He's turning pro, ladies and gents. (Photo Credit: Kim Wrona)

According to RDS’ Renaud P. Lavoie, the Blackhawks have signed yet another prospect this summer. This time, defenseman Adam Clendening was inked to an entry level contract.

» Continue reading “Clendening Joins The Pack”

What the Blackhawks want Kane to do. I guess.

A team source told the Chicago-Sun Times yesterday that the Blackhawks were concerned by Patrick Kane‘s partying ways and have suggested he seek help:

“He’s obviously got some issues,” the source said. “How many more times can these things happen? It’s a much bigger thing than some photographs in a 48-hour window.”

Stan Bowman also commented on Kane’s partying for the first time on Tuesday:

“We are aware of that situation,” Bowman said when asked by the Sun-Times about Kane. “We followed it closely. It was one of those things where we’ve discussed it with Patrick. We’ve handled that internally.

“We’re obviously disappointed with how it played it out, and Patrick is aware of that fact. But at this point, it’s a private matter. I think, out of respect for Patrick, we’re not going to comment further. We’re going to look forward and try to focus on things in improving our team leading into the summer.”

Does this mean that Kane is most definitely going to rehab? I don’t know. And, really, is it any of our business? Let’s just hope he gets it together and comes back next season ready to win.

» Continue reading “Fresh Brew: The Blackhawks Want Kane To Seek Help. Maybe. Kinda. I Don’t Know.”

Three more years. (Photo: the_mel/flickr)

Along with formally announcing the signings of Jamal Mayers, Mac Carruth, Joakim Nordstrom, Klas Dahlbeck, and Kent Simpson that occurred over the holiday weekend,  the Blackhawks also announced the re-signing of defenseman Johnny Oduya for three years at $3.375 million/year, according to CSN Chicago. This is slightly less than his last contract, which had a cap hit of $3.5 million/year.

According to Stan Bowman, the signing was all about Oduya’s “fit” within the Blackhawks:

“We brought Johnny in to solidify things down the stretch, and I think he played a big role in the turnaround of our team. It was pretty evident that his style of hockey complemented our style, and it made our players better,” Bowman said. “I had a good meeting with Johnny at the end of the year and he made it clear that he wanted to be in Chicago. He could have gone anywhere; the fact that he wanted to be back and he helped us made it a simple decision for us.”

I know a lot of people are bothered by the price. The Blackhawks certainly overpaid… a little. But, honestly, when you look at other defensemen in the league that are in the same skill set at Oduya, they’re all making about the same amount (which means, yes, a lot of teams are overpaying for defense).

And please don’t give me the whole “Oduya cost us the Coyotes series,” because I went over that when the Blackhawks were bounced. By that line of logic, the Blackhawks should get rid of half the team. (If you really think the Blackhawks should get rid of half the team — wow, thanks for stumbling across my site, Steve Rosenbloom.)

More goalies! (Photo Credit: the_mel/flickr)

The Blackhawks announced today that goaltender Kent Simpson signed a three year entry level contract with the club. They also made the signings of prospects Mac Carruth, Joakim Nordstrom, and Klas Dahlbeck official.

» Continue reading “Simpson Added Into The Fold”

Photo Credit: the_mel/flickr

According to NHLwiki on Twitter, the Blackhawks signed yet another youngster to a three year entry level contract. This time, it was Swedish prospect Joakim Nordstrom.

» Continue reading “Blackhawks Sign Nordstrom”

Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr

Marcus Kruger was born on May 27, 1990. So, yeah, he’s only 22. I suddenly feel very old. I suspect this feeling will continue every year until science perfects robot bodies, and I have my brain transferred into one.

…Wow, that got weird very quickly. Anyway, Kruger was featured in the Blackhawks article Blackhawks By The Numbers: Rookies, which you should go check out. You should go check out the following articles reviewing his season: Second City Hockey, Blackhawk Up, CSN Chicago.

He's happy, I'm happy -- we're all happy, I think. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Jamal Mayers was re-signed by the Blackhawks late yesterday, according to @RenLavoieRDS:

There was some doubt about Mayers being re-signed after being benched for the Blackhawks’ last three playoff games, but we can put those to rest now.

Even though he’s not getting any younger (he’ll be 38 this year, which is at least 68 in hockey years), he’s a solid guy. You know that he’ll always have his teammates’ back out on the ice, and he’s a player the younger guys can certainly learn from. And hey — the Blackhawks signed him for cheap.

Let’s just hope that a lockout doesn’t ruin it for him and everybody else.

He's turning pro. (Photo Credit: the_mel/flickr)

The goaltending depth chart continues to grow for the Blackhawks as Renaud P. Lavoie from RDS reported this evening that Mac Carruth has signed an entry level contract with the organization.

» Continue reading “More Goalie Depth: Carruth Signs New Deal”

(Photo: Kris Krug/flickr)

Eddie Olczyk is not happy that Patrick Kane didn’t go represent the USA in Worlds:

“I don’t know if (it’s) Patrick Kane being hurt, but this is the prioritizing or lack thereof to me as an alum of Team USA,” Olczyk said, “These World Championships were really important for the seedlings going into the Olympics.”

“I was very disappointed that he didn’t go and represent our country and try to help us get a better seed come Olympic time, but maybe there (are) some things that I don’t know behind the scenes.” (CBS Chicago)

Listen, Edzo, Kane had some very important drinking to do, okay? Don’t hate.

Good news, everyone! Since the Coyotes have been bounced from the playoffs, Raffi Torres is suspended for 12 games for next year for his hit on Marian Hossa. Excellent. (SB Nation Chicago)

Speaking of the Coyotes, Second City Hockey‘s eulogy for the desert dogs on Puck Daddy is pretty much flawless. My favorite part was this:

We no longer will be treated to the uneasy sight of a state with the harshest immigration policies having a “white-out.”

Brandon Bollig will be chatting tomorrow on Spreecast at 8pm ET/7pm CT. You can check it out here, or (hopefully) on ROD, depending on if the workaround for the embedding actually works.

The thought of Corey Crawford getting into a goalie fight makes me lol hard. Not that I don’t think he could do it, it just seems so contrary to his nature.

This is the fiercest threat I could imagine him delivering. Sorry, buddy.