If you are a Hawks fan you know exactly what I mean. This is the time of the year when the Circus comes into Chicago, forcing both the Bulls and Blackhawks to go on a 2-week road trip.

The Hawks go into their 2-week road trip confident after winning four straight games. They sit at the 3rd spot in their conference and 1st in their division.

For the most part the Hawks have avoided losing their top players for very long. Kris Versteeg didn’t play Sunday, but he is expected to practice Tuesday. Marian Hossa is practicing with the team, but isn’t due back til late November. Dave Bolland has recently undergone surgery and will miss 12-16 weeks. Finally, Adam Burish  is still expected to miss 6 months.

The Hawks have really nothing to worry about heading into this long road trip. They are playing their best hockey, scoring like maniacs, and their goaltender is making unbelievable saves. All those factors make this a road trip were I can see the Hawks winning 4, maybe 5, games out of the 6.

During the road trip the Hawks will play the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and the L.A. Kings in that order.

As the schedule shows the Hawks have some tough games, but they also have some easy match ups. Calgary, San Jose, and L.A. all post tough a tough challenge to the Hawks. Edmonton, Vancouver, and Anaheim are all struggling this year, and could be easy opponents for the much more balanced Hawks.

The Hawks play Thursday night in Calgary at 8:30pm cst. Get ready for some Hawks hockey!!

After losing the Western Conference Finals to Detroit, Hawk fans are really excited for what next year could bring. Many more NHL teams and owners are taking this young Hawks team seriously now. While the Hawks have lost their season MVP, Martin Havlat, they did add a powerful scoring forward in Marian Hossa. The Hawks lost a great goaltender in Khabibulan, and leaving the team to Huet is a bit risky. Huet has shown he can be a great goaltender, but his inconsistent play has had Hawk fans questioning how good a deal it was to pick him up and at such a steep price.

The Hawks have really big expectations to fulfill this coming season, and nobody really can say for sure if this team is capable of going all the way next year. As young as the team is though, Chicago fans are at least positive that the Hawks could win a championship in the near future. While the future is bright, the players don’t need to feel like they have no room to improve. Their inexperience was exploited by the veteran Detroit team last year in the playoffs and Detroit seems to always have the Hawks’ number. Most of all, Detroit capitalized on every mistake the Hawks made, and the Hawks will have to limit their mistakes against the Red Wings moving forward.

One thing that made me mad was the hatred for the Hawks by Sports Illustrated. They never gave credit to the Hawks, even when they made it deep into the postseason. They said they would lose against the Flames and the Canucks. When the Hawks did win those two series, SI didn’t praise the wins, they just ignored them completely. Just recently Alan Muir has called the Hossa signing a bad one. Come on! They never give the Hawks credit for building a team that can win. Sorry for going on a mini rant, but that has always bothered me a lot.

With prospect camps currently ongoing, the Hawks could find another gem. Next hockey season will be a fun and interesting ride for the Hawks and their fans. As a fan, I can only wish for another playoff berth, and who knows, maybe even a Cup.