- Team Outlook from McKeen’s Hockey Guide:When the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, cap issues forced them to move many of their complimentary players – including starting goaltender Antti Niemi – in order to maintain as much of their core as possible. While it took some time to rebuild their depth, Chicago was able to do just that. Bolstered by a newly-constructed bottom six and led once again by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, they captured the Stanley Cup for the second time in the past four seasons.
Heading into this summer, Chicago faced a similar degree of cap issues and, while they did part ways with David Bolland, Michael Frolik, Viktor Stalberg, and Ray Emery, the club is still in a far better position to repeat now than they were three years ago.
That’s not to say this is a flawless team though. Although Corey Crawford performed superbly in the shortened season, some uncertainty remains given his struggles in 2011-12. They’ll also be relying on some of their younger forwards to take on bigger roles this season. That list potentially includes Andrew Shaw, Jeremy Morin, and Brandon Bollig. While all of those players have the gifts to step up, there’s an added element of risk whenever a team puts their trust in young and still largely-inexperienced players.
Then of course there’s the fatigue factor after going through a condensed season, lengthy playoff run, and short summer. It helps that a number of the team’s biggest stars have been through this before and therefore know what to expect. However, there’s a reason why it’s so hard to repeat, even when a team is kept largely intact – as the Los Angeles Kings discovered.
- Team Fantasy Outlook from Dobber Hockey’s 2013-14 Fantasy Guide – Over a 150 pages of fantasy goodness:Dobber’s lowdown on: Bryan Bickell – All fantasy owners know about Bickell’s postseason and as a result he is probably overrated. Which is too bad, since he’ll be a productive player this season. He’s certainly not in a ‘buy low’ situation. If you happen to own him, look for career numbers – his big four year, $15.2 million contract will see to that. He’ll get all the ice time and PP time he can handle. In his last 99 regular season and playoff games, Bickell has 55 points.
In the seven games that he played with Hossa out of the lineup, Saad had seven points. His ice time was up by about two minutes per game in that span. They play opposite wings, but it still means more PP time. An extended Hossa absence would mean a big year for Saad.
Sharp has missed 20, 8, 8, 0, 21 games in his last five seasons. If this happens again this year he may never find that 70- point production again. Not only does rust settle in, but other – younger – players slide into his role and are reluctant to give it back when he returns. In a keeper league, I would move him despite coming off a bad year.
Leddy represents a risk because his production and play deteriorated as 2012-13 wore on. In the postseason, he was down to just a few shifts per game by the end of the Cup Final. He had just two points in 23 playoff games and two in his last 14 regular season contests.
Follow link for more info and stats
Additions: G Nikolai Khabibulin, D Mike Kostka, F Drew LeBlanc, D Theo Peckham, G Antti Raant, F Brad Winchester.
Subtractions: F David Bolland, F Daniel Carcillo, G Ray Emery, F Michael Frolik, G Carter Hutton, G Henrik Karlsson, D Joe Lavin, F Jamal Mayers, F Rostislav Olesz, G Alec Richards, F Maxime Sauve, F Viktor Stalberg.
Promotion candidates: C Brandon Pirri, RW Ben Smith, LW Jeremy Morin, RW Jimmy Hayes, D Adam Clendenning, C Drew LeBlanc
Player salaries: $68,860,000 (23)
Cap Number: $64,014,295
Bonuses: $800,883
Cap Space: $1,086,538
Forwards: $34,350,833 (13)
Defensemen: $24,996,795 (8)
Goalies: $4,666,667 (2)
Source: CapGeek
Forwards
Bryan Bickell – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp – Michal Handzus – Marian Hossa
Brandon Saad – Andrew Shaw – Ben Smith
Jeremy Morin – Marcus Kruger – Jimmy Hayes
Brandon Bollig – Brandon Pirri
Defensemen
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Johnny Oduya
Nick Leddy – Michal Rozsival
Ryan Stanton – Sheldon Brookbank
Goalies
Corey Crawford
Nikolai Khabibulin
2013 Chicago Blackhawks Draft Results
| Rd. | Draft # | Player | Team | Pos. |
| 1 | 30 | Ryan Hartman | Plymouth (OHL) | RW |
| 2 | 51 | Carl Dahlstrom | Linkoping Jr. (SWE-JR. ) | D |
| 3 | 74 | John Hayden | US-NTDP | RW |
| 4 | 111 | Robin Norell | Djurgarden Jr. (SWE-JR. ) | D |
| 4 | 121 | Tyler Motte | US-NTDP | LW |
| 5 | 134 | Luke Johnson | Lincoln (USHL) | C |
| 5 | 151 | Gage Ausmus | NTDP-18 | D |
| 6 | 181 | Anthony Louis | USA U-18 | C |
| 7 | 211 | Robin Press | Sodertalje (SWE-2 ) | D |
Chicago Blackhawks Top Prospects
| NHL.com | Hockey Prospectus | Dobber Prospects | Hockeys Future | The Hockey News | |
| 1 | Brandon Pirri | Teuvo Teravainen | Teuvo Teravainen | Brandon Saad | Teuvo Teravainen |
| 2 | Ben Smith | Brandon Pirri | Brandon Pirri | Teuvo Tervainen | Ryan Hartman |
| 3 | Jeremy Morin | Adam Clendining | Adam Clendening | Adam Clendening | Phillip Danault |
| 4 | Adam Clendening | Phillip Danault | Jeremy Morin | Phillip Danault | Mark McNeill |
| 5 | Drew LeBlanc | Drew LeBlanc | Antti Raanta | Mark McNeill | Brandon Pirri |
| 6 | Stephen Johns | Jeremy Morin | Jimmy Hayes | Brandon Pirri | Adam Clendening |
| 7 | Teuvo Teravainen | Mark McNeill | Drew LeBlanc | Drew LeBlanc | Dylan Olsen |
| 8 | Antti Raanta | Ryan Hartman | Mark McNeill | Stephen Johns | Jeremy Morin |
| 9 | Phillip Danault | Alex Broadhurst | Ryan Hartman | Jeremy Morin | Drew LeBlanc |
| 10 | Mark McNeill | Jimmy Hayes | Phillip Danault | Ryan Hartman | Ben Smith |
2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks Player Stats
| Player |
Pos
|
GP
|
G
|
A
|
P
|
+/-
|
PIM
|
PP
|
SH
|
GW
|
OT
|
S
|
S%
|
| Patrick Kane |
R
|
47
|
23
|
32
|
55
|
11
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
138
|
16.7
|
| Jonathan Toews |
C
|
47
|
23
|
25
|
48
|
28
|
27
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
0
|
143
|
16.1
|
| Marian Hossa |
R
|
40
|
17
|
14
|
31
|
20
|
16
|
4
|
1
|
6
|
3
|
116
|
14.7
|
| Brandon Saad |
L
|
46
|
10
|
17
|
27
|
17
|
12
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
98
|
10.2
|
| Duncan Keith |
D
|
47
|
3
|
24
|
27
|
16
|
31
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
91
|
3.3
|
| Viktor Stalberg |
L
|
47
|
9
|
14
|
23
|
16
|
25
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
113
|
8
|
| Bryan Bickell |
L
|
48
|
9
|
14
|
23
|
12
|
25
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
82
|
11
|
| Brent Seabrook |
D
|
47
|
8
|
12
|
20
|
12
|
23
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
65
|
12.3
|
| Patrick Sharp |
R
|
28
|
6
|
14
|
20
|
8
|
14
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
88
|
6.8
|
| Nick Leddy |
D
|
48
|
6
|
12
|
18
|
15
|
10
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
65
|
9.2
|
| Andrew Shaw |
C
|
48
|
9
|
6
|
15
|
6
|
38
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
64
|
14.1
|
| Dave Bolland |
C
|
35
|
7
|
7
|
14
|
-7
|
22
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
46
|
15.2
|
| Marcus Kruger |
C
|
47
|
4
|
9
|
13
|
3
|
24
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
50
|
8
|
| Johnny Oduya |
D
|
48
|
3
|
9
|
12
|
12
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
52
|
5.8
|
| Michal Rozsival |
D
|
27
|
0
|
12
|
12
|
18
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
13
|
0
|
| Michael Frolik |
R
|
45
|
3
|
7
|
10
|
5
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
98
|
3.1
|
| Niklas Hjalmarsson |
D
|
46
|
2
|
8
|
10
|
15
|
22
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
43
|
4.7
|
| Michal Handzus |
C
|
11
|
1
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
10
|
| Jimmy Hayes |
R
|
10
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
13
|
7.7
|
| Daniel Carcillo |
L
|
23
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
11
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
23
|
8.7
|
| Jeremy Morin |
L
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
14.3
|
| Jamal Mayers |
R
|
19
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
16
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
| Sheldon Brookbank |
D
|
26
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
-2
|
21
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
25
|
4
|
| Ben Smith |
R
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
100
|
| Brandon Bollig |
L
|
25
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
-1
|
51
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
34
|
0
|
| Drew LeBlanc |
C
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
-3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
| Brandon Pirri |
C
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
| Ryan Stanton |
D
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
| Shawn Lalonde |
D
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
| Player |
GP
|
GS
|
W
|
L
|
OT
|
SA
|
GA
|
GAA
|
Sv
|
Sv%
|
SO
|
G
|
A
|
| Corey Crawford |
30
|
28
|
19
|
5
|
5
|
769
|
57
|
1.94
|
712
|
0.926
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
| Ray Emery |
21
|
19
|
17
|
1
|
0
|
460
|
36
|
1.94
|
424
|
0.922
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
| Carter Hutton |
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
28
|
3
|
3.05
|
25
|
0.893
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Some info, stats and video taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30 series.