Seabrook is one of the players that does exactly what he is supposed to for the Chicago Blackhawks, and it reflected in his final grade for last season.

He had all kinds of great stats, like 9 goals and 25 assists in 78 games as well as a plus 21 for the season. He held the lead in time on the PK, which was successful last year, but my favorite was the 198 hits. In a year when it seemed like the Blackhawks were getting pushed around the ice and out-hit in nearly every game, Seabrook certainly pulled his own weight. It was satisfying to see him stand tall against other physical teams and never lay a dirty hit. He had his lowest PIM in his professional career with only 22 minutes.

Seabrook is the quiet type that is sturdy and reliable – definitely one of the Blackhawks core pieces that matter big time in this shortened season. His value to the team is also recognized by the fans when they voted him the best defenseman on the team for two years in a row.

Considering that his responsibilities lie elsewhere in the game, I say Seabrook has a good season with an over/under of 4 goals and 17 assists and a +/- of +19.

What’s your prediction for Seabrook this year?

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Sept 28, 2011; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook (7) is congratulated by defenseman Duncan Keith (2) for scoring a goal during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

The last of the fantasy rankings we will look at is the threesome of Chicago Blackhawks defenseman that made the rankings.  They rated the top 60 defenseman and three Hawks made the top 60. Duncan Keith was the first to crack the rankings in the #21 spot.  If ice time were part of the rankings Keith would be #1 since he routinely ends up in the top 5 of icetime in the league.  Keith has not returned to his Norris Trophy Award playing ablitity of 2010, but he still the cornerstone of the Blackhawks defense.  One way know how  well Keith is playing is by his +/- rating is,  he was averaing +20 or more until the past two seasons. He did rebound from a -1 to a +15 this past season. Keith isn’t higher in the fantasy rankings because he only averages 40 points per season and not more like the other defenseman higher on the list.

The second Hawk in the rankings is Brent Seabrook who really was the best Hawks defesnman last season.  He played great during the season and in the playoff series against the Phoenix Coyotes including being part of the scoring on the beat the buzzer goals in games 1 and 2.  Seabrook is very consistent scorer from the blue line averaging 9 goals and 25 assists per season.  Seabrook is solid as a rock on the blue line and he is ranked 37th best fantasy option.

I was suprised to see that one more Blackhawk made it into the rankings.  Nick Leddy appears at # 52 on the list of top 60.  Leddy who has had his ups and downs while learning his trait on the fly or the ice could be ready to explode and have a huge breakout season.  Leddy had 3 goals and 37 assists last season so there is no reason not to think he can’t add to those numbers and climb in the rankings next season.

Review of the Blackhawks that made the rankings

Jonathan Toews-#6 Center

Marian Hossa- #3 Right Wing

Patrick Kane- #7 Right Wing

Patrick Sharp- #5 Left Wing

Corey Crawford- #33 Goalie

Duncan Keith- #21 Defenseman

Brent Seabrook-#37 Defenseman

Nick Leddy- #52 Defenseman

Which Blackhawks do you think will breakout to make a fantasy list next season? My candidates are Dave Bolland, Brandon Saad, and Viktor Stalberg.  Let’s hope their is a season to find these things out!! Get back to negotiating Bettman and Fehr!!

LET’S GO HAWKS!!

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

The Blackhawks are not waiting until July to do their free agent shopping.  They resigned Jamal Mayers, last week, to a one year deal and now they have given defenseman Johnny Oduya a three year contract extension.  It was no secret that both Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville were fans of Oduya.  He is a puck moving defenseman who fits in with exactly what Q wants to do on the ice.  This is a pretty good signing for the Hawks.  Oduya solidified the Hawks blue line and was able to eat up meaningful minutes.  Having him here for a full season should take away some ice time from Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith which is a good thing.  Also, Nick Leddy played his best hockey of the season when he was paired with Oduya.

Oduya’s new deal is for 3 years with a $3.375 million cap hit per season.  There was some outrage in the Twitterverse over the amount of money given to Oduya.  I think this is a fair price considering the kind of money that has been thrown at defensemen in the last couple years.  Anytime you feel upset about $3.375 million for Oduya just remember Jay Bouwmeester is making $6.8 million and James Wisniewski is getting paid $5.5 million. There, don’t you feel better?

Oduya’s salary does raise questions on what the Blackhawks are going to do with their defense next year.  It is safe to say Oduya and Leddy will be the second pair, behind Seabrook and Keith.  That leaves the 3rd pairing for Steve Montador and Niklas Hjalmarsson.   The problem is Montador is set to make $2.75 million and Hjalmarsson is owed $3.5 million.  That is an awful lot of money to have invested in your 5th and 6th defensemen.

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Is Montador’s concussion issues worse than the Blackhawks letting on?  Do the Hawks want to trade Montador or Hjalmarsson, or both?  These are all valid questions.  Hjalmarsson’s name has been part of trade rumors for awhile, and I don’t think its a secret the Blackhawks would like to move his salary.  Hjalmarsson has not lived up to his $3.5 million salary and he might be due for a change of scenery.  If the Hawks wanted to move one of the two, Hjalmarsson would be the easier to trade.  He is younger, still has some upside and one of my least favorite words in sports, “potential.”  If the Hawks can move one or both of these defensemen that will free up some more cap space to go after a big name free agent.  But, with a rather weak free agent market I am not expecting much action out of the Hawks front office come July.  It will interesting to see, on draft night, if the Blackhawks start moving some pieces around.

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

GP   G   A   P   +/-   PIM   PPG   SHG    GWG   SOG   S%

18     1    4    5     3        0          0          0             0         30     3.3         Regular Season

6       0    3    3     1        0          0          0             0           9      0.0         Playoffs

Contract Status: Unrestricted free agent

A lot of people were upset that the only player Stan Bowman acquired at the trade deadline was Johnny Oduya.  In hindsight, Oduya might have been the best deadline move that was made.  Johnny made a very positive impact on the Blackhawks.  He was a -3 after his first period with the Hawks but everything got better after the bumpy start.  Oduya sured up the 2nd defensive pairing and was able to take some of the burden off of  Brent Seabrook  and Duncan Keith when it came to ice time.  Nick Leddy played some of his best hockey of the season while being paired with Oduya.  If you eyeball his playoff numbers you would have to say he played pretty good.  Well, sometimes the numbers can be deceiving.  Oduya did not have a good series against the Coyotes.  He was not nearly as sure with the puck as he was down the stretch.  He made too many turnovers and was out of position too many times.  But, with that being said, I think Oduya played himself into a new contract with the Blackhawks.  Stan Bowman mentioned Oduya more than once in his state of the team address and never once mentioned Niklas Hjalmarrson.  It will be interesting to see what plays out over the summer.  My guess is Oduya is here in October and Hjalmarrson is not.

2011-2012 Final Grade: B

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

GP   G   A   P   +/-   PIM   PPG   SHG   GWG   SOG   S%

74  33  36 69  28      38        7          1            8         282    11.7     Regular Season

6       1     0   1   -2         4         0          0           0          24       4.2      Playoffs

Contract Status: Signed through 2016-2017 ($5.9 million cap hit per year)

Sharpie’s season got off to a rough start when an emergency appendectomy caused him to miss all of training camp.  Later in the season, a slash from Detroit’s Jiri Hudler caused him to miss 8 games with a broken wrist.  Despite all of this Sharp scored 33 goals, his 2nd straight 30 plus goal season and 3rd of his career.  He lead the team in goals, plus/minus and shots.  His 8 game winning goals was also a team high.  Only Marian Hossa (9) had more power play goals than Sharpie.   Sharp’s assist numbers really picked up during the final month of the season when he clicked on a new line with Hossa and Marcus Kruger.  The season ended with Sharp being a complete disappointment in the playoffs.  Except for deflecting in a Brent Seabrook slap shot for a tying goal in Game 2, Sharp was invisible during the entire series versus the Coyotes.  Sharpie has proved he can score in bunches and his a big part of the Blackhawks’ “core.”

2011-2012 Final Grade: B

Get Well Soon!!! (Jason O Watson-USPRESSWIRE)

Season Stats

Games-81

Goals-29

Assists-48

Points-77

+/- +18

Penalty Minutes-20

Power Play Goals-9

Season Review-

2011-2012 Chicago Blackhawks season was the third season Marian Hossa has worn the Indian Head sweater.  Hossa had by far his healthiest season to date with the Blackhawks playing in 81 games.  The previous two seasons Hossa had only played in 65 and 57 games due to injuries.  Hossa is a model of consistency from goals, assists, and +/-.   It was also a milestone year too for Hossa as he collected his 900th point.  There’s nothing Hossa can’t do.. Score, pass, special teams, kill penalties.  He led the Hawks poor power play outfit with 9 power play goals, and he led the Blackhawks in points and assists.  His best attribute by far is that he’s such a strong two-way player which contributed to his +18 this season.  For a player to get to 900 points in a career and to have only one season with a minus rating and a total career +/- of a +163 tells you that he’s great on the fore check and back check. Hossa can change the momentum of a game on one shift by dominating the puck and setting up himself or a teammate for a game changing goal.

There are three big things that most Hawks fans will remember about the 2011-2012 season.

1. Nine game losing streak after the All-Star Game- Even though this was a very successful season for Marian Hossa he got lost along with the entire Hawks team during this stretch. During the 0-9-1 stretch Hossa collected 3 goals (2 in the first of the 9 straight losses) and 1 assist.  A player of Hossa caliber has to raise his game during bad stretches of the season and put a struggling team on his back.  During the losing streak Hossa disappeared instead of led.  One of my biggest  points is that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane along with Hossa have tons of experience,and that the Hawks don’t need to keep bringing in “veteran presence” guys that don’t fit the system, but Managment can always look back at this stretch of games and say that the PRESENCE will always be needed.

2. Toews out with concussion for last 22 games. The Hawks went 13-5-4 and Hossa was a key reason that the Hawks were able to clinch the #6 seed without their Captain on the ice.  Hossa scored 2 of the game winning goals during the season ending stretch, while collecting 6 goals and 13 assists along the way.  Hossa along with Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook, and Duncan Keith could point to this stretch and tell managment that they are the Veteran presence and stop signing the Andrew Brunette’s and Sean O’Donnell’s all they do is make their jobs harder.

3. Sadly when we think about the 2011-2012 season the only really thing that will be remembered is THE HIT Phoenix Coyote Raffi Torres put on Hossa at the beginning of Game 3 of the playoffs.. if for some reason you haven’t scene it here is a link to the Brendan Shanahan suspension video http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=60&id=173753.  This hit ended Hossa season immediatley and he still is feeling huge effects from the hit.  The Hawks tried their best without him to overcome the Coyotes, but instead of having Hossa out their finishing off great scoring chances the Hawks had Brendan Morrison out there burying pucks into Mike Smith’s pads.  The series could have had a different outcome with Hossa scoring ability on the ice instead of a veteran presence guy!!

Contract- Hossa is signed through 2020-2021 with a yearly cap hit of $5,275,000

Future- First Hossa has to recover from the head shot courtesy from Mr. Torres, then he will resume what has been a very consistent and productive career probable anchoring the 2nd line of the Hawks.  Hossa at 33 may be at his peak before a decline due to age starts to set in, so it is huge for management to get the right mix of players on the roster next year to make a serious run for the Cup.  No more old slow veterans!! Make sure every piece fits correctly and solve the power play puzzle, that Hossa was one of only 2 bright spots!!

Grade-A Most consistent player on the ice for 81 games.

Lastly and most importantly…..GET WELL SOON HOSSA!!!!!!!

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

GP   G   A   P   +/-   PIM   PPG   SHG   GWG   SOG   S% 

82    3   34 37  -12    10         0          0            0          94     3.2       Regular Season

6       1    2    3      1        0          0         0            0            9      11.1     Playoffs

Contract Status: Signed through 2012-2013 ($1.1 million cap hit)

We all know Nick Leddy is not going to win a Norris Trophy.  His defensive skills need  improvement, but lets remember he should have just finished his junior year as a Golden Gopher.  He has had to learn the pro style game at the highest level and I think he has held his own pretty good.  His 34 assists was 5th best on the team and only Duncan Keith had more in the defensive group.  Nick Leddy is at his best when he is involved in the offense.  I think he needs to be used more on the power play come next season.  He has great vision and passing skills in the offensive end.  His -12 was the worse among all defensemen.  For whatever reason, the pairing of Leddy and Niklas Hjalmarsson never worked.  Leddy played much better when he spent some time paired with Brent Seabrook and settled in nicely with Johnny Oduya.  His biggest downfall is his size.  Let Leddy spent the summer with me and I will put him on a cheeseburger and Budweiser diet.  He will be bigger in no time!  Despite his lack of size, to his credit, he never backed away from contact.  Leddy and Patrick Kane were the only two Blackhawks to play in all 82 games, so durability is not an issue.  Leddy has room for improvement but I think he will develop into a solid player.

2011-2012 Final Grade: C

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

GP   G   A   P   +/-   PIM   PPG   SHG   GWG  SOG   S%

78    9   25  34    21    22         2          0            3       156     5.8   Regular Season

6       1     2     3      1       0         0          0            0         18      5.6   Playoffs

Contract Status:  Signed through 2015-2016 ($5.8 million cap hit per year)

Brent Seabrook was the best defenseman for the Blackhawks in the regular season and was the best player on the ice during the playoffs.  Seabrook was able to log some major minutes this season.  He averaged nearly 25 minutes a game and played over 28 minutes 10 times during the regular season.  He tied his career high in goals with 9, which lead all defenseman on the team.  His plus 21 was second on the team, only Patrick Sharp had a better +/- with a 28.  Being a plus 21 was pretty impressive considering he spends that majority of his ice time against the opponent’s top scoring lines.  He was 2nd among defenseman in shots and he lead the defensive core with 3 game winning goals.   He was very solid in his own zone this year.  He had very few costly turnovers unlike most of his mates on the blue line.  He lead the team with 198 hits which was 9th among all defensemen.  Seabrook’s contract extension he signed last season is starting to look like a bargain.

2011-2012 Final Grade: A

Anne-Marie Sorvin-US PRESSWIRE

GP   G   A   P   +/-   PIM  PPG  SHG  GWG  SOG  S%

69     1  14  15    9        14       0        0           0         65      1.5    Regular Season

6       0   1     1   -3         4         0        0           0          3         0      Playoffs

Contract Status:  signed through 2013-2014 ($3.5 million cap hit per year)

One of Stan Bowman’s toughest decisions came right after winning the Stanley Cup in the summer of 2010.  The San Jose Sharks signed Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet forcing Bowman to chose between Nik or goaltender Antti Niemi.  At the time I thought Bowman made the right decision, but hindsight is always 20/20 I am not so sure about that anymore.  Niemi has put together 2 solid years in San Jose, and neither Hjalmarsson or Corey Crawford have lived up to expectations.  Hjalmarsson is getting paid like a top 4 defenseman but, as of now, he is not one.  Nilkas missed 13 games this year due to a concussion.  One of Hjalmarsson strongest points is his willingness to block shots. He finished the season with 142 blocks, which was 2nd on the team behind Brent Seabrook.  I was surprised that he finished a plus 9 but then I remembered giving up goals while on a penalty kill does not count for +/-.  How many times did we watch Hjamarsson standing 8 feet away from the crease while an opposing player scores a power play goal?  Hjalmarsson also struggled mightily with clearing the puck out of the defensive zone all season long. If you aren’t going to clear the crease or get the puck out of the zone there isn’t a whole lot of use for you.  Hjalmarsson’s physical game has gone backwards over the last two seasons.  Ever since he got suspended for his hit on Buffalo’s Jason Pominville, at the beginning of the 2010 season, it seems like he is scared to lower the boom on opponents.  I think it is pretty clear that Bowman wants to move Hjalmarrson and his $3.5 million cap hit this offseason.  He didn’t mention Hjalmarsson’s name once in his state of the team address last week.  There is still some good trade value for Niklas so I would have no problem if he were to get moved.

2011-2012 Final Grade: C-