Mar 13, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Jamal Mayers (22) fights with St. Louis Blues right wing B.J. Crombeen (26) during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Any time I’ve seen Jamal Mayers on TV in the last 4 months is in a suit, walking into a boardroom, or standing behind Don Fehr while he speaks. Tomorrow, he puts the Indian Head on again, and gets back to his real job. Mayers is a big, tough, veteran player. The 6’1″, 222 lb 38 year old, is entering into his 16th year in the NHL, and his second since being signed as a free agent on Canada Day, 2011.

Mayers needs to do more of what he did last season. He isn’t a well-known goal scorer, but he is a huge physical presence. He wears the other team down, by getting pucks deep and being hard on the forecheck. When he plays a good first and second period, the enemy tends to have a slow-paced third, and thats when the top lines of Marian Hossa and others can strike. Possibly playing on a line with very young players, such as Brandon Saad, or Marcus Kruger, he can really shape those players for the rest of their career, while his own winds down.

In the meantime, Mayers can still use his best asset to good work. Along with a strong work ethic, and intense play, I’m putting his over/under at 3 goals, 5 assists.

What’s your opinion on Mayers? Let us know on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or on Facebook, Blackhawk Up.

ONE MORE DAY!

Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

As we keep making our way down my list of Blackhawks players who make me swear in front of children, we come to a player who didn’t take very long to make this list.  In fact, Dan Carcillo made my most hated list before the ink on his contract was even dry! There are players that I can’t stand throughout the NHL that I would love on the Blackhawks, like Ryan Kesler, Scott Hartnell and even Steve Ott.  Dan Carcillo is not one of these guys.  I hated him when he was an idiot on the Phoenix Coyotes.  I hated him when he was an idiot on the Philadelphia Flyers.  I can’t stand the fact that he is idiot for my beloved Blackhawks.

The signing of Carcillo pissed me off from day one, and the fact he got a two year extension really boils my blood.  I know the Hawks needed more “toughness” when they signed Carcillo, but he isn’t a tough guy he is a meat head.  Jamal Mayers is a tough guy, someone who can play within himself and be physical when the time calls for it.  Carcillo plays a reckless style of hockey, with no regard to himself or his fellow players.  All you have to do it watch the play from January 2, 2012 to see what Carcillo is all about.

Not only did the Blackhawks lose that game because of two goals scored against them on Carcillo’s five minute major, but it ended Carcillo’s season as well.  During the first few weeks of the season, when Carcillo was contributed to the team I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and boy did it ever! “CarBomb” is a selfish player and a distraction on a team that can be a Stanley Cup contender.  He will never get the benefit of the doubt on a call from an on ice official or on one from the league office either.  He is a liability that will spend more time in the press box than on the ice over the next two seasons.  If I revisit this list in a couple of years, I am willing to bet the Carcillo moves up the list to a spot much higher than #9.

Thank you for reading, be sure to follow me on Twitter @SAMotherPucker

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

A lot has happened in Hawk nation over the past several weeks (and I imagine there will be quite a bit more coming) and I have some thoughts

Mayers and Oduya extensions

I know I’m late chiming in here, but like everything I need to give my two cents.

While most people were surprised by the Oduya re-signing, quite frankly I was caught off guard by both. As good as Mayers was last year (and I think he did a fantastic job in the role he was expected to fill) I was expecting the Hawks to leave his 4th line spot open for a prospect (possibly Jeremy Morin, Kyle Beach, Rob Flick or someone else) to have an opportunity to crack at the lineup.

So on that I’ll just say I’m not disappointed by the Mayers extension, just surprised. Truthfully, I don’t think it would have mattered one way or the other. If he gets outplayed in training camp, I don’t think the Hawks will hesitate to relegate him to a lesser role.

I was however extremely surprised by the re-signing of Oduya and frustrated at both the length and cap number, for a number of reasons. First off, Johnny Oduya is not a $3 million dollar defenseman. Were he a RFA and forced to go to arbitration, I would expect his cap number to fall somewhere between the $2.5 and $2.75 million range, considerably lower than the number agreed upon by Hawks management for his extension. This number could put unneeded pressure on the Hawks, especially if the cap goes down in the new CBA.

Second, Nick Leddy will require a contract extension next summer, most likely for a similar amount that Oduya just signed for. While he’s had his fair share of struggles so far in his career, Leddy’s skill, youth and potential make him a much more valuable player than Oduya and the Hawks should be prioritizing keeping him around long-term. That could be difficult with so much money already committed to defensemen.

Third, committing to another defenseman for the long-term means less opportunity for some of the Hawks’ talented defensive prospects (such as the recently signed Adam Clendening, as well as others such as Stephen Johns, Justin Holl or Klas Dahlbeck) and takes flexibility away from the Hawks management to make deals.

Now this is all assuming that both Niklas Hjalmarsson and Steve Montador are in Chicago next year (which many are speculating that at least one of them won’t be) If one or both of them goes and the Hawks make some other changes on defense, it will be a different situation. But if both Hjalmarsson and Montador are in the Hawks long-term plans, then the aforementioned problems could come to fruition. We’ll have to see how this all plays out.

Prospect signings

Over the past few weeks the Hawks have been busy locking up some recent draft picks. Among those signed were forwards Rob Flick (4th round 2010) and Joakim Nordstrom (3rd round 2010), defensemen Klas Dahlbeck (3rd round 2011) and Adam Clendening (2nd round 2011) and goalies Mac Carruth (7th round 2010) and Kent Simpson (2nd round 2010)

While none of these players are necessarily considered “top prospects”, the names to watch in training camp in September are Rob Flick, Adam Clendening and Mac Carruth.

Rob Flick is a big, rugged forward who spent the majority of last season with the Rockford IceHogs on an AHL contract. Flick is an effective checker and agitator who can provide energy and will be competing for a 4th line role on the Hawks in camp.

Adam Clendening is coming off a strong sophmore season with Boston University and will likely play on Rockford’s blueline next season. He has a very similar game to Duncan Keith at that age, so its not surprise that the Hawks’ management will be monitoring his development very closely.

Mac Carruth had a very good season with the Portland Winterhawks, carrying them all the way to the WHL Conference Finals. His progress since being drafted has been remarkable and he should definitely be considered the Hawks top goaltending prospect.

Patrick Kane

There’s been a lot of rumblings about Kane’s status as a Blackhawk but right now most of it seems like nothing more than conjecture.One thing is for sure: Patrick Kane is no longer considered “untouchable”.

Sources close to the situation don’t seem to think the Hawks are actively shopping Kane, but they do feel that the Hawks wouldn’t be reluctant to have trade discussions about him. My guess is any offer for Kane would have to be mind-blowing for the Hawks to seriously consider it.

So it looks like we can expect 88 to wear the Indian head sweater next season. But I imagine he’s on very thin ice. Sources have indicated that there are more than a few people in the Hawks organization who flat out want Kane gone. Unless we see more maturity from Kane off the ice, as well as more production on the ice, this summer could be Kane’s last as a Blackhawk.

Ryan Suter a Blackhawk?

There’s been some talks about Ryan Suter signing in Chicago this season (John Jaeckel has done a fabulous job on HockeyBuzz.com of following that situation. If you don’t already read John’s stuff I highly recommend you check out his posts)

There’s more than one way to look at Suter coming to the Hawks. First, should he come? Absolutely. No question the Hawks could use the help on defense that Suter could provide on the second pairing. Heck, any team could. Your blueline can never be too good.

Second, could he come? Possibly. If a couple of shrewd moves are made, including moving Niklas Hjalmarsson and Michael Frolik would open up over $5.8 million and would provide sufficient cap space to sign Suter to a long-term deal, regardless of what happens with the cap under the new CBA.

Lastly, will he come? Probably not. Sources indicate that the Hawks are pretty much staying the course and don’t plan on making any radical changes or commit to any more players long-term. Throw in the fact that Oduya has resigned and it looks like the Hawks are, or are close to, being happy with their defense. That doesn’t mean the team won’t improve, it just means I wouldn’t expect a guy like Suter to land in Chicago. And that’s probably not a terrible thing. If the Blackhawks truly want to upgrade their defense there are cheaper options, such as Matt Carle, Jason Garrison, Dennis Wideman and others, who are reliable top four defenseman.

The draft

The draft is my favorite hockey day of the year. July 1st is okay and the Trade Deadline is just overrated, but the draft is where all the really big action is nowadays, not to mention we get to see where some of the stars of tomorrow will start their careers. Mock drafts are always a blast, as are coming up with fun trade scenarios. Simply put, the draft is a blast and I put a lot of time into getting ready for it.

That’s why over the next few weeks I’m going to be doing some pre-draft previews of players the Hawks should consider taking when they’re called to the podium, as well as throw out some trade scenarios they could make on June 22nd. I’ll also be posting a mock draft a few days before the draft, so check in for that as well.

Thanks for reading!

These first round exits must change fast (Rob Grabowski-USPRESSWIRE)

In the past week the Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed two of last years unrestricted free agents in Jamal Mayers and Johnny Oduya.  While watching National Treasure this past week these signings reminded me of a part of the movie where a cheesy Nick Cage and his dad are talking about status quo and that when something needed to change that the status quo would change too.  Granted it’s a kind of cheesy movie a Amazing Race meets New England, but with the past two signings has anything changed for the Blackhawks that were last scene leaving United Center ice to go home to play golf (or party in Wisconsin) for the summer, after their 2nd consecutive first round defeat?

It’s early in the off season, but the only change so far, has been to the coaching staff where according to 99% percent of precincts reporting say that the Blackhawks and Joel Quenneville fired the wrong assistant coach.  I’m pretty sure that this move will not change the status quo unless the next assistant coach is a wizard with the power play.  Don’t forget that the Hawks were an abysmal 15.2% on the power play which ranked 26th in the NHL this past season.  I know you didn’t forget, but that 2 minute nightmare cannot be forgotten.

The staus quo though must stop in the signing of “Veteran Presence” guys!  That goes for  both offensive and defensive players alike.  In 2010 it worked adding John Madden to a very young team, and so GM Stan Bowman with direction from Coach Q has seemed to fall in love with this recipe, which has brought little success the past two seasons.  Andrew Brunette, John Scott and Sean O’Donnell’s are no longer needed on this roster.  The Hawks have two directions to go when it comes to the off season, but either way the 2012 opening night roster needs to be filled with talent that has speed, control the puck, contribute on special teams, and finish.  I was surprised that Mayers was re-signed not because of his production but because his age will be 38, but he should continue to fill the role he carved out last season.  Oduya was good in the regular season and hopefully that is the player we are getting for the next 3 seasons, but that is where the re-signings needs to end for next year.

One way the status quo can change is bring in the youth!  A Bowman philosophy has been to fill up the cupboard with talent and that’s exactly what he’s been doing.  2012 needs to be the season that the roster begins to show youth again, like it did in 2010 when the Hawks hoisted the Cup.  It started last season with appearances and production from Andrew Shaw, Jimmy Hayes, Dylan Olsen and brief appearance from Brandon Saad.  There is only one way to get NHL experience and that is to play on the biggest stage!  It’s time for the young core to become the leaders of the team and let GM and coach worry about getting the most talent on the ice at all times, than worry about some over the hill guy to be fill up roster space to be a presence!

Rick Scuteri-USPRESSIRE

This is ALL the veteran presence that is needed for the foreseeable future!  He may only be 24 but he’s been a captain, Conn Smyth winner, Stanley Cup Champion, and Olympic Champion and could have been MVP if a concussion hadn’t sidelined him the last 22 games of the season.  Jonathan Toews has all the accolades that any 30 something guy could have if not more.  He’s the face of the franchise, the Captain, and the leader of the team, so there should be no worries about bringing up the farm and letting them produce like they have at the minor league levels.

The second way to change the status quo is to make a big move especially at the draft.  I’m not a GM, or pretend to be one (sometimes) or did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but it seems like the Hawks and Bowman now are afraid of the salary cap threshold instead of trying to get every last penny spent, which may be a backlash of the salary cap hell that he inherited.  Now’s a chance to make a move, the Hawks have picks, space and organizational depth to make a move before our hated rivals do.  The Detroit Red Wings just lost Nicklas Lindstrom to retirement, so you know they will be spending money this off season, don’t let our rivals win in the off season sweepstakes too!

This is the biggest off season for Bowman yet.  Will he make changes, or will he settle for the status quo of 88-105 point season and early playoff disappointment or will he make a significant shift in theory and make the status quo shift in our favor and the Hawks find the treasure… The Stanley Cup again!

Let’s Go HAWKS!!!!

Another season in the Indian Head sweater! (Bruce hemmelgarn-USPRESSWIRE)

The Chicago Blackhawks re-signed Jamal Mayers yesterday for a very cap friendly amount of $600,000 for next season.  He was brought in last season to be a veteran presence, play tough, and collect some points on the bottom lines.

Mayers did exactly what he was brought in to do during the season, and was rewarded with another season in Chicago.  His poor performance in the first 3 games of the playoffs and then healthy scratch for the last 3 games against the Phoenix Coyotes apparently were not influential in the decision to bring Mayers back for the 2012-2013 season.

The Blackhawks brought in a bunch of veteran presence guys for last season, but Mayers was the only veteran guy that played his part for the entire season.  His gritty physical presence will be counted on again next season, along with his ability on the penalty kill. Mayers was 2nd on the Hawks with 102 hits only behind only Bryan Bickell’s 128 hits.  Mayers was also one of the few Blackhawks successful at face-offs winning 56% this past season, which was second behind Jonathan Toews 59%

Mayers is not a big scorer, but he never really has been, nor does he have to be on a roster filled with very skillful offensive players.  Mayers will be 38 early in the season, so the desire to get a Stanley Cup should be #1 on Mayers priority list going into the season.

I really didn’t think Mayers would be re-signed for next season, but his style and production, and intangibles fit what the Hawks need on the bottom 6.  He was exactly as advertised last year, and if he repeats his performance next season this will be one of the better signing the Hawks will have this off season!!

Let’s Go Hawks!!!

Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

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

81     6    9   15   -4     91          0         0            1         70      8.6      Regular Season

3       0   0    0     -1      0           0         0           0           3        0.0     Playoffs

Contract Status: Unrestricted free agent

Jamal Mayers was the best free agent acquisition made last summer and he needs to be resigned for another tour of duty.  He did everything that was expected of him and more.  He was a great team mate who had everybody’s back.  He was quick to dish out a big hit or drop the gloves in defense of his fellow Hawks.  Dan Carcillo needs to take notes from Mayers on how to play with an edge without being a penis.  Mayers had 102 hits which was 2nd among fowards.  He had one of the best faceoff percentages on the team at 56.1.  He did a solid job on the penalty kill.  He even chipped in more on offense than I thought he would.  His 6 goals was the most he scored since 2008-2009.  But for some odd reason, Coach Q benched Mayers for the the final 3 games of the post season.  This move made very little sense to me.  In a series where Phoenix was getting the best of you, physically, I have no clue why you would bench one of you most physical players.  While most players would be very upset about this, Mayers took his benching like the professional he is.  He said that he wasn’t happy that he “allowed this to happen” to himself.  I really hope we see Jamal wearing the Indian Head again come next fall.

2011-2012 Final Grade: A-

Will we see this again in a Hawks Jersey? (Jayne Karmin-Oncea)

Season Stats

Games-81

Goals-6

Assists-9

Points-15

Penalty Minutes-91

+/- -4

Hits-102

Faceoffs-56.3%

Fighting Majors-11

Season Review-

The Chicago Blackhawks signed Jamal Mayers in the off season to add depth veteran depth to a young team at an inexpensive price ($550,000). He would be a 4th line guy to go out there and muck it up.  The Blackhawks got what they signed.  He was one of the few guys out there that stuck up for their teammates without just dropping their gloves for fun (Bollig) and he would get his occasional point while getting a few good hits in.  At age 37, he still managed to put up very comparable statistics from the past 5-6 years of his career.  A strange thing happened for a guy who played 81 games in the season, after struggling in the first 3 games of the Phoenix Coyote series Mayers found himself in the sky box as a healthy scratch watching his teammates fall in 6 games.  How Brendan Morrison was on the ice (one fluky tipped goal doesn’t mean your playing well)  for game six and and not Mayers is a small question but most likely not a major reason for the series loss.  We knew what Mayers was and that’s what 2011-2012 the Blackhawks got!

Contract- Unrestricted Free Agent

Future- With our minor leagues full of kids itching to get to the Big Show it’s doubtful Mayers will be resigned. He will be 38 and probably will no fit into the scheme of things next season.

Grade- B- As advertised coming in. Tough guy that will get a 10-20 points a season.

Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

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

28     2    9   11   10     82        0          0             0         27      7.4      Regular Season

Contract Status: Signed through 2013-14 ($825,000 cap hit per season)

I was against the signing of Dan Carcillo from day one.  Even when he got off to a surprising start, where he was contributing to the offense, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Then on January 2nd, the real Dan Carcillo finally showed up.  Carcillo checked Edmonton defenseman Tom Gilbert hard from behind, when he did not have the puck.  Not only did he get a 5 minute major for boarding and a game misconduct but he blew out his knee and ended his season.  The Blackhawks were winning this game 1-0 at the time, but the Oilers scored twice on the major, and went on to win 4-3.  So his senseless hit got him kicked out of the game, ended his season and cost the Hawks a game.  Talk about your dumbass trifecta!  And somehow all of this lead to Stan Bowman giving Carcillo a new 2 year contract.  I still don’t get that move at all.  I know the Hawks need to be more physical but they don’t need idiots.  They need more players like Jamal Mayers, who plays with an edge but plays smart and rarely takes a bad penalty.  For all the outrage and hatred Blackhawks fans have towards Raffi Torres, Carcillo is cut from the same cloth.  Yes, he did show that he actually has some hockey talent and can be a nice player but the dumb penalties and selfish plays will never go away.  And his long history will only get him more penalties and harsher suspensions from here on out.  He will never get the benefit of the doubt from an NHL official.  Maybe the Hawks can send him to the “Matt Cooke School For Choir Boys” but I don’t think he is capable of playing a smarter game.  How many games will he cost the Hawks over the next 2 seasons by being a meathead?  Only time will tell.

2011-2012 Final Grade: D-

Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

9PM Jobing.com Arena Glendale, AZ

TV: Comcast Sports Net Chicago

Radio: 720 AM WGN

All the talk is over its time to drop the puck and let the quest for 16 wins begin.  After one of the most eventful first nights of the Stanley Cup playoffs I can remember, the Blackhawks and The Phoenix Coyotes start their best of seven series tonight.  The Coyotes won 3 of the 4 regular season games against the Hawks including both games in Arizona.  They won their last 5 games of the regular season in route to their first ever division title.  Former Blackhawk Radim Vrbata, who had a career high 35 goals, scored 5 goals in those final 5 games.  Ageless wonder Ray Whitney had 6 (2 G, 4 A) of his team leading 77 points against the Blackhawks this year.  Goalie Mike Smith has rightfully gained the national spotlight with his stellar play the last 10 weeks of the season.  He has given up only 2 goals in his last 5 starts.  He has been on fire but he will give up some juicy rebounds so Blackhawk forwards need to be in front of the net.  Smith was 3-0 with a 1.30 GAA and a .959 save % in 3 games versus the Hawks. The Coyotes announced that Adrian Aucoin, who missed the last 2 games, will be playing tonight.  Hopefully we see Viktor Stalberg blow his doors off a few times tonight.

The Blackhawks will be at 100% tonight as captain Jonathan Toews will make is long awaited return to the lineup.  He will center a line with Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane.  That’s a pretty damn good first line if I may say so myself!  Dave Bolland and Andrew Brunette will both return as well tonight.  Bolly loves playoff hockey and Bruno can be a big boost on the 4th line.  Speaking of the 4th line, it will be interesting to see who joins Brunette and Jamal Mayers. I sure hope Q doesn’t think playing Brandon Bollig is a good idea.  Michael Frolik should be out there in my opinion.  Sean O’Donnell gets the call over Dylan Olsen as the 6th defenseman.  That makes me a little itchy.  Corey Crawford gets the start in net, of course.  He was 1-1 with a with 4.29 GAA and a .830 save %.  The Hawks have far more depth than the Yotes so they need to take advantage of it.   They will need to get to Mike Smith early and not allow him to get comfortable in the crease.  And maybe, just maybe a little contribution from the power play.  Can’t wait for the puck to drop. I already have the pregame butterflies going!

Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Ever since the Blackhawks punched their tickets to the playoffs, they’ve put it on cruise control in 2 game versus the Minnesota Wild.  There is no reason to lose 2 shootouts to a far inferior team, talent wise, like the Wild.  For the majority of the game last night it looked like neither team wanted to be there.  The Blackhawks had visions of playoff hockey in their heads and the Wild were thinking of how early a tee time they want on Monday morning.  It’s a shame the Hawks couldn’t get 2 extra points out of these games because they would have a legitimate shot at home ice advantage in the first round.  Tomorrow’s game against Detroit will decide where the Hawks go for their first round matchup.  If they beat the Wings in regulation they will get the 5th seed and play the Nashville Predators in the 1st round.  If they don’t win in regulation the Hawks will be the 6th seed and play the winner of tomorrow night’s game between the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings.  I don’t really want to play Nashville but I also don’t want to lose to the Wings so tomorrow’s game will be an interesting one for sure.  On to the observations….

• Corey Crawford looked very strong in net and seems to ready to guide his team into the playoffs.

• The Blackhawks are not beating anybody with this craptacular power play.  11 minutes of power play time and only 6 shots.  When they had the extra attacker on the ice during the first delayed penalty call they looked fantastic.  They were moving the puck and Patrick Sharp nearly had a goal but was robbed by Josh Harding.  Once the actual power play started it was back to the clown shoes.  Not scoring at least one goal on the 5 minute major cost them this game.  Once that penalty expired, without any goals, I knew the Blackhawks were going to lose.  Why do the Hawks refuse to take shots from the point on the power play?  Did you see how the Wild scored their goal?  I hope you took some notes.  If you want teams to stop taking runs at your best players it wouldn’t hurt to cash in on a power play or two.

• When did Dino Ciccarelli become the head coach of the Wild?  When did this team become so douchey?  Where was John Scott, er I mean, Brandon Bollig during all of this?

• If Dany Heatley was as good at driving as he is at taking cheap shot slashes at Patrick Kane’s wrist, well……

• Hey Michael Frolik made the score sheet!!!  He had a nice feed to Jamal Mayers for the Hawks only goal of the night.  Frolik needs to be on the ice come playoff time.  We know he will not score but his defense makes him a valuable asset.

• Thank God there are no shootouts in the playoffs!

• No more Sean O’Donnell please.

• Nice job by Brendan Morrison actually making some hockey plays in his final game ever as a Blackhawk.  At least it better be his final game.

My Blackhawks Player of the Game

Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Jamal Mayers scored the only goal for the Blackhawks.  The 4th line, as a whole, had themselves a really good game.  They had a few strong shifts early in the game and it paid off with a goal.  Mayers also had a good night at the faceoff circle too.  If Jamal wants to play another season in the NHL I hope it is in a Chicago Blackhawks uniform.

My Turd of the Game

 

Marilyn Indahl-US PRESSWIRE

Apparently Nate Prosser  graduated at the head of his class from the Alex Burrows School of Hockey Douchebaggery.  He was kicked out of the game for doing his best Rick Steiner impression and giving Jamal Mayer a head butt.  What a bush league move.  If the Hawks had a mediocre power play they would have buried the Wild at that point.  Plays like that will not keep you in the NHL kid, that and your career -15 as a defenseman.  Enjoy the playoffs from your couch clown!