All Entries Tagged With: "Nikolai Khabibulin"
Recap of busy day for Hawks
The Blackhawks have added one of their rivals’ best goal scorers, but they’ve lost their top goaltender. The Hawks have signed Marian Hossa, the veteran forward who scored 40 goals for the Detroit Red Wings last season.
Canada’s TSN reported that Hossa signed a 12-year contract that will pay him $5.2 million per season.
However, the Hawks lost goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers, according to a TSN report. Cristobal Huet is the heir apparent as the Hawks’ No. 1 goalie.
The Hawks also signed Red Wings free agent Tomas Kopecky, a 27-year-old center, to a two-year contract.
“To add Marian, an elite and world-class player, and Tomas, a Stanley Cup Champion, to our exciting young core reinforces our commitment to try to win the Stanley Cup,” Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement.
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Hawks and Khabibulin close
Josh Mora of CSN Chicago says the Blackhawks and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin are closing in on an extension.
As we reported Monday night, two sources told us that the Hawks and Khabibulin were moving closer to a contract. This does not mean that it WILL happen, but what’s interesting here is that there has been a lot of debate within the Hawks’ front office about whether or not to bring Khabibulin back, what the cost of the contract would be and whether or not he and Cristobal Huet could share the net again.
My read of the situation — and it’s not a complete read, there are a few entities that I’d like to hear from, or hear more from — is that the Hawks want Nik to come back and be the #1 goalie. I’m hearing that it will be more than a one-year contract and I’m hearing people speculate that the contract will be for at least 3-million dollars a year (and quite possibly much more). Those numbers suggest to me that the Hawks will try to move Cristobal Huet and that they believe they have a market for Huet. That market is likely either Colorado (which has cap room) or Edmonton (which needs to upgrade in goal to compete). One analyst suggested Washington, but others have told me they think that’s unlikely. There are 2-3 teams looking for goalies, and not many other good options available.
So by next week I’m guessing we’ll see Nik in goal as the #1 (I’m guessing — and completely guessing here, based only on innuendo, and with no concrete numbers ever tossed about to me — 2 years, $8 million total), a competition for the backup role between Crawford and Niemi, and Huet elsewhere. If so, that would clear up about 8 million dollars that had been tied up in goaltending last year that the Hawks could use to address other issues in free agency.
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Tallon: Hawks might get younger
Dale Tallon tells Tim Sassone in part two of a three part interview, that he sees the Hawks getting even younger. Tallon points to the Hawks system and wingers Jack Skille and Kyle Beach could be two of those players, assuming defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson has a spot nailed down.
The 20-man lineup the Blackhawks used in their season-ending Game 5 loss to Detroit in the Western Conference finals featured 10 players who were homegrown draft choices.
Drafting well and developing their players is what general manager Dale Tallon believes will keep the Hawks not only competitive but an elite franchise for years to come.
Good drafting and having players ready to step into the lineup with entry-level salaries has never been more important for NHL teams in what is now the salary-cap era.
Especially for a team such as the Hawks, who have some huge contracts with more on the way, slotting at least a handful of players into the payroll at around $600,000 is a key to managing the salary cap.
“We might even be younger next season,” Tallon said at one point during the playoffs.
Certainly removing 36-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin from the mix would bring down the average age of the team, but what Tallon was referring to was the possibility of one or two prospects cracking the roster at training camp.
Skille and Beach could replace, say, Ben Eager and Colin Fraser should the Hawks decide to go that direction for financial reasons.
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Sassone: Re-sign Havlat, let Khabibulin go
Tim Sassone says the Hawks should concentrate on bringing back Marty Havlat, Sammy Pahlsson, and upgrading the defense.
I’ve gone back and forth on this one, but the Hawks need an experienced game-breaker to take the heat off Patrick Kane and the other forwards, and Havlat proved his worth with a great 2008-09 season.
I wouldn’t get too crazy with the number of years and the dollars, however. Two or three years for Havlat at about the $6 million he has been making sounds about right.
Some might worry about Havlat’s health history and if being in a contract year motivated him to play hurt. In scoring 29 goals and 77 points, we saw a different Havlat than his first two years in Chicago, on and off the ice. We saw a guy who matured into a leader, accepted his status as the team’s go-to guy, was looked up to by his young teammates and appreciated them in return.
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Hawks talking Havlat, want Pahlsson back too
Dale Tallon wasted no time in trying to re-sign Martin Havlat. Havlat was asked if he would take less money to stay in Chicago, and simply said he would “love to stay”. It sounds as if Tallon is not as concerned as bringing back Nikolai Khabibulin. Len Ziehm has the story.
Look for the Blackhawks to solve one offseason problem in a hurry.
On Thursday — a day after they were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs — general manager Dale Tallon resumed contract talks with Allan Walsh, the agent for winger Martin Havlat. Then on Friday, as the Hawks began scattering for summer vacation, Havlat declared, ”I’d love to stay here.”
Tallon has three other unrestricted free agents — center Sammy Pahlsson, goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin and defenseman Matt Walker — to consider in what figures to be a challenging signing period. Tallon definitely wants to keep Pahlsson, who was acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline in March.
”He was a really valuable addition to our team,” Tallon said. ”It was almost like adding another coach, and he was great in the locker room. We’re definitely interested in keeping him.”
Tallon was more lukewarm about bringing back Khabibulin, who signed what was then the biggest contract in franchise history — four years for $27 million. It expired after this season, and Hawks management will decide whether to offer him another one.
”Nik was great, and we’ll talk,” Tallon said. ”We won’t stop working here. We’ll meet later next week and evaluate the direction we’ll head.”
While Tallon wouldn’t rule out retaining Khabibulin, his salary demands would likely be a strain on the Hawks’ cap. Plus, Tallon was satisfied by Cristobal Huet’s play as the Hawks’ other goalie and alluded to ”depth in goal” within the organization.
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Can Hawks bring back both top FA’s?
Al Cimaglia looks at the biggest decison Dale Tallon and the Blackhawks are facing this offseason. Cimaglia thinks it’s not impossible for both Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin return, but deems it as lottery-like.
Even though he is injury-prone and takes quite a bit of time to get healthy, Khabibulin will get a nice offer from someone. Regardless of what he will be able to command as a free agent, the Hawks can’t afford to commit anywhere close to $12 million for that one position again. Unless Cristobal Huet is traded, Khabibulin won’t be back in Chicago next season. Huet has three more seasons left at a hefty $5,625,000 per, which will make him difficult to trade.
Havlat, although often injured, is an elite talent. He makes others around him better and will be impossible to replace by any one player in the Blackhawk system. Havlat can’t be paid $6 million by the Hawks again, and it’s most likely no other team will pay him that much. His last contract was inflated, and Havlat still hasn’t answered all the questions about his tendency to be injury-prone.
The 28-year-old Havlat could have another three years, or a little more, of top-end production left if he can stay reasonably healthy. He might be a force if he can play around 75 games per season. If he can build upon this season, Havlat could be compared to Marian Hossa some day. That time will never come if he can’t stay healthy.
Beside health concerns, the problem concerning Havlat re-signing with the Hawks is all about the salary commitment and free-agent market conditions. If the free-agent market is soft this summer, Havlat may not get a hefty offer from another club. Many big-market teams are in the same tight salary cap situation as Chicago. It will be very interesting to see what franchises will be out in the free-agent market spending this summer. Beside the fact many teams are hamstrung by huge, long-term contracts, there is the looming salary-cap reduction possibility.
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Hawks delay talks for FA’s
Tribune reports Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon said contract negotiations with two of his top players are on hold until the postseason ends.
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Tallon: We’ll try and keep them together
Dale Tallon tells Barry Rozner that he thought about moving free agent to be Nikolai Khabibulin and is obviously glad he didn’t. Tallon said ”You don’t know when your opportunity is going to come.”
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Hawks sticking with Khabibulin
Joel Quenneville put to rest any rumors of replacing goalie Nikolai Khabibulin before game 5. The defense has been the bigger issue lately, more than the goal tending. Tim Sassone has more from the Balckhawks coach and captain Jonathan Toews.
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Rosenbloom: Get Pronger
The rumor is true and has been for a while: Anaheim has big, mean, talented, Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Chris Pronger on the block. The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday. The Blackhawks ought to be first in line. Any questions?
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Reasons to keep both goalies?
Steve Rosenbloom makes his case for the Blackhawks to keep both goalies. This will be a burning question for Scotty Bowman, Dale Tallon and the Blackhawks as the trade deadline approaches.
If Huet, the free-agent goalie the Hawks signed last off-season, is making a case to be the goalie ahead of injured Nikolai Khabibulin, the free-agent goalie the Hawks signed several years ago, then he’s piling up some evidence. But not enough for me. Not with the trade deadline less than two weeks away.
Which is how Hawks trade talk gets simplified to trading Khabibulin for that center. (The debate whether the Hawks also need a big stay-at-home defenseman or an offensive defenseman who can be his own breakout play is a blogument for another day.) But two things tell me they can’t move a goalie. And shouldn’t move a goalie. It’s the single-most important position in team sports — you quarterbacks out there can save it — especially when April becomes May becomes June and Chris Chelios comes here to lug Lord Stanley’s chalice to Wrigley and the Cell.
Anyway, Khabibulin is my choice at the most important position, but you don’t know if he’ll stay healthy. You can’t have an unproven guy behind him. What’s more, the longer this injury takes, the more his trade value plummets, as well. Look, the tandem has covered the Hawks’ backside all season and earned them the third-most points in the Western Conference. I’m making sure. I’m keeping both. But if Scotty Bowman tells Tallon to deal, hey, I’m flexible.
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Blackhawks set?
Tim Sassone thinks the Blackhawks may stand pat, citing chemistry and roster reasons. However, names like the Blues’ Keith Tkachuk and Islander Doug Weight get a mention.
Dale Tallon and his staff still aren’t sure they want to mess with the special chemistry in the dressing room.
The Hawks might be good enough as is to get out of the Western Conference, and anyone that thinks I’ve been drinking too much Canadian beer isn’t paying attention to what’s happening.
The Hawks have great goaltending with Nikolai Khabibulin already owning a Stanley Cup.
They have a mobile and deep defense that gets the puck out of trouble quicker than any team in the league.
They have three lines that can score and a fourth line that is as good or better than any fourth line in the NHL.
Size? There’s enough.
If the Hawks need anything, it’s an experienced center who can win faceoffs. Will they go after one? Probably, but it will be on Tallon’s terms.
I still maintain Keith Tkachuk would be an ideal fit. The Blues likely will trade Tkachuk, who will be an unrestricted free agent, but would they trade him to Chicago for a draft pick? Tkachuk also has a no-trade clause that comes into play.
A scout told me the other night he thought Doug Weight would be an ideal guy for the Hawks because of the style they play. I don’t know how much Weight has left, but he certainly wouldn’t cost much to get from the Islanders.
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