Dale Tallonmade a tremendous blunder this offseason when the qualifying offers for Cam Barker, Kris Versteeg and the team's other restricted free agents didn't get sent out in time. Tallon admitted it was his responsibility, admitted he screwed up, and in the end, worked out contract extensions with the key players (Barker, Versteeg), assuring that they wouldn't hit the open market as unrestricted free agents, free to sign with the highest bidder with no compensation coming back to Chicago.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Central Division.
The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to build off a magical season. Columbus got its first taste of playoff hockey, while St. Louis returned to the playoffs after a far-too-long absence. Meanwhile, Nashville is trying to rebound after just missing the cut for the Western Conference playoffs.
It was a pretty big deal when Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, for the first time in his NHL career, missed a playoff game in the Western Conference finals. The future Hall of Famer missed Games 4 and 5 against the Chicago Blackhawks (both Detroit wins) and, as it turns out, he had a pretty good -- and extremely painful -- excuse.
He was having his testicle operated on as a result of an injury suffered in Game 3.
I don't have to beat you over the head with numbers. A team that goes down 3-0 in a best-of-seven is pretty much cooked.
This is especially true when you're playing a team more than capable of winning the Stanley Cup. Chicago faced this reality Friday night, and you have to tip your hat to them for how they responded to adversity. The adversity and pressure increased tenfold when the Blackhawks blew a 3-0 lead.
After jumping out to a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock held a press conference on Monday and fielded a variety of questions from the media. For the most part, it was your typical, run-of-the-mill press conference.
About half way through, a reporter started asking Babcock about how he once joked that he was ready for the salary cap to break up the young talent the Chicago Blackhawks have assembled over the years. In Babcock's mind, he wasn't joking.
The Western Conference Finals brings us one of the classic Original Six rivalries in the NHL, as Detroit and Chicago square off with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line. The Red Wings are looking to become the first team to repeat as champions since they did it during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, while Chicago is looking to return to the finals for the first time since 1992.
When the Detroit Red Wings signed Johan Franzen to an 11-year contract extension back in April, reactions were mixed. Some folks, like a number of the commenters at the Hockey's Future boards, thought the Red Wings were out of their minds for signing a soon-to-be 30-year-old forward to an 11-year contract. Others, like the good people at Abel to Yzerman, applauded general manager Ken Holland for not messing around when it comes to keeping the guys he wants.
We're only a month into the new deal, but the early results are stellar. Franzen has continued to excel as one of the better power forwards in the NHL, and has proven himself to be one of the best playoff, big-game goal-scorers the NHL has seen in quite some time.
With most eyes on the splendid series going on in Pittsburgh, the Canucks and Blackhawks waged a stirring Game 6 of their own, each team answering back repeatedly until Chicago's young stars put the game away - and put the Blackhawks into the conference finals for the first time since 1995.
After essentially a decade of futility, once-great Chicago is poised for a another lengthy run of success with players such as 20-year-old Patrick Kane, who had a hat trick in Monday night's 7-5 victory over Vancouver, and 21-year-old captain Jonathan Toews. Toews ended a nine-game goal-less streak by putting two in - including the go-ahead score, an attempted pass that deflected in on a power play with 6:11 left.
After blowing a three-goal lead in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series Thursday, Vancouver was able to stage a late rally and win the game. Trying to follow a similar formula Saturday night in Game 2, the Canucks ran into a buzzsaw. Vancouver took a 2-0 lead in the first period, had their home crowd in a frenzy, and proceeded to completely fall apart.
It took seven tries to do it and now the Calgary Flames can say that they have beaten the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2008-09 season. Heading into Game Three tonight, the Flames had lost all six meetings with the Hawks this year. In front of a raucous "C of Red" at home in Calgary, the Flames emphatically ended that streak against a Patrick Kane-less Hawks team.
During each of the first two games of this series, the Flames blew leads in Chicago. That wouldn't be the case tonight as they narrowed the Hawks lead in the series to one game with a 4-2 win. It seemed like the young team from the Windy City may have been a bit nervous about their first road playoff game since 2002.
Dale Tallon made a tremendous blunder this offseason when the qualifying offers for Cam Barker, Kris Versteeg and the team's other restricted free agents didn't get sent out in time. Tallon admitted it was his responsibility, admitted he screwed up, and in the end, worked out contract extensions with the key players (Barker, Versteeg), assuring that they wouldn't hit the open market as unrestricted free agents, free to sign with the highest bidder with no compensation coming back to Chicago.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Central Division. 
It was a pretty big deal when Red Wings defenseman 
I don't have to beat you over the head with numbers. A team that goes down 3-0 in a best-of-seven is pretty much cooked. 
After jumping out to a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final, Red Wings head coach 
When the Detroit Red Wings signed 
With most eyes on the splendid series going on in Pittsburgh, the Canucks and Blackhawks waged a stirring Game 6 of their own, each team answering back repeatedly until Chicago's young stars put the game away - and put the Blackhawks into the conference finals for the first time since 1995.
It took seven tries to do it and now the Calgary Flames can say that they have beaten the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2008-09 season. Heading into Game Three tonight, the Flames had lost all six meetings with the Hawks this year. In front of a raucous "C of Red" at home in Calgary, the Flames emphatically ended that streak against a 
