The Blackhawks have added some new bodies to their squad but they also got much older.
There's a great line from the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond where Ray's in-laws, who are separated, come to Thanksgiving Dinner and his father-in-law brings a date that just happens to be significantly older than his former wife. The family assumed he was bringing a younger woman.
Upon seeing the woman, Ray insensitively says to his mother-in-law, "Turns out he didn't want somebody younger; he just wanted somebody different."
You could apply the same sentiment to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stanley Cup champions from two years ago have been one of the busiest teams in the NHL this summer. They are different, indeed. But are they better?
Everybody knew the Blackhawks would take a step back last season after winning their first Stanley Cup the year before since 1960-61. The 2009-10 champs were assembled to win it all knowing full well, because of salary cap considerations, the team would have to be dismantled. It was, but truth be told, when you have just won the Stanley Cup, you automatically slide into a grace period where your fans will forgive you if you cannot maintain a high level of play. Everyone in Chicago was so delighted about the championship year that last season's slippage didn't really matter.
The Hawks predictably took a step back, finishing 13th overall and barely qualifying for the playoffs. Chicago then very nearly pulled off a major upset in the first round when they fell behind 3-0 in their series to the Vancouver Canucks only to win three straight games to force a Game 7. However, in the end, the alterations the Blackhawks made to the team caught up with them and their rivals from Vancouver eliminated them. Party over.
And with that defeat came more changes.
The good news for the Blackhawks is they still have two of the best young players in the National Hockey League in captain Jonathan Toews and sniper Patrick Kane. Although Kane, 22, underwent wrist surgery in the off-season, he is expected to make a full recovery and hopes to get back to being one of the league's more dangerous shooters. It was Kane, you'll recall, who scored the Cup-winning goal the years before ending a 49-year championship drought in Chicago.
It doesn't end with Toews and Kane, either. Speedy Marian Hossa still has plenty of miles left on him and the defence is anchored by Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrooke.
After winning the championship, the Hawks parted with a lot of the role players that played a major role in winning the Cup. In doing so, they lost a lot of their team toughness. Gone were the likes of Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel and Kris Versteeg. Whether it was the Stanley Cup hangover or simply the fact they weren't as good as they were the year before, it was obvious by the end of last season more changes were necessary.
The addition of Dan Carcillo, Sean O'Donnell and Jamal Mayers certainly make the Hawks a tougher team. The problem is, Carcillo can be undisciplined and often hurts the team he is trying to help by going too far over the line. O'Donnell turns 40 on Oct. 13 and has slowed considerably the past few seasons and the soon-to-be 37-year-old Mayers, while he definitely gives it everything he has every shift, is a role player with a disintegrating skill set.
The Blackhawks also signed veteran forward Andrew Brunette to provide them with some additional scoring depth. Again, however, Brunette's best days are behind him. Brunette, who turns 38 this month, slipped to 46 points from 61 the year before with the Minnesota Wild. If he can come in and make players around him better, it will go down as a good signing, but given his age and the fact he won't be counted on to be one of the team's offensive leaders, a further slip in his scoring probably would not rate as a shock to anybody.
In addition, the Blackhawks signed Brett McLean, who has played 385 NHL games, but played in Switzerland the past two years, as well as defenceman Sami Lepisto who played with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.
The grace period a team gets after winning the Stanley Cup has expired. There will be pressure on the Blackhawks to get back to championship form this coming season. Time will tell if the 2011-12 Blackhawks are better than they were last season. Or just different?
