Since Jonathan Toews and Miley Cyrus are wedded on You Tube by her stammering performance at a dumb music awards show after the season, where she lost track of her prompts of what to recite--and left Toews at loose ends with those deft hands playing pocket pool with his mouth on mute while Miley muttered--we might as well refer to my dogeared Hannah Montana songbook for today's theme music.
"I miss you/I miss your smile/And I still shed a tear/Every once in a while/And even though we're different now/You're still here somehow/My heart won't let you go/And I need you to know/I miss you, sha la la/I miss you."
But who will we miss the most? Sha la la.
Since it's almost time to go back to school, where I'm pretty confident this time I will be able to pass 6th grade, we better brush up on our pop quizzes and be in shape to explain the whys, wherefores, and what-the-hells of another season where we are told that less will be more, just wait-and-see.
You have heard the one about the loaves and the fishes and how Jesus found a way for fish-and-chips for all. Well, Scotty Bowman can match that. The Holy Trinity lives on West Madison with John, Stan and Scotty.
We all might not be as important as Tribune columnist David Haugh, who got to see Stan Bowman's very own blackboard at United Center, as the Hawks reindoctrinated their chief apologist with new talking points to brainwash the masses. Intrepid reporters will go to any lengths these days to suck a Tom, Dick or Harry, and here's a David who couldn't slingshot a Goliath if he was holding an Uzi.
You might remember Haugh was infuriated at the loss of Antti Niemi, insisting he would NOT buy the revisionist history. Well, that lasted a week or so, until the Hawks were able to stroke Haugh's ruffled feathers and--just as they knew would happen all along--get him to buy whatever they wanted sold.
Just Chicago politics, as usual. John McDonough didn't invent that. Marketing is often a high-handed name for glad-handing and schmoozing.
Anyway, where was I? I've been spending too much time in the libraries preparing for sixth grade.
Ah, yes. What Hawks players will be missed the most from the 10 Chief Wampum Warriors who had to be eliminated from the Lost Tribe Of Salary Excess?
We might as well decide this minute where we will be hurt the most when we start to assess our assets in the coming months.
When all is said-and-done here's my list of the lately departed whose names will be resurrected most often next season when there are some bumps in the road:
1. Dustin Byfuglien. As many swipes as I took and jokes as I made about the big lug, you never know who you will miss most until they are gone. Hopefully, Troy Brouwer is going to lessen the sting, but Byfuglien is unique when motivated and might not really be easily replaceable.
2. Brent Sopel. Here's another guy I lampooned for his lack of mobility and he showed me to be as much a fool as Haugh. He gave his all for the cause and that quality isn't easily replaceable, either. Plus, now that people can't make ugly remarks about his face, I'm afraid they will notice my postage stamp picture.
3. Andrew Ladd. He leaves us with a goal, two assists and a plus-5 from his last three games against Philadelphia. To end the regular season, he contributed one goal, three assists in his last four games. He had plenty of finishing kick.
4. Kris Versteeg. At 24, he is untapped talent. While he enjoyed dangling some participles and a few sound hockey principles, his future may be unmodified. We might not be able to modify and attach Versteeg quite yet to the star career he could find as long as he can dingle his dangle.
5. Antti Niemi. Being old does not have its advantages. I was on the spot when Dominik Hasek was thrown to the wolves. No one can argue the Hawks didn't do the right thing in keeping Ed Belfour over Hasek, but I have heard the argument many times before that Hasek was unconventional, unacceptable and unproven and really just had to go.
And a lot of that was because the guy wore black socks with white tennis shoes, a sight we all tired of seeing in the locker room.
I'm going to try buying that Marty Turco's better argument, at the same time I reserve the right to say you were all fooled by a GM that also assured us with every fiber of his being that Cristobal Huet would be aces high. Me and Haugh together again, arguing for Niemi. Makes me sick.
6. John Madden. He made a better first impression than last impression. But say what you want. The guy's a pro, playing and talking to the media. Again, not so easily replaced.
7. Ben Eager. Maybe people such as Bryan Bickell can replace his Joie de vivre without matching some of his dumb, over-the-top ice follies that just begged the officials to please penalize him.
8. Adam Burish. Usually a hit man with his record of hits and misses would have been knocked off a long time ago by a stray buller. Talked more than he acted. That's bad for any equation.
9. Curt Fraser. We are now short on cute little guys.
10. Cristobal Huet. Say, whatever happened to him? Last I heard he was thinking about jumping off the Eiffel Tower or something. Or was that the Rockford Clock Tower?
Filed under: 2010 offseason
Tags: Andrew Ladd, antti niemi, Blackhawks, brernt sopel, Dustin Byfuglien, kris versteeg, Stan Bowman
I'll miss Byfuglien. If nothing else than for the fact that his name is so strange. But also because he was easily the MVP of the Finals if not the whole playoffs.
But the fact of the matter is that these men, regardless of what they do in the future, what teams they play for, they'll forever be regarded as sports heros in this city. That's why I just bought a Byfuglien jersey. Also, it was on sale. But it's going to be like the '85 bears. They'll always be celeberties in this town.
I miss Versteeg and Niemi the most, but thats not to say the team will miss them the most. In the short run, guys like Ladd are hard to find, in the long run Versteeg might become a force of nature. He has something special. Or maybe he is special. Either way.
And though I understand the Turco decision, I might not ever get over dumping Niemi and not giving him the chance. But, I will enjoy watching Turco do his thing and the new guys show what they are made of.
I second Andy-Kid's comment. Great post, they should always be celebrities in this town.
Mike, ex-players are like ex-wives. You want to remember the good times, and then it hits you how expensive they really were.
And I'm looking forward to the first time ScottZilla murderizes some weisenheimer.
Hey, did everybody already forget the Blackhawks are Stanley Cup Champions?
As a guy married for 39 years to THE ONE TRUE CHAMPION, I believe in stability, followed by upheaval, followed by stability, followed by chaos, followed by stability, followed by recrimination, followed by stability, followed by...well, just marriage as usual, where no one ever rests on their laurels or the couch.
I have not been married quite as long as you Mike but if I had too, I would compare my married years to the likes of being a Red Wings fan: I can expect every year to be better than the last and it usually is. Rare is there a disappointing moment! On average, we have a silver cup anniversary every three years! (Haha! Tried being creative- Im learning it from you!)
You all may be missing Hossa(and his "legendary" forechecking) if an investigation into his contract goes the way of Igor the Devil!
Not a chance. The Hossa investigation is as dead as the Red Wings' former dominance.
I have one suggestion for all.................
Check out the youtube video's of John Scott's fights.
We now have someone who just by his presence,will
prevent the goon shots on our guys.While Buff was tough,
he was not a fighter.We have not had any one like this in years.
He will fast become a United Center favorite.Look out
Vancouver,ur shortlived hopes of beating us up and advancing
due to our "dismantling" was just smashed into the boards.
REPEAT here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the idea of Scott clobbering Barrett Jackman, but I doubt Scott's presence will stop players from taking shots at the Kanes and Toews of the world. It'll just lead to more fights. But again, if I get to watch Jackman leveled, I'm all for it.
YES, YES, finally someone who shares my hatred for Barrett Jackman. I would take 9th in the West next year if I was promised that Scott would end Jackman's career with one right cross. Kidding.....kind of.
As far as most missed player goes my separation anxiety from Big Buff has faded and I'm looking forward to watching him all season on my NHL Center Ice Package. Outside of him I didn't see anyone else as irreplaceable.
My most missed Hawk will be John Torchetti. I loved watching his "Keys to the 3rd Period." I guess that just gives me another reason to turn on Fox Sports Net Atlanta.
lol, Torch. Good answer.
Apparently, the Hawks have re-signed Nick Boynton for 500K. If so, it would seem to me that the other D-slot will be up for grabs between Lalonde and Visnevskiy.
The Jordan Henry signing finally made the Hawks web site. A week after capgeek reported it. I would think Henry/Boynton is the third pair.
My vote for the player we'll miss the most? Mr. Ladd
Beav, I love succintness. Not sure I've ever written succintness before. Feels good.
Mike,
What can I say? I'm not one to waste words or beat around the bush.
I think Laddy for sure Mike. Almost never took a shift off, think he will be a special player in Atlanta.Tho if they let Kris go unchecked there defensivly he will put up some good numbers.Maybe Ladd another Troy Murray?
Mike did you talk to Nesterenko at the convention? He was a riot! Could have his own talk show.
I didn't go this year but last year Dennis Hull was the funniest guy. He has an autobiography called "The 3rd Best Hull." I need to get it.
Don't know why anyone will miss Dustin Byfuglien. I have been reading from the experts about his lack of production and poor+/- during the regular season. Many spoke on how he lacked passion and did not play hard all the time. So, see you later guy that scored 5 of the 16 game winning goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs. No team really needs a a guy that scores 12 overall goals and a hat trick in the NHL playoffs. No room for him! You are sooooo over rated Byfuglien. Anyone can do what you did in the playoffs. Additionally, I think players that step up huge in the playoffs are highly overrated. Give me more guys that play with the passion and heart in the regular season. That is way more important. . We hardly noticed those light hits on Pronger during the Philadelphia series and he barely made a difference against Vancouver. When I watch the official NHL playoff tape, I rarely see Byfuglien. Was he on the team? I applaud all the experts who said the best thing to do was get rid of this guy while his value was high. Good move Blackhawks.
Great stuff Paul,tho i loved Ladd for his overall play,i think he can eventually be replaced.On the other hand NOBODY will replace Buff overall for a long........time!
I think the Hawks will miss Andrew Ladd the most- he has a grittiness which makes his linemates better. He is a winner. And without dwelling on this, I think the Hawks missed an chance to sew up their goaltending for a long time by cutting Niemi loose. But I digress and vow to move on....
Alright, I'm bored again. So, does the signing of John Madden for only 1 mil give us a vision of what's to come with the cap? At that figure, I tend to think this is likely his last year in the NHL. I'm not saying I think Madden is definitely worth more than 1 mi for his on ice play, but I think there probably more then a few guys around the league who are character guys (on ice and in the locker room anyway) who will likely have their careers and earning potential cut short because of cap considerations. Just a thought.
Possibly related, is the absence of outrage from the players union over Kovalchuck a sign that the bulk of the union, IE players who won't get cap skirting contracts, not behind seeing these kinds of deals go through?
Less than two months now right?
The Boynton signing is now official. As with the Henry deal, roughly a week after the geek reports it. 21 players and 3.6 million over the cap.
You can add Fernando Pisani to the roster now. 1 yr, 500K
That gives the Hawks just over 1.5M to work with after Huet's contract is moved. Remember that Kyle Beach's cap hit is almost 1.2M .
Ok, here goes. Mr. Ladd because I've a nasty feeling he is going to haunt the Hawks come playoff time. ie Thrasher as per their norm aren't making the playoffs and he's traded to a western team such as Vancouver.
Although I agree with Andy-Kid that they'll always be heros in Chicago, my guess is we won't really miss any of those guys as the team redevelops. We have such a strong core of excellent young players, they're going to carry any group of guys they play with to great things.
You look at one of the greatest teams in history - the Oilers back in the 80's, and who do you remember? Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Anderson, Coffey... and maybe Tikkanen, Krushelnyski, Mactavish. It didn't really matter who else was on their team, and there were quite a few different fill-in guys as the team changed around during their run in those years.
And let's not forget the almighty Grant Fuhr, who's GAA ranged between approx 3.40 to 4.00 during that span. The Oilers won all that those championships with comparatively weak defense and a netminder who let in a lot of goals. Not to mention, the Oilers won the Cup in 89-90 even after they had traded Gretz. Apparently losing the greatest player in the history of the game wasn't such a hit to their other core players.
Guitar, I knew when I filed the story my No. 11 should have been none of the above. But it's shocking to me we couldn't possibly miss 10 players that led to a championship. Are the other 10 really that good? Hockey is hockey, but depth always wins,
Of course I see your point, Mike, and we'll miss them as any fans would. But yes, I think the "other 10" really are that good, and so is the talent that's developing in the Hawk system right now. Even if they don't repeat in 2011, they'll be high in the running for years to come.
I'm actually excited to see a new and different group out there. Watching a team come together over the course of a season is what it's all about as a fan, and the whole reason we write on this blog. We all know that last year's team was good enough to win it all. Now we have a new challenge to watch unfold.
By the way, did you all see the picture in Kuc's article of Hammer standing in the hay wagon with the Cup sitting on an old stack of pallets?! Hilarious. What on earth is going on over there in Sweden?!
And Hjammer wasn't wearing his 3.5 million dollar per year for 4 years Hawks jersey.
I miss Whitey Stapleton. He was my idol and made me want to be a defenseman.
Last year was fun but it's over and I hate to say it but I like all Bowmans moves. Let's light this candle and get going and give the new guys a chance to gel.
The odds are always great against repeating a championship. I'm expecting another chance to make a playoff spot. Until I see this team play I have low expectations but hoping to be happily surprised.
Next month is my 20th wedding anniversary. The pain and chaos diminishes every year and the stability is better. Not the frequency, just the intensity. Maybe because we're too old and lost our fight. Like good old number 12.
Peace and love. I'm wearing my tie-dye shirt from the 60s with the peace symbol. Congrats Jerry to you and your better half. I'm trying to join your optimism brigade. But I'm such a negative asshole it might take me another 10 days. Go McDonough. heh, I'm trying.
This is a simple vote for me, I miss Alexander Karpovtsev. I miss Pat Foley's kind thoughts that he had for Mr. Karpovtsev after his trade, never heard it? check this out.....priceless GO HAWKS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iviLY1RvNc
What do you got against Krivokrasov, you Commie hater? I thought Ronald Reagan was dead.
We'll miss Sopel and Madden most on the penalty kill, most likely. Brouw had a better regular season than Buff pretty much the whole way. Some of these guys only fought (Frasier) and some were supposed to but didn't (Eager). The only other guy who might come close is Ladd.
But after signing Hammer, we locked up enough young talent for me to be very happy right now.