Trio of former Blackhawks top week of NHL news
One's leaving the game. Another is back in the game. And a third wants to return. Most of the limited NHL ink spent this past week in the slow month of August has focused on three ex-Hawks - Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour and Theo Fleury.
Yep, I said Theo Fleury. More on that in a moment.
Roenick's decision to retire has led to the inevitable discussions regarding his legacy and Hall of Fame credentials. I am a biased observer on the subject as Roenick is my favorite Blackhawk player of the past twenty years. JR skating to the bench with his broken teeth on his tongue says it all. You can never say that the guy didn't leave it all on the ice.
Yahoo's Ross McKeon makes the argument that Roenick deserves election to the Hall by comparing him to the already elected Pat LaFontaine. Others, including myself, are not so sure. JR is a fringe Hall-of-Famer based on numbers alone. It will provide a good debate when Roenick becomes eligible for enshrinment in 2012.
JR's former teammate, Ed Belfour, is a sure-fire Hall of Famer. The "Eagle" found himself a new home this week as he was hired as a goaltending consultant by the St. Louis Blues. Eddie made it known a couple of months back that he would like to return to playing in the NHL. The former Hawk will have to settle on shuttling between Peoria, IL and Alaska mentoring the Blues minor league goalies.
The St. Louis media took the hiring as if the Blues had just hired public enemy #1. In reality, Eddie hasn't been between the pipes for the Hawks in over 12 years. In that time, the rivalry that once existed between the Blues and Hawks has fizzled. The Blues fans would like nothing more than to re-ignite the flames, however Hawks fans are busy focusing their attention to Detroit.
I'll give St. Louis Blues team president John Davidson credit for replying to the rivalry implications.
"We want to make our organization better and we're not going to become better at anything if we're hiring friends," Davidson said.
Well, get better and then maybe we'll re-visit the rivalry.
It will be interesting to see if Belfour can have a positive affect as a coach. As an athlete, he was dedicated to ensuring he was in top physical form at all times. However, Eddie has also spent some time exercising his beer muscles as arrests in 2000 and 2007 indicate. My advice would be no celebratory outings in Alaska with the youngsters.
Belfour is no saint, but he's also no Theo Fleury. The former troubled Blackhawks' winger is attempting another comeback in the NHL.
Fleury last played in the league during the '02-03 season as a Chicago Blackhawk. The only lasting memory of that season is the infamous strip club incident in Columbus, Ohio. Thanks for the memories, Theo.
Who knows if Theo has finally cleaned up his act? I certainly hope he has his demons under control. Will the league allow him to return? Would a club give him shot? It will not be the Blackhawks (or any team with Tyler Arnason). Before this week, I would have thought the next time Fleury ended up in the news would be the obits. Unfortunate to say, yes. But, this guy has some serious issues and should not be allowed back in the NHL.
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