Will the Chicago Blackhawk’s Offseason End?

Larry Gasik is a web developer and hockey fanatic located in the suburbs of Chicago. Nearly any free time he has is spent playing and watching hockey. Just like any true hockey player, Larry spends a good portion of his summertime golfing.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, the 2008-09 season was without a doubt a success. Many people, including myself, did not give them a good shot at making the playoffs. The true result of the season was a trip to the Western Conference finals, where they took the Red Wings to overtime three times, but only capturing one victory.

For Chicago fans, that seems long ago. Free agency brought a buzz to the city with additions such as Marian Hossa, John Madden, and Tomas Kopecky. Many even looked at the Hossa deal as a bad thing, but a player like Hossa for a cap hit of just over five million is a great deal – in the short term.

The RFA debacle where players did not receive their qualifying offers in time marked the first scar on this offseason. Cam Barker and Kris Versteeg were both arguably overpaid in an effort to cover up the mistake made by Chicago management. The mix up did not help build confidence in Dale Tallon, and the conflict in management was starting to come out to the press now. Tallon was demoted, with Stan Bowman replacing him as general manager. Dale’s days were numbered anyway when John McDonough brought in Scotty Bowman as his consultant. It was just a matter of time, and the qualifying offer was the nail in the coffin.

Then in late July fans officially found out Hossa had an injured shoulder. Management claims to have known about it when he was signed. Hossa eventually would have surgery, and will miss probably the first twenty games of the season. July 31st brought more bad news with Hossa with the report of the contract being investigated. The NHL believes that the front loaded 12 year contract was structured to get around the salary cap. If the NHL decides to punish Chicago, it could mean a fine of five million dollars, as well as draft picks.

If that was not enough, there is the arrest of Patrick Kane for the assault on a sixty-two year old cab driver over a mere twenty cents. The outcome of the court case is yet to be heard, but certainly it is not helping the off season of the ‘hawks. Chicago is going to have a tough enough season this year with more focus and attention from opposing teams, coupled with the loss of Khabibulin, and then starting off the season in Europe. These off season events are not going to help their cause much either. And there is always going to be the elephant in the room that needs to be addressed – new contracts for Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane when the team is already right up against the cap.