One may be the loneliest number, but Huet likes it
I have a humble suggestion for the Blackhawks during what should be a quiet August, when management can sit back in their beach chairs and reflect on how long before Dale Tallon awakes and tells us all the truth about what went down in his final days as GM and who stabbed whom where, when and how many times.
Hopefully, 60 Minutes is currently trying to pry it out of him. You can't expect Versus to do everything.
Anyway, in the dead hours of summer, the team really needs to revise its pat-explanations playbook. Their current copy is ragged and filled with some transparent toads that need croaking.
Begin with thinking up a better cover story on why Cristobal Huet is going to kick ass as your starting goaltender next season. The current one makes no sense. The whole idea of a coverup is to make it seem as realistic as possible.
Now, I ask you, does any of this sound even a teeny bit feasible?
"With the change to him being the guy he'll be able to get in that groove a little bit easier," new GM Stan Bowman informed NHL.com in a story posted Friday on the Blackhawks' website.
Groove can mean a fixed routine or it can refer to a rut. Only Huet can determine which definition fits, getting on a roll or rolled under.
This groovy explanation about why we should be excited about Huet has been used a few times by a Chicago organization that was trying to re-sign Nikolai Khabibulin right up to last call this summer before the unrestricted free agent goalie got a better deal to go to Edmonton.
Huet is better off with Khabibulin gone, even though the Hawks tried their best to bring Khabibulin back. Hmmm. Mixed messages.
But I think I got the message. Since this is a cutting-edge blog and I'm suppose to be high-tech, here's my text-message reply: LOL.
That whole overused explanation has been and remains nonsensical, just like quite a few of my stories over the years. So I know what I'm talking about.
The current cover story insists that Huet couldn't be at his best in a two-goalie system where he shared time and lost out quite a bit to "the other guy." He's so much better at being "the guy."
We have seen in Chicago how much better Rex Grossman was when he graduated to "the guy" at Bears quarterback. Followed by us observing how much keener Kyle Orton performed once he succeeded Grossman, transformed from "the other guy" to "the guy."
But let's not mix our metaphorical messiahs. Huet might give up a touchdown. I have to ask, though: are the Hawks just waiting for their Jay Cutler after the appropriate disaster occurs? OMG.
Personally, I have nothing against the French. My maternal grandmother was born and raised in France and I occasionally can't quit eating escargot for breakfast on my Wheaties.
I can understand how it would be much harder for Huet to play his way out of No. 1 and into the No. 2 role when he's "the guy." The Hawks website lets him stand out on the depth chart all alone at goalie as "the guy", unsure yet if Corey Crawford or Antti Niemi is going to have what it takes to be able to be "the other guy."
I'm starting to get dizzy here. I do know this. The whole idea of training camp is to seize the job at whatever position. Saviors aren't normally hired by default after sitting on the bench waiting their turn once the competition dies off.
Well, here's what we got left, the Hawks seem to be telling us. Might as well see how he works out and hope for the best. He's on the payroll. Cross your fingers.
That's not usually the best-laid plan for championships. But if the Hawks are going to sell us on Huet, let's come up with some better reasons to buy the idea. I'm willing to listen.
Maybe "the guy" will be sensational and all my hand-wringing proof I'm nonsensical when it comes to Huet. But, please, give me a better explanation.
"In some ways he may be one of those guys that thrive when he's the guy," Bowman said.
Yet again. The Hawks never seem to tire of reworking this theme in as many sentences and scenarios as possible.
Huet couldn't beat out Khabibulin, but now that he has no experienced competition to thwart him in training camp, Huet will play better than ever.
Great. Sounds just like what the Hawks need. A goalie who's so much better when he doesn't have any competition.
Just like Glenn Hall, I think I'm going to throw up before every game this season just to be safe. Maybe afterward, too.
4 Comments
Dave Morris said:
Mike, another one of your fine forays into philosophical fulmination in matters puckological and Hawkological...but, zut alors!
The Count of Monte Cristo is the Rodney Dangerfield of goalies...he just don't get no respect.
Looky here now: according to a site called hockey-reference.com (does anybody know just how MANY statistical sites there are about this furshtunkiner game?), Crispy Cristo is ranked 7th among pipe patrollers who have played at least 60 games over the past three seasons.
To wit:
1.Niklas Backstrom: 93-45-22, 2.24 GAA, .923 SV%
2.Jonas Hiller: 33-22-2, 2.28 GAA, .921 SV%
3.Tomas Vokoun: 83-64-18, 2.54 GAA, .921 SV%
4.Martin Brodeur: 111-59-16, 2.22 GAA, .920 SV%
5.Roberto Luongo: 115-64-22, 2.33 GAA, .919 SV%
6.Tim Thomas: 94-59-17, 2.58 GAA, .919 SV%
7.Cristobal Huet: 71-45-13, 2.53 GAA, .916 SV%
8.Steve Mason: 33-20-7, 2.29 GAA, .916 SV%
9.Henrik Lundqvist: 112-71-25, 2.33 GAA, .915 SV%
10.Martin Biron: 77-51-17, 2.75 GAA, .914 SV%
Do yuh see Ozzy The Good on that list? Marky Flower? No, yuh don't...and THEY played in the SCFs last year. The Wingdings and the Pingus went all the way with goalies who raised more doubts than Sigmund Freud.
So POURQUOI, POURQUOI, I ask you, is all this psychoanalysis going on about the abilities of Monsieur Huet.
I'll tell you why. It's those red goalie pads.
Mike, maybe if the Hawks play as well defensively this coming season as they did last year (BTW #3 GA in the West, #5 overall in the league, far, FAR better than either Detroit or Pittsburgh), and maybe even better with guys like Johnny Madden and Tommy Gun Kopecky adding 2 way smarts upfront...and MAYBE if the Blackhawks don't give away the puck with dumbass mistakes and thus lose games they should have won...MAYBE we will look at Huet this year and shrug...and say "eh bien...why did we worry?"
Fans and sportswriters have this habit of persisent prognostication. But unlike Cristobal--who seems rather resilient in the face of constant badinage--those soothsayers' crystal balls are easily broken.
Thanks again, Mike, and have a great weekend.
cubby23(eric) said:
The red pad saga. Laughs. There's some irony in that he didn't start his Blackhawk career with those red pads, they arrived shortly into the season, as did the return of one Khabibulin.
Huet's numbers will be fine at season's end. Surely he's better than some of the revolving doors the Hawks have had in net at various moments of the not so distant future. The problem is, sitting through extended stretches of Huet requires ample amounts of alka-seltzer.
Jerry Kayne said:
I took a little time to design some new leg pads for Christo. As long as he keep the 5 hole closed! Click on my profile picture to see the image.
Dave Morris said:
I say, Jerry, old boy, I think you're on to something.
Once upon a time Marc Andre Fleury wore yellow pads because they matched the Pens' colors...but then a color psychologist pointed out to him that yellow pads gave shooters an easy to identify target NOT to shoot at...so Marky Marc switched to white...and voila! His GAA improved.
So...perhaps Monsieur Huet should be so advised to don ze white leather leggings, instead of ze highly visible rouge, hein? "Ah, pardon, Monsieur Cristo, but you must wear ze blanc de blanc goalie pads, if you want to blank ze opposition, non?" Oh la la!
Jerry...you're a genius.
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