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The Chicago Blackhawks: The 2007-2008 Year in Review
Fan Commentary, by Mr. Miller
April 7, 2008
Now that the season is over, Blackhawk fans, and perhaps all fans of teams not in the playoffs, begin putting together their own little grading system of individual players, coaches, special teams, etc. They organize their thoughts about the good, the bad and the ugly that was the 2007-2008 season.
Back on August 30, 2007 - like many others - I put together my predictions for the season. Obviously those sorts of predictions are nothing more than an educated guess, at best, but they also act as a starting point for many conversations and debates that happen throughout the season. Let's review what I wrote back in August:
- 3rd Place, Central Division. Nashville had a horrible off-season and now Steve Sullivan is out for a couple of months. Columbus simply isn't very good. Both teams should finish below Chicago.
- 10th Place, Western Conference. I'm torn between 10th and 11th. Hey. Even I can show a bit of optimism every now and again.
- 81 points. If it takes 90 points for the 8th seed to get into the post season, 81 points and a 10th place prediction don't seem to mesh very well. Nevertheless, a 10 point improvement from last season is quite attainable, I think.
Two out of three, ain't bad. The Blackhawks did, in fact, finish 3rd in the Central Division and 10th in the conference. And despite my own personal quandary on the total points, I really wasn't too far off. But there's no use straining myself trying to pat my own back. The bottom line is that even though this team hung in their until the very end, they didn't make the post season and once again the Blackhawks (and their fans) are left on the outside looking in.
For me, there were several key things that happened this year that need to be reviewed and addressed.
Bill Wirtz, October 5, 1929 - September 26, 2007
When longtime owner William W. Wirtz passed away during the preseason, the organization was left in the hands of his son, Rocky. In a short period of time, Rocky removed Bob Pulford, began the process of putting home games on TV, hired John McDonough as Vice President and started to regain some of the long-lost respectability of the Chicago Blackhawks Ice Hockey Team.
The trickle down effect included previous unheard of factors such as sell-out crowds, an increased number of season ticket holders, the welcoming back of such legends as Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito. Coming soon is a sold-out Blackhawks convention to take place this coming July. A reported 10,000 tickets went on sale and within a couple weeks, not a single one remains.
When a man such as Wirtz dies, there is an immediate and understandable sadness among family and friends. Despite what many fans felt about the man, his influence was far reaching and it's near impossible to hear a bad word from anyone who knew him personally. In the end, although he lived what many would consider a long, successful and prosperous life - his control of the Blackhawks and the resulting legacy left behind is what many will remember.
R.I.P. William W. Wirtz. You should be proud of your son Rocky and the good he's done for the city of Chicago.
General Manager, Dale Tallon
Technically Tallon's the man that's been behind draft picks such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and a few others who could very well be the core of a solid Blackhawks team for years to come. It's been Tallon who held the GM spot while this team has displayed continuous yearly improvements from 57 points two seasons ago, to 71 last year, to a remarkable 88 points this season.
But is he the right man for the job moving forward? For the sake of stability and to finish the job he started and was hired to do, I still believe he is.
The Adams for Vrbata trade was a loser for Tallon. Insisting David Koci was a legitimate NHL enforcer was another mistake by the third year GM. And who can begin to defend the Samsonov trade, the Zyzun fiasco or the 33-year old rookie signing in Magnus Johansson?
Yet he also is responsible for bringing in guys like Robert Lang (21 g, 33 a, 54 pts) and Jason Williams (13 g, 23 a, 36 points). He signed Brent Sopel who turned out to be a very nice surprise on the blue line. The Vandermeer/Eager trade looks to be a winner and there's clearly reason for optimism in the Tuomo Ruutu for Andrew Ladd trade that took place at the deadline this year.
He's been far from perfect. He's made questionable moves from day 1. But when looking at the sum of his work and the results on the ice, he deserves to continue his plan.
Head Coach, Denis Savard
Savard came into the season, essentially, a rookie head coach. He was given a team that many still considered to be in the rebuilding stage and a defense that was noticeably weaker going into the season than what was on the ice at the end of last year. He faced a rash of injuries that saw guys like Havlat, Khabibulin, Toews, Williams and Sopel missing out on a lot of games. Those injuries led to the Blackhawks icing more rookies than any other team in the NHL.
Yet they finished above expectations including 3rd in the division, 10th in the conference and 88 points in the standings.
Savard wrongfully took a lot of heat this year as fans and media alike questioned his line shuffling. The Power Play was once again brutal, but the PK finished in the middle of the pack and played relatively well all season. Like Tallon, he didn't have a perfect season and didn't make all of the right decisions. But he surely made enough to warrant another season or three behind the bench in Chicago.
Goaltending
Nikolai Khabibulin is not an elite goaltender in the National Hockey League. Those who believe otherwise should look no further than his career stats. Despite putting up some very respectable numbers for Chicago this season, many other goalies for many other teams did better.... at a fraction of the cost.
Khabibulin has another season left on his original 4-year, $6.75 million per season deal. His money could clearly be better spent helping the defensive corps or signing another top forward. The bottom line, the return on investment for the overpaid Russian isn't where Tallon, Savard and many fans expected it to be.
Patrick Lalime stepped in and played extremely well in the backup role. He showed why he deserves the shot to once again be a #1 goalie in the NHL. While it's too early to tell if next season brings a Lalime/Crawford goaltending tandem, Chicago could continue to benefit by keeping Lalime on the roster.
Martin Havlat
When he's not injured, Havlat is an incredibly skilled player. The question remains, however, when is he not injured? Hindsight is always 20/20 but this signing has proven to be brutal for Chicago. Havlat should not be part of the plans moving forward even if he's not traded or recovers fully from his latest shoulder injury.
In 35 games this year, he scored 10 goals with 17 assists. Hardly worth $6 million in anyone's mind.
Patrick Sharp
At 36 goals, 26 assists and +23 - Patrick Sharp was the MVP of the Chicago Blackhawks this season. He proved last year's success wasn't a fluke and as a result was given a nice extension and a big raise. He reminds me a lot of Tony Amonte which is, of course, a good thing.
The kids.
Patrick Kane (21 g, 51 a, 72 pts) will more than likely win the Calder Trophy for the league's most outstanding rookie and who can argue with that, really? But I still believe that Jonathan Toews (24 g, 30 a, 54 pts) played enough games to not only warrant consideration but to win the same award. Either way, it's nice to have a pair of Blackhawks in the same conversation.
Cam Barker, Dave Bolland, Adam Burish, Jordan Hendry, Corey Crawford and Niklas Hjalmarsson all were part of a turn style of rookies making their way back-and-forth from Chicago to Rockford. They all stepped up and all deserve a shot to make the team full time next year. The depth wasn't as great as many would have liked it to be this season but it's clearly getting better, more experienced and there were even a few surprises to be found as a result.
This was a very young Blackhawk team this season. The optimism these kids created should be felt for years to come.
Special Teams
The Blackhawk power play was once again horrible. Of all rule changes that Gary Bettman is considering, perhaps allowing teams to decline penalties should be among them. The PP was 24th in the league at 15.9%. Surprisingly, 3 of the 4 remaining teams from the Central Division were also in the bottom six with the Blues bringing up the rear.
And while the penalty kill finished 17th overall (82.1%), the Blackhawks were second in the league in short-handed goals with 17 (Ottawa: 18). Patrick Sharp led this surge and there were certainly games they won that could've easily gone the other way had the PK unit not done its job. There is still room for improvement, but also many reasons to be optimistic.
Misc.
I would be remised not to include the following three points that I most certainly will remember from the 2007 season.
First, also resulting from the death of Bill Wirtz, this website went under a name change. Blackhawkzone.com was the number one fan site when former owner Frank Porcelli was in charge. I feel fortunate and honored that he allowed me to take over the domain. In the long run, Blackhawkzone.com presents itself with a much better branding opportunity and its history is second to none.
Secondly, and much more importantly for me, this season will remembered for bringing about 2 new, soon-to-be, Blackhawk fans. In October of 2007, my wife and I found out that she was pregnant with twins. I look forward to having the little crib midgets on our laps at the United Center when the Blackhawks open up the 2008 season. "Dada", "Mama" and "Detroit Sucks" are sure to be among their first words.
Finally, I just want to give a big 'Thank you' to everyone who continues to make this site successful. Without the continued support from all of you, both on the site and the message boards, this little corner of the internet would be non-existant and I would be spending most of my days talking and posting to myself. I can't list you all, but you know who you are. I sincerely appreciate the continued ego-boost you continue to give me year after year....
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