Between the Circles

Patrick Kane would do it all over again. Spending time playing in Switzerland waiting for the NHL lockout to end was well worth it for the Blackhawks star winger. "I think it's going to be big for me," Kane said Thursday. "Before I came back I think I played eight games in 10 days, at one point five in five nights. It was really good for my conditioning and my skating. Obviously the game is going to be a little different over here, but I'm glad I did it. It was a good eeperience for me." Kane, Bryan Bickell and Michal Frolik all were back from Europe and on the ice with their Hawks teammates Thursday at Johnny's IceHouse West. So was Nick Leddy, finally up from Rockford. Those Hawks still missing are Johnny Oduya, Steve Montador, Michal Rozisval and Ray Emery.

According to a Los Angeles Times report, the Blackhawks will drop the puck on their shortened 48-game season Jan. 19 at Los Angeles against the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings. The Kings will get their Stanley Cup rings and raise the championship banner prior to the 2 p.m. game at Staples Center. The complete schedule won't be released until after the players vote to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement this weekend. The owners unanimously approved the new CBA on Wednesday.

It turned out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were a package deal. Parise and Suter, the two best free agents on the market, surprised the hockey world on Wednesday by signing contracts with the Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks had made an offer to Parise. Both deals are worth $98 million over 13 years, carrying an average annual value of $7.538 million. "This is a great day in the history of the Minnesota Wild," said Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. "We are extremely excited to add the collective skill, experience and character of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to an already promising roster. We view this as a rare opportunity for us to transform our franchise by adding two marquee players, who are both in the prime of their careers, at the same time."

Another day has come and gone with no decision from free agent forward Zach Parise. Parise remained in Minnesota discussing the situation with his family. It's believed the Blackhawks, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Detroit and the Minnesota Wild are the teams still on Parise's list. As recently as Sunday the Hawks appeared to have no chance at signing Parise, who had 31 goals and 69 points for the Devils last season. As for free agent defenseman Ryan Suter, he met with officials from the Red Wings and Wild on Tuesday but isn't to make a decision until Thursday. The Hawks appear out of the running for Suter.

Jonathan Toews said he is fully recovered from the concussion that sidelined him late last season. Toews and defenseman Steve Montador each gave themselves clean bills of health while in town for NHL players meetings to prepare strategy for upcoming labor negotiations. The current collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15. "Taking the time off and not going to the world championship was really big because I didn't want to risk it any further," Toews told reporters. "I haven't felt or seen anything since so it's really good news." Montador missed the entire postseason then saw a specialist after the playoffs.

Time will tell if the Blackhawks found a gem on the second day of the entry draft Saturday like a year ago when they plucked Andrew Shaw in the fifth round. It could be gritty winger Chris Calnan, the 6-foot-2, 187-pound nephew of Jeremy Roenick, who they grabbed in the third round with the 79th selection. Or it might be 6-5 Victoriaville goalie Brandon Whitney, who was still available in the seventh round when the Hawks made him the 191st pick. In all, the Hawks took seven more players on Saturday – two defensemen, three forwards and two goaltenders. In the second round they grabbed defenseman Dillon Fournier from Rouyn Naranda in the Quebec League then went for Calnan in the third round.

Never mind discussing the prospect the Blackhawks might select with the 18th pick in the first round in Friday's entry draft. Where is Niklas Hjalmarsson going? Is Viktor Stalberg in play? Who in their right mind might be interested in Steve Montador? Last year the Hawks made a big splash on the first night of the draft when they traded Brian Campbell to Florida and Troy Brouwer to Washington. Will they be as active again? Moving Montador would be pretty slick on general manager Stan Bowman's part, but I didn't think he would be able to trade Campbell either.

When defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said it was because of the flu. The diagnosis changed on Friday when the Hawks sent Hjalmarsson back to Chicago because of what Quenneville told reporters was an upper body injury. Hjalmarsson was to miss Friday's game against the Sharks and Saturday's game in Arizona against the Coyotes. From flu symptoms to an upper body injury leaves open speculation that Hjalmarsson might be suffering from a concussion. The Hawks also sent Steve Montador (upper body) back to Chicago and placed the defenseman on injured reserve retroactive to when he got hurt on Tuesday at Colorado.

As if things weren't bad enough for the Blackhawks after Tuesday's loss at Colorado, their sixth straight, four players were sick Wednesday and missed practice. Insert joke here. Viktor Stalberg, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Leddy and Bryan Bickell sat out with the flu along with Steve Montador, who suffered an upper body injury against the Avalanche. Most of Wednesday's practice was spent on the power play, which is 0-for-10 in the first four games of the road trip and looking horrible. The Hawks were 0-for-3 at Colorado and didn't register a shot on goal. “That has to be a point of emphasis, that we have to rely on to get us through tough times,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We don't want it to lose momentum for us like it has recently.”

Get used to hearing Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville name Ray Emery his starting goaltender. In announcing Monday that Emery would be in the net for Tuesday's game against the Avalanche in Denver, Quenneville gave every indication the veteran has a clear opportunity to replace the inconsistent Corey Crawford as the Hawks' No. 1 goalie for the stretch run. “He's played very well basically every time he's been in the net for us this year,” Quenneville said following practice on Monday. “He's been consistent, he's been solid, predictable, dependable – the guys played very well in front of him last (Friday at Calgary).” Emery is 11-4-2 with a .904 save percentage.