Amidst the greatness of the MLB playoffs, the ending of the NBA lockout, the NFL season, college basketball and now the Super Bowl, the NHL has been wrongly overlooked this season, a season that is, arguably, one of the best since the lockout year in 2004.

While the NFL had what I thought was a very below-average season, the NHL has been the complete opposite. Of course teams like Detroit, Vancouver, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia are all playing well, but teams, such as Nashville, St. Louis, Ottawa, New Jersey, and even Winnipeg, are becoming more and more competitive, creating a sense of insecurity among many of the top teams.

Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane stole the All-Star skills contest with his "SuperKane" costume.

Take the Central Division in the Western Conference as an example. Four of the five teams in the division are in the top six places in the Western Conference, and all are within a game or two of each other. The Eastern Conference has a similar story in the Atlantic Division. Four of the five teams in that division are all currently in a playoff spot.

Inner-division games often have a lot more energy and are usually just better games than teams who don’t play as often, so I am predicting a very hard-fought NHL playoffs, which I am looking forward to.

Despite a 66% increase in sponsorship and advertising revenue in 2010, the 2010 Stanley Cup Final having its largest audience ever, NHL merchandise sales up 22%, and a deal with Comcast/NBC to air more games for the next 10 years, why does it still feel like the NHL is receiving the back-burner?

Hockey should be a lot more popular in the United States. It’s fast-paced, only lasts 2.5 hours(and would be shorter if the ice didn’t have to be re-surfaced between periods), has checking, has legal fighting, and features just as many “top plays” as any other sport. The majority of Americans like all of these things.

The answer to why the NHL isn’t as popular or gets as much as coverage is simple: $$$. The NHL just doesn’t bring in as much money as the NBA, MLB, or the NFL does, but I think this is about to change.

Ratings among popular events such as the All-Star Game, the Winter Classic, and the playoffs are all increasing year after year. These are all going up along with, like I stated before, merchandise and sponsorship revenues. If this trend continues(and there’s nothing to say it won’t), the media and other companies might start investing more in the NHL, increasing exposure and hopefully popularity.

So even though the mainstream media basically ignores the NHL, there’s reason to be optimistic. Sooner or later people will begin to realize what they’re missing.

The shootout format has been longed criticized. Many do not like the fact that, after regulation, there’s only a five minute, four-on-four overtime and then a best two-out-of-three shootout. Some people, like myself, would like to see the NHL change to a sudden death 20-minute period, like they do in the playoffs. Games might turn out to be longer, but there’s not much more exciting than sudden death hockey.

Still, there are times when the shootout does give a lot of entertainment. Here is Kane’s amazing shootout goal, plus four others that will blow you away.

1. Patrick Kane’s Many Moves Against the Wild

Patrick Kane has always been a flashy scorer. Some guys like to score with brute force. Not Kane.

He wants to score, and he wants to do it with a little bit of showmanship, and when Kane succeeds in doing that, boy, does it look pretty.

2. Pavel Datsyuk’s Tease Goal Against the Blackhawks

Being a Chicago Blackhawks fan, I can honestly say that while I hate the Detroit Red Wings there is one guy whose level of talent is so damn good that even a rivalry can’t get in the way of the respect I have for him as a player. That guy is Pavel Datsyuk.

You can’t find anyone who won’t admit that Pavel Datsyuk is one hell of a hockey player and one of the best two-way forwards in the game, so when he scored this goal against my Blackhawks, I was angry but not surprised.

3. Nazem Kadri’s Insane Backhand Goal Against Tim Thomas

Nazem Kadri has some of the sickest shootout goals I’ve ever seen, whether it be this absolutely insane forehand to backhand to the top shelf of the net or backhand to forehand. This kid has some of the best hands in the league today, and it shows.

4. Mikhail Grabovski’s Fake Backhand Goal

The level of balance and precision to make this shot is unbelievable.

Keep in mind, in a shootout, the player always have to be moving  forward. The instant he  stops, the shot is over. So players, if they want to be flashy, have to be extremely quick and precise about it. If you don’t think this goal is amazing just watch Grabovski’s stick and how quickly he moves the puck back to his forehand and shoots it.

5. Mike Riberio’s Between the Legs, One-Handed Goal

Take into account what I said earlier about the player having to continue its forward progress, and then add the fact that Riberio had to move the puck between his legs, stop on a dime, and guide the puck around the goaltender with one hand.

There’s a reason why you only see a few players attempt this shot. It’s too risky, but if you can pull it off, you will score a goal.

The captain of the Chicago Blackhawks has always been loved and praised throughout his five year career, whether it be being nominated for Rookie of the Year back in 2008, Toews becoming (at the age of 20) the third youngest captain in the NHL, or winning a gold medal in the 2010 Olympics — an Olympics in which he also won the award for “Best Forward.”

Toews has never had a “bad year.” Instead he’s only become better as the years go on and on; and this season Toews has really stepped it up. He’s currently second in goals scored this season(18), has garnered 16 assists, and has a +/- rating of 12.

He’s most certainly been one of the major reasons why the Blackhawks sit second in the Western Conference, below only the Minnesota Wild, and he is the reason why the ‘Hawks continue to be one of the most talked about teams in the NHL.

The ‘Hawks have been pretty good so far. They have more depth than last season, though they’re not quite up to par with the Stanley Cup team. They have a great set of goaltenders with Ray Emery, who’s been getting all the starts recently, and Corey Crawford.

But defensive inconsistency still troubles the ‘Hawks. Despite having eight defensemen on the active roster (a considerably high number), the ‘Hawks have yet to find a balance that works without kinks.

The pairing of Nick Leddy and Niklas Hlajlmarsson hasn’t worked, which was proven more in Wednesday’s game against the Wild when the pair had a team-worst +/- rating of -2. Steve Montador has been nothing special, and Sami Lepisto has virtually been non-existent. The “veteran” additions to the defense don’t seem to be working out the way the ‘Hawks intended them too, and it’s been the only lasting stain that continues to last as this ‘Hawks season progresses.

The reason the ‘Hawks have been able to stay atop the Western Conference is because of the consistent production of the core players, especially Toews. Even when he doesn’t find himself on the scoresheet, he still has a major effect on the game via face-off wins, a much overlooked and underrated statistic in hockey.

Toews, though still young, has already become one of Chicago’s most talented and most important athletes. He is THE epitome of what every captain should do for his team.

Talks about making changes to the six-division format really heated up when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg this offseason. With two options on the table – one dramatic, one simple – the NHL picked the more drastic realignment approach.

While the ideas were voted on and will be implemented, there are some dissenting voices, as there always are, and there is probably going to be some debate when the NHLPA brings the idea to the union chief, Donald Fehr. The idea doesn’t need the unions’ approval, however.

This how the four realigned conferences will look:

Basically, the NHL has decided to break up the teams into four separate conferences named A, B, C, and D (I know right? Not the most creative, but they’re not the official names) and promised to have more “home-and-home series” between all teams.

Overall the travel will increase for teams, especially in the Eastern Conference, but travel among teams within the conference will be far less. The latter fact was reported as playing a major factor in the decision.

The top four teams in each conference will make the playoffs, and the first two playoff rounds will consist of intraconference matchups.

Some say the plan could be implemented as soon as next season. If that’s the case, I am excited to see how the new format will work and whether it’s going to be a success. Some rivalries are going to be broken, but some might just get started because of the guaranteed intraconference matchups in the playoffs.

I can understand where the problems lie and why some teams aren’t going to be in favor of this realignment. Even from reading the quotes, some of the members on the NHLPA loved the six division format, but knew change had to happen because of the Winnipeg move.

The drastic nature of this move comes as a huge surprise to me, but I am optimistic about the potential rivalries and great matchups we could see early on in the playoffs. Change always takes some time getting used to, but for a NHL season that has already had a lot of pleasant surprises (Minnesota and Edmonton ignored the fact that they’re not supposed to be this good) this news only adds to that.

Just guarantee me hockey, and I’ll be fine.

And if you don’t know about the Vancouver/Chicago rivalry by now, you need to…ASAP.
The Canucks and Blackhawks have never really liked each other, but recently the two teams have seemed to face eachother every year in the playoffs. These constant meetings have had the two teams at eachother’s throats for the past three years. Everything from calling out and making fun of Vancouver’s goaltender, Roberto Luongo, to cheap shots and fan fights.

If you want to see dirty, exciting hockey, just turn on the TV when these two teams play.

Or just check out @One4theDagger‘s Twitter feed. Yesterday she went crazy with the “You know you’re a Canucks fan if…” Here are some examples.

If you thought that was rough, check out her other ones.

I knew there was a reason that I loved Twitter. If it’s good for anything, it’s good for fans of every sport to try to one-up each other. We should probably be doing something more productive, but every once in awhile it’s OK to relax and have some fun

The bashing didn’t stop at just text. Oh no. It went to multimedia as well.

Here are some of the videos that found themselves apart of the bashing.

I am huge fan of these kinds of bashing, as long as it doesn’t get personal, and it hasn’t yet. Another thing I find peculiar is Vancouver fans haven’t been able to establish a substantial counterattack, or if they have then I haven’t seen it.

But then again, they have as many bragging rights as the Cubs do.

#IsitOctoberyet?

1. Decorate your desktop wallpaper with the Blackhawks

Every season the people working on the Blackhawks website create new wallpapers for you to set as your desktop background. There are player-only ones, one of the ice girls, the players standing for the anthem, a Stanley Cup ring wallpaper, various different logos, and a newly added Joel Quenneville wallpaper.

Once the season begins I like to change my wallpaper every month to the ‘schedule wallpaper’ that has a different featured player along with the all the games that the ‘Hawks will be playing that month. All of the wallpapers look very sharp and are sure to make you want to leave your computer on so people can see how much you love your ‘Hawks.

2. A Chicago Blackhawk Fathead

Now that you have your computer all decked out with a Blackhawk desktop wallpaper, you can now move onto your living room, garage, or wherever you watch the ‘Hawks. I know the Fatheads are kinda on the expensive side ($90) for the Blackhawks logo, but they are definitely worth it.

I know that because I own one. They’re very easy to put up, and they’re very high quality.  There’s nothing better than having the best-looking logo in sports on your wall for everyone to see and compliment you on.

3. Buy A ‘Toothless’ Duncan Keith Shirt

Duncan Keith cemented himself into the Badass Hall of Fame when he lost seven teeth during Game 4 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals against the San Jose Sharks, left the game only to come right back out minutes later to help finish off the four-game sweep, leading his team to the Stanley Cup playoffs, which the ‘Hawks would eventually win.

It quickly became Chicago lore and won Keith many respect from fellow teammates and Blackhawk fans.

4. Re-watch some of Pat Foley’s best on-air calls

Chicago Blackhawks fans are not only blessed to have a great logo and team but also great announcers to go along with all of it. One of those announcers is the great Pat Foley. He was brought back to the Chicago Blackhawks TV booth after a short stint with the Chicago Wolves.

I am really glad that Foley is back in the booth. It makes watching the ‘Hawks on TV a whole lot better. As irrelevant to the game as announcers are, it’s really hard to tolerate bad commentators.

I am looking at you Bob Brenly and Len Kasper.

He did not delay attacking rival Vancouver, and not just the team but specific players, naming Max Lapierre to be on the top of his list. Carcillo has a long history of trash-talking that goes along with his dirty play.

He’s no stranger to suspensions and pay cuts. In fact, Carcillo is suspended for the first two regular season games because of an in-between periods incident with officials last playoffs.

“The way I play I’m bound to miss a few games every year,” Carcillo said. “It comes with the territory. I don’t like being suspended or the pay cuts, but the way I play it’s tough to stay out of the principal’s office.”

But all of this toughness and dirty attitude is exactly what GM Stan Bowman wanted to bring to the ‘Hawks this season. Jamal Meyers and Steve Montador, along with Carcillo, complement the ‘Hawks’ desire to add toughness to the team.

But some criticize the move to bring in Carcillo, who they claim has too big of a mouth and not enough skill to counter it; they compare Carcillo to Carlos Zambrano, and part of that is true. Carcillo has never been a very productive forward. He’s an infamous tweeter, though he no longer has an account, and he only amassed a total of six points last season in 57 games (but being moved onto the fourth line will have that affect on your stats).

With all that to his name, it puts fans in a tough spot deciding whether signing Carcillo is worth all the extra ‘baggage’ he brings with him. NHL fans love tough players, but having a big mouth and using it a lot without backing it up is a very fast way to make enemies, even if they’re your fans.

The direction Bowman wants to go with these new players isn’t entirely new, but the trash talking is. The ‘Hawks had tough guys before in Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien, but those guys complimented their grittiness with offensive skills, and they rarely ever called players out directly in interviews.

There is no doubt Carcillo can play the gritty part, but offensive production is an uncertainty. Carcillo has gotten better when it comes to staying out of the penalty box and he did have a somewhat decent offensive season in 2009-10, so there’s reason to be somewhat optimistic.

Carcillo insists that, given a fresh start, he can prove he’s worth the risk.

“Everybody always (says) that I can fight, that I’m tough and I can hit, but I pride myself on my game, as well,” Carcillo said. “I never want to be that fourth-line guy and that’s kind of what I turned into last year. That’s what they wanted me to be and I had a really, really hard time with it.”

Carcillo’s exact spot on the roster isn’t known yet, but I assume it’ll mostly be decided by the way he plays on the ice and if he can live up to his own words. Either way, it’s a risk for the ‘Hawks that could end up hurting the team or prove to be an important factor in winning this season.

It all depends on how you look at it.

The ‘Hawks did lose a lot when they traded both Brouwer and Campbell, but what Stan Bowman gave the team in return was a good batch of role players. They’re not going to outshine or produce as much as Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, or Jonathan Toews, but they will distract attention from them.

Role players affect every single sport because you can’t have the best 12 (or however many) players out there on the ice/field at one time. Sport teams are like puzzles. Everyone has a spot. They key is to pick out the right person for the open spot.

While you can only speculate how things will go, there is one very important aspect that a lot of fans are omitting as they look forward to next season: the performance of Corey Crawford.

The Blackhawks’ goaltender played absolutely stellar last season, and for the season to start off on the best possible foot Crawford is going to have to keep up that stellar play.

The ‘Hawks recently have gone through goaltenders like the Chicago Bears go through quarterbacks. And the ‘Hawks have something I like to call “First String Syndrome.” Every goaltender that starts the season as a starter always finds himself out-shined, out-loved, and, eventually, ousted by the guy behind him.

Just like Bears fans hope Jay Cutler can be that franchise guy, Blackhawk fans are praying that stability comes to the goaltender position.

Crawford could be that guy.  Chicago’s defense last season was below average (to put nicely,) and still Crawford put up a 2.30 GAA, a .917 save percentage, and a 33-18-6 record all in his rookie season.

If there’s any way the ‘Hawks, or any NHL team for that matter, is going to be successful, it starts with their goaltender. Sure, the flashy goal-scorers are nice, but their play doesn’t always impact the game because there are other players around them that can pick up the slack. Goaltenders’ performance directly impacts every 82 games played.

Just look at the two teams that played in this year’s Stanley Cup. Both Vancouver and Boston have elite goaltenders that were one of, if not the, main reason they made it that far. If the ‘Hawks are ever going to return to the Stanley Cup it’s going to have to start at the goaltending position. A championship team only happens because they have an elite goaltender.

Crawford faced a lot more shots than he should have last season because of the weakness of the defense. The added toughness, veteran presence, and the likelihood of Ducan Keith going back to the play that earned him a Norris trophy (he’s too good of a defenseman to not) should hopefully reduce that shot count, relieving a lot of pressure Crawford had to deal with for most of the season as well as the seven games in the playoffs.

If there should be any doubts surrounding the Blackhawks, it should be focused on Crawford because I think the ‘Hawks have a better defense when it comes to players who can stop the player before he gets a shot off.

Their defense isn’t perfect, and time will only tell, but the season will really go downhill if Crawford suffers from “First String Syndrome.”

There’s always Alexander Salak though.

Read over the teams again. See anything missing?

There’s no Detroit in that list.

The man who might have “let the cat out of the bag” is Minnesota’s owner Craig Leopold, who, on Minneapolis’s KFAN radio, told the interviewer about the NHL’s supposed realignment that could take affect at the start of the 2012-13 season.

“Our division would include the Winnipeg Jets, us, the Blues, the Nashville Predators, the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, and maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets… maybe not depending on if they go east or west. I am all in favor of that. I think that is a grand slam, home run, hat trick for our team.

We’re all Central Division now. All of our teams, except for Columbus, all of our teams will be Central Division. We’ll play less teams in Canada. We will play every team home and away at least one time.”

It has also been widely reported that Detroit would be leaving the Western Conference and joining the Eastern Conference, leaving the ‘Hawks the only Original Six team in the Western Conference.

Of course none of this is actually set in stone, but the tone in which Leopold spoke, and the fact that Detroit management has its “fingers and toes crossed”  for a switch to happen because it would cut travel time and allow them to play more Original Six teams, gives this scenario some credibility.

So, if this does happen, will this be a good or bad thing for the Blackhawks?

My answer would be both yes and no.

First off, the importance of the Detroit/Chicago rivalry would be severely hindered. Logically, it’s a good thing since the ‘Hawks have a career 270-354-84-7 record against the Red Wings, but it would end a tradition that started all the way back to the 1926-27 season. The rivalry is one of, if not the most entertaining and intense rivalry in the NHL, and ending such tradition (at least in the division) doesn’t sit well with a lot of fans.

But, on the other side, it could be a very positive change for the Blackhawks in terms of less competition within their division. There has only been one time in the past 12 years that the Red Wings didn’t find themselves on top of the Central Division, losing the title to the Blackhawks in the 2009-10 season.

If the standings for last season were based on what Leopold said the divisions could be moving forward, then the Central Division standings would have looked like this: Nashville (99 points), Chicago (97 points), Dallas (95 points), St. Louis (87 points), Columbus (81 points), and Winnipeg (80 points).

The ‘Hawks wouldn’t be division leaders, but it’s hard to not suggest that the ‘Hawks would have a better chance to be more successful in the Central Division with these changes. They would have an easier schedule with such a division setup.

Like I said before, nothing is set in stone because the NHL hasn’t officially announced anything yet, but if such a deal like this should be done I think it would benefit the Blackhawks despite losing a much-loved and respected rivalry.

The 2010 off-season brought in a whole wave of change (most of it out of necessity), but even then it didn’t stop. This off-season, ‘Hawk fans have already seen three players go that were on the championship winning team.

With all this change happening again, one thing that still worries me is team chemistry.

As you can see, many faces of the Stanely Cup team are gone.

Last season, with all the new guys on the team, it took the ‘Hawks a long time to look and feel like they were comfortable with their teammates, and it showed. Coach Joel Quenneville, who’s usually very good at pairing the right men up, actually had trouble finding the right men to pair up.

The Blackhawks were a less talented team last season compared to two years ago. Plain and simple. But when players don’t or can’t feel comfortable in the line to which they are assigned, it creates a whole wave of problems that affect the consistency and confidence of the players.

With this off-season making us say goodbye to Troy Brouwer, Brian Campbell, and Thomas Kopecky, that’s now 13 players gone from the 2009-10 team. And that doesn’t even include Christobal Huet (who ‘Hawk fans will not see again) and Jordan Hendry, who also will probably not play for the ‘Hawks again.

The Blackhawks are going to have a good number of new faces this season, so does this mean another slow, problem-filled start?

My answer would be no – but there’s also a catch:

The ‘Hawks must sign Chris Campoli and Michael Frolik for a reasonable price. Both players are unrestricted free agents, meaning the ‘Hawks have until Friday before other teams can offer them deals. The ‘Hawks do have the right to match the offer or lose the players for a package of draft picks. Due to the ‘Hawks limited cap space, I can only hope that the offer sheets that come in, if any at all, aren’t too much.

Signing these guys for a right price is almost as important as actually signing them period. The ‘Hawks can’t afford to screw themselves over again by overpaying for a player on which they don’t need to spend a lot of money.

On a more positive note, the news of the ‘Hawks signing Steve Montador to a contract of $11 million over four years is great news, and already has the ‘Hawks on the right direction this off-season. Montador brings a veteran presence that can generate points even if he isn’t on the powerplay.

Bowman’s focus on bringing in role players while developing the young prospects is one that I love, and one that goes back to the age-old formula of developing players, especially young players, in hopes that they’ll produce big for you once they mature.

With new faces, the ‘Hawks have the ability to build another young team filled with role players alongside the stars they already have. It’s the formula that Bowman has wanted since he got the GM job just a year ago, and it’s one  that can get the Blackhawks back into Stanley Cup shape.

The Chicago Blackhawks news sphere went crazy not just because the Blackhawks drafted forward Phillip Danault and forward Mark McNeil, but because the organization has parted ways with forward Troy Brouwer and defenseman Brian Campbell.

News of the Brouwer trade to the Washington Capitals came before the Campbell trade that brought winger Rostislav Olesz to the ‘Hawks and allowed the ‘Hawks to have two first round draft choices, in which they nabbed Danault at the 26th pick. 

The trades come with some surprise to many since Brouwer was thought to be one of the players staying. His physical style of play was an attribute that the team needed since there really isn’t a big physical player on the team that gets more than 10 minutes of ice time.

Campbell’s $7 million dollar contract was always the elephant in the room when it came to talking about possibly trading him, but Florida Panthers GM (and former Blackhawks GM) Dale Tallon must have felt comfortable since he is the guy who brought him into the ‘Hawks organization in the first place.

But after the initial shock wears off, the trades seem almost like no-brainers. The trades not only give the ‘Hawks more salary cap to work with, totaling about $14.5 million, but they also help the ‘Hawks in the long-run, giving them more money to work with younger players and growing talent.

Most importantly, it gives more room to re-sign forward, Patrick Sharp.

The rest of the money will go to building up a fourth line that will hopefully be edgier and more effective than the one they had last season.

If anything, these trades show fans that the organization is serious about developing young talent to fill in the holes that were made because of the salary cap issue last off-season. But what they don’t answer is what will happen now that there is a gaping hole in the defensive lineup that needs to be filled.

I wouldn’t be surprised if John Scott gets the first crack at the open space, but I think many fans would like to avoid that possibility.

All in all, the Blackhawks aren’t ready just yet for a Stanley Cup run, but their future is more optimistic than it was about a year ago, and for fans that means a whole hell of a lot.

Get excited Chicago Blackhawks and NHL fans: the official 2011-12 regular season schedule has been released by the NHL.

The NHL season begins with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins, hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on October 6th. Four NHL teams — the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers — will play in four regular season games in three European capitals on Oct. 7th and 8th. Helsinki and Stockholm are returning sites for NHL games, while the city of Berlin will experience its first ever NHL game.

For the ‘Hawks, their season begins on Oct. 7th at Dallas, the first game of a two game, back-to-back “series.” After those two quick games, the ‘Hawks host the newly moved Atlanta Thrashers, now stationed in Winnipeg.

The game against Winnipeg is one out of two highlights of the opening month. After the Winnipeg game, the ‘Hawks host the Boston Bruins in what should be a very exciting game between two of the ‘Orginal Six.’

Games against the Vancouver Canucks are big news now, and the ‘Hawks and Canucks have a total of four match-ups. Two games in November (5th and 16th). One in late January (31st), and one in March (21st). Save those dates because there will be some high intensity hockey being played.

As always, the ‘Hawks have a long road trip due to the circus coming into town. This year it’s nine games, starting in Vancouver, moving all around Canada, then heads to the West, and finally ends in Columbus. That is a tough road trip for any major league team, and it’ll be interesting how it affects the ‘Hawks performance. The past few years the ‘Hawks have done relatively well during these long road trips, so the hope is that they’ll continue that success.

Other highlights of the season that I didn’t already mention include a six game road trip, starting on November 16th in Vancouver and ending on November 26th in Los Angeles, nine home games in December (get your tickets!), and two games against Detroit in January on the 8th and the 14th.

All in all, it’s a pretty normal-looking schedule for the ‘Hawks. What has changed is the Central Division. Once ruled by the Detroit Red Wings, has now experienced a power struggle between the Red Wings, Blackhawks, and the Nashville Predators. St. Louis is never too far behind to be considered a threat.

The power struggle only makes the ‘Hawks’ jobs harder as they try to recapture the success of the Stanley Cup season with new faces and new problems to be faced and(hopefully) solved.

You can see the whole schedule for yourself here.

When the Blackhawks first acquired Michael Frolik from the Florida Panthers, there was some buzz around the new face in Chicago, and for good reason. Even though Frolik was having his worst season points-wise, he still has the speed, skating ability, and potential to become a star player in the NHL.

Frolik brought all those skills to Chicago.

Even though he only garnered nine points in 28 games with the ‘Hawks, Frolik’s biggest contribution to the team was his playoff performance. In seven games, Frolik scored two goals, dished off three assists, and managed a +/- rating of 3. Those are very good numbers for a youngster in his first ever playoff series.

The first thing you notice about Frolik is his best attribute: his skating ability.

Frolik is one of, if not the, the best skater on the ‘Hawks team. With his skating ability comes speed. Being fast is a positive in any sport, but being fast does not mean you have control. Frolik cannot only skate fast, but he can control himself while skating fast. It’s a skill that can’t be overlooked, especially in the NHL.

Blackhawk fans didn’t see much of it last season, but Frolik can score goals. In his two previous seasons with the Florida Panthers, Frolik scored 21 goals each year. One season of lesser production (11 goals) does not and should not mean that Frolik can’t produce 20 goals a season. In fact, I believe, with his age and the fact that he is maturing and becoming a better player, we will see increasing offensive outputs from Frolik in the coming years.

The outlook going into this offseason and the next regular season isn’t as bleak as it was last year. The Blackhawks have some very good prospects in Nick Leddy and Jeremy Morin that the organization (and I)  hopes can become a contributing factor to the team in the very near future.

True, some tough decisions are going to have to be made because of the salary cap, but it’s not going to leave the ‘Hawks in the position they found themselves in September of last year. With new faces like Michael Frolik, Chris Campoli, and Nick Leddy the ‘Hawks are primed to, once again, be a threat in the NHL.

Vancouver is looking for their first ever Stanley Cup, and with the way Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler have been playing recently the Canucks are coming into the Stanley Cup playing their best playoff hockey yet.

Boston has five Stanley Cup championships to their name but the Bruins have not won one since 1971. They have the best goaltender in the game right now in Tim Thomas, and his road to this point has been a long one, having faced two Game 7s in this postseason alone. The late-blooming goaltender has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, as well as the weight of the die-hard Boston fans.

Here is the TV schedule for this year’s Stanley Cup Finals:

2011 STANLEY CUP FINAL
Date	#1 West vs. #3 East	Network
Wednesday, June 1	at Vancouver, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
Saturday, June 4	at Vancouver, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
Monday, June 6	at Boston, 8 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Wednesday, June 8	at Boston, 8 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Friday, June 10	at Vancouver, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
*Monday, June 13	at Boston, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
*Wednesday, June 15	at Vancouver, 8 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS

And now a position-by-position look at the two teams.

Forwards

Vancouver, as already noted, has been led by Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler the past two series, but their offensive attack is a lot deeper than two scores. The Canucks have depth thanks to the third line of Maxim Lapierre, Raffi Torres and Jannik Hansen. Not always scoring, the third line gives the Canucks a burst of energy that many other NHL teams lack in their third line.

Boston is mainly a defense-orientated team, but they do have some players who can light the lamp. David Krejci has a playoff-leading 10 goals along with seven assists. Krejci shares a line with Nathan Horton. Both have been Boston’s two biggest clutch players. Horton has three game winners, and all of his eight goals have been in victories.

Edge: Vancouver. You won’t find a better attacking team in the NHL, especially when on the powerplay.

Defense

The Canucks also have depth on defense. Led by Kevin Bieksa, the Canucks’ defensmen go nine men deep. They’re a tough bunch, but they can be bullied. Their defensive confidence relies heavily on the play of their goaltender, Roberto Luongo. Otherwise, you could be looking at the best defensive team in the NHL.

Boston’s defense has struggled this postseason, but may have fallen back in place last series against the Tampa Bay Lightening. Zdeno Chara and Denis Seidenberg have been key for the Bruins and have really flourished since their pairing after the first two losses in the first round. Boston’s second line of Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk haven’t exactly been the players the Bruins have hoped, but they have had their moments.

Edge: Vancouver. When this defensive unit is hot( and that’s 9 out of ten times) you won’t play or watch a better defensive unit.

Goaltending

The big question heading into the playoffs for the Canucks was Roberto Luongo. Luongo has been one of the most consistent goaltenders in the league when it comes to playing in the regular season, but come playoff time he has a bad case of choking. Besides a small hiccup in the first round against the Chicago Blackhawks, Luongo has been pretty solid for the Canucks this year. A calm and collected Luongo is very important if the Canucks want to win their first Stanley Cup.

Boston has the best goaltender in the league in Tim Thomas. Thomas is a grinder, and a very good one. He hasn’t been perfect the whole series, but he has been perfect when the team needed him the most. He’s more than able to make that game-changing save or shut out a great offensive attack. It’s safe to say that Boston relies on their goaltender more than any other player on the team.

Edge: Boston. You can’t replicate or ask for a better goaltender than Tim Thomas.

Prediction

Vancouver Canucks in seven.

When push comes to shove, you can’t deny that the Canucks have the best all-around team in the NHL. The series will be a grind to the very end though because of the stubborn Boston defense and goaltender, but I suspect the Canucks’ offense and tremendous power play unit will be the deciding factor in this year’s Stanley Cup Championship.

Not only did they barely slip into the playoffs, the Blackhawks also saw a dip both in their offensive and defensive production. An early exit from the playoffs definitely didn’t help things, especially with expectations so high after last season’s Stanley Cup victory.

Heading into the offseason, the Blackhawks first action item was to re-sign goaltender Corey Crawford. There are many questions heading into the offseason, but goaltending is not one of them. Crawford was signed to a three-year, $8 million contract. Backing up Crawford next season will most likely be Alexander Salak, who was just recently signed to a one-way contract worth $600,000.

It’s hard to know what will come next, but there are still many more decisions to be made before next season. With approximately $8 million left to spend on six players, some tough decisions and cuts will have to be made.

1. Re-signing Michael Frolik

Michael Frolik is one of the many players on the ‘Hawks whose contract runs out. Good news for him: he is one of the players expected to be brought back before the begining of next year.

The problem lies, as it usually does, in the price. If the ‘Hawks are going to re-sign Frolik, who made $1.275 million last season and is expected a raise from that number, they’re going to need it to be for the right price.

2. Re-Signing Chris Campoli

Another player expected to return is defenseman Chris Campoli. Brought in midseason, Campoli made an overall positive impression on Joel Quenneville, as well as on Blackhawk fans.

Though Campoli is not the power play-driven defenseman many fans were wanting, he still brings veteran presence and above average defensive skills.

I can’t see the ‘Hawks not re-signing Campoli. With the defensive problems they had last season (mainly because of poor play from Keith), the ‘Hawks can’t afford to let go of a proven defenseman that fit pretty well into their system.

As always though, it’s about getting him for the right price.

3. Affording Troy Brouwer

Re-signing Troy Brouwer is one of the biggest questions the Blackhawks’ front office has to deal with. Brouwer is another player due another contract.

How the ‘Hawks are going to afford to keep Brouwer, however, is a whole other question.

With the expectation that the ‘Hawks will re-sign Frolik and Campoli, it gives them very little wiggle room. They need to find a way to re-sign Brouwer given that they remain pretty silent in the free agent market.

4. Affording/Finding a Second Line Center

One of the most obvious needs for the ‘Hawks is a quality second-line center. Sadly, if the ‘Hawks front office is serious about solving this problem, it’s going to have to come at a huge cost.

Either the ‘Hawks are going to have to not re-sign some players, or they’ll have to trade some players under contract. That means some tough decisions are going to be made if the front office wants to go this route.

The move could anger some fans, but if done right the ‘Hawks could add some much-needed depth—hopefully without losing too much.

5. Deciding Who to Trade

Like I said before, if the ‘Hawks want to bring in another impact player, it’s going to cost them a player. Who that player is has yet to be decided, but many speculate that it could be Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Hjalmarsson is easier to trade than Brian Campbell, who is difficult to move, but not impossible. Hjalmarsson is is young (23) and has a bright future ahead of him. He creates a decent trade market for himself and the ‘Hawks.

With a modest $3.5 million contract, Hjalmarsson could be a fruitful investment for another team while opening up some salary room for the ‘Hawks.

6. Staying Competitive in the Central Division

Year after year, the Central Division becomes more and more competitive. This year, three teams from the Central Division made the playoffs.

After the Stanley Cup season, teams began targeting the ‘Hawks—especially teams in the Central Division. Detroit is always a threat, Nashville has a dangerous team, and St. Louis is only a year or two behind.

With this rising competition, the ‘Hawks’ front office and the players need to find ways to remain relevant—or a fourth place finish could ensue.