The Blackhawks Cannot Win Big With Huet in Net

Next up is a huge decision for Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville because with Edmonton coming into the United Center on Wednesday evening Coach Q has to decide if he goes back to Huet or starts Antti Niemi, who played well after a shaky start when he replaced Huet. The problem with playing Huet on Wednesday evening is this: playing the Oilers means the return of Nikolai Khabibulin and a probable ovation he will receive when he takes the ice. Combine that with the expected booing that Huet will receive and you have a recipe for disaster if Huet struggles again and Khabibulin is solid and leads Edmonton to a victory.

Is Cristobal Huet the answer in goal for the Blackhawks? He has struggled to start the 2009-10 season.

Emotionally, a rough night on Wednesday could cause long term confidence problems for Huet, who is making big time money and has never really proven himself as a top flight NHL goalie. He has never won a playoff series in his career and he has only played as many as 51 games once in his career. While many fans think he is a young, developing goalie that is not the case. Huet is 34 years old. So the hope that his best hockey is in front of him may not be realistic.

So what can the Blackhawks do to solve their goal tending problems? Well, with cap space at a premium and the ability to trade Huet and his big contract (2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12 at 5.65 million per season) unlikely, how do the Hawks make a move knowing that their best chance to win a Stanley Cup with their current collection of young talent may be this season? They can put Huet on waivers, which he will no doubt clear as no team in the league would claim him and his contract.

They can then reassign him to Rockford where they would be obligated to pay him his salary, but his money would not count towards the NHL salary cap thereby giving the Hawks much more flexibility to make a move or two to improve their club before the trade deadline.

However, if they take that drastic step of sending Huet to the minors, they have to add a goalie who can start on a team with championship aspirations. Just who that would be is up for debate because most teams are not ready to trade a starting caliber goalie just 5 games into the season unless the Blackhawks are willing to overpay dramatically by giving up some promising young talent.

Do the Hawks believe that Huet can carry them to the Stanley Cup or at least deep into the playoffs? Does Huet have a confidence problem that could be a long term problem for the team to overcome? Just watch and see who is in the net on Wednesday night against Edmonton and you will get your answer. If it is Huet, you could say that Quenneville believes in him and wants to get him right back in the net after tonight's rough start. If it is Niemi you could look at it as Quenneville wanting to protect Huet with Khabibulin in town.

Then again, perhaps Quenneville knows he cannot win with Huet and by playing him against Edmonton and perhaps seeing him embarrassed he will drive home the point to management that he needs a new goalie. Perhaps he wants to show that if the team is to achieve the heights that everyone is expecting of them, the Hawks have to make a move for a goalie now before they find themselves looking up at a handful of teams in the standings.

So what goalie will Quenneville play on Wednesday evening? We will know that answer soon enough, and that decision should tell us a lot about the confidence he has in Cristobal Huet. If he has none, then the Blackhawks better make a move for a goalie and they better move quickly. Time's a wasting for a team with championship aspirations.