Kings defenseman Alec Martinez, scored an OT goal in Game 7 of the conference final to end the Hawks chances of being the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups since Detroit in 1997 & 1998. It also denied them a chance at a third Cup in five seasons and watching the Kings skate off with the trophy only served to make the Hawks hungrier ahead of this season. Jonathan Toews even admitted to watching the L.A. players celebrate as they hoisted up the cup, taking it all in and realising just how close they actually came. The Hawks were impressive against Pacific Division opponents last season, going 14-1-6, while they also performed well against teams in the East, but in their own Central Division they struggled against St Louis and Colorado and went 13-13-3. With a Central Division that has got a lot stronger over the summer, Chicago have only made subtle changes, but the best news they could have was tying Toews and Patrick Kane down to long term deals.
Veteran center, Michal Handzus has gone but in his place has come Brad Richards, who was a compliance buyout from New York. Richards, who is a highly-skilled and experienced center himself, will fit nicely on the second line with Brandon Saad and Kane. It also allows 19-year-old Finnish wonder-kid Teuvo Teravainen time to develop in the AHL. The Kings ultimately won the series against the Hawks by their strength down the middle. By adding Richards and possibly Teravainen, it should help with scoring depth, but signing Richards, has put the team over the $69 million salary-cap and that means a star such as Patrick Sharp or Johnny Oduya may get moved on to balance the books. Sharp has been re-assured by his agent that he wont be traded, while Oduya will be an UFA next summer, and seems the more likely to be traded. Other names mentioned were veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival, and forwards Kris Versteeg and Bryan Bickell. Richards' arrival means Joel Quenneville can roll out four lines in much the way he did in the championship winning years of 2010 and 2013. Behind Toews and Richards are Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger, while Peter Regin and Ben Smith can be utilised at center too. Joakim Nordstrom is another prospect breaking though who could possibly play there too.
If Versteeg stays, he
will be hoping for a much better output than last season's tally of
12+24 in 81 games. Much of that was down to and injury sustained the
season before and spending much of last year playing catch up
rehabbing his knee rather than doing normal conditioning and
training. Shaw linked up well with Brandon Saad and Kane during the
playoffs and could get to play on that line again if Quenneville
wants to mix his lines up. Bryan Bickell didn't deliver a vast amount
of goals or points but was able to showcase his strong-possession
skills, and on occasion can play on the top line with Toews and
Hossa.
Duncan Keith and Brent
Seabrook are one of the best defensive pairings in the league, but
often Quenneville likes to allow their offensive abilities to
flourish so will use Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya to shut down
opposing team's top lines. Nick Leddy was frozen out of the playoffs
for the last two seasons but will be hoping to make a name for
himself during the year ahead. Corey Crawford needs to improve his
.914 save percentage this season and start living up to his $6
million-a-year contract.
Sharp – Toews –
Hossa
Saad – Richards –
KaneBickell – Shaw – Morin
Regin – Kruger – Smith
Nordstrom – Teravainen - Versteeg
Keith – Seabrook
Oduya – HjalmarssonLeddy – Rozsival
Rundblad
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