Hawks put Eager on IR
Posted by TimS on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 17:49
DETROIT - The news on Ben Eager apparently isn’t good with the Blackhawks putting the left winger on injured reserve Thursday night.
While Eager would be eligible to come off IR for Monday’s game against Calgary since he was put on retroactive to last Saturday’s game with Florida, it’s likely the veteran won’t play for a while with what are believed to be concussion-like symptoms.
Left wing Bryan Bickell was recalled from Rockford earlier Thursday and in the lineup against the Red Wings.
The Hawks now have three players on injured reserve in Eager, Marian Hossa and Adam Burish.
Well, with number 55 out it's a good thing they traded Aaron Johnson for that big leftwing, whatever his name is, although I'd like to see Bickell fill Ben's role if he's up to it.
I just heard Johann Franzen is out for at least four months with a torn ACL. Tough loss for Detroit. They sure have lost a lot of talent since the end of last season.
Torn ACL = 6 months minimum
All the Hawks questions aside, they lucked out to win that game last night. If they lose Franzen, they are toast. Because it is NOT the same team even with him. Without him, it is Dats, Zetterberg, Lidstrom and some kinda OK players.
After Datsyuk & Zetterberg, Franzen is their top forward. No Hossa, no Hudler & now no Franzen at least until after the Olympics. That is obviously going to hurt their offense & put more pressure on their defense & especially goaltending, which has always been regarded the weakest part of the team.
An opening for the everyone in the division & western conference.
Detroit is one of those machines that just plug the next cog in the wheel and still find a way to kick our ass 9 out of 10 times in games that matter each year. Franzen was a marginal prospect and they put him into that system and he emerged into a solid player. Osgood is an average goalie and he looks like Ken Dryden thanks to their system. They still have 3 of the 10 best players in the world playing 20 minutes every night. The Hawks issues this year are far deeper than what the Wings have in Franzen.
tho I think even perennially good teams can only withstand so much turnover before they start to feel it in the new cap world.
They brought back Williams & Bertuzzi, added Eaves & now May for depth, but guys like Draper & Lidstrom are getting long in the tooth & I'm not sure they can deliver as before. Agree on Datsyuk & Zetterberg but the more they have to rely on these two guys to lead, the more it is going to wear on them, which imo makes them more vulnerable.
Leino, Filpulla, Abdelkater, Meech are good players & what really helps imo is they are all in their mid 20's & all have several years of playing in the minors & learning the "system" before they are brought up. & they are usually only brought up when they are fully ready, sometimes long after, but they are replacing experienced NHL guys (including Chelios & Kopecky) so I expect there to be some adjustment period & perhaps dropoff. That said, I don't think the hawks have that kind of organizational depth yet, despite all the great drafting positions over the past decade,
Osgood is average, but Howard doesn't look like NHL calibre - I think they will need to find a veteran backup - perhaps in direct competition with the hawks & other teams.
I think Detroit is at its most vulnerable since the early 90s - that said, they have one of the best coaches in the business who is going to get the max out of his guys.
In many ways, the hawks have set themselves up to go for it all this year, because they are going to have serious cap issues going forward, which is likely going to change the look of this team, perhaps significantly, next year. (think Boston & Phil Kessel).
I'm just throwing this out there but Toews needs to get on the score sheet ASAP!
You are right. I was hoping he would get off to a fast start this season. He seemed to be pressing the longer his scoreless streak went last year. The Hawks need Toews to score especially while Hossa is on the DL. Last year they had Havlat to pick up the slack early.
Pierre McGuire is the front end of a horse walking backwards. Listening to him talk about the hawks reminds me of Al Michaels talking about the bears.
About any team in Chicago.
Sadly, when traveling the only feed I can get sometimes is TSN and I get stuck listening to the turtle.
You are spot on about McGuire. I was hoping he would get a GM job this year so we wouldn't have to listen to him on any of the broadcast this season.
Huet has the same qualities as a great girlfriend:
Loves to go down. Quick to do it any time / anywhere. Stays there a long time.
I had a work function so I had to watch the highlights on TSN.
Per Tim, sounds like Huet got outplayed, and that 3rd goal was pitiful. I don't care what any other goalie lets in, because this is the NORM with Huet. He lets in these BS, weak, short side goals that absolutely kill this team.
Not going to get on my soap box, but lets be real.
-Game 1 vs Fla he let in some weak goals late...cost the Hawks a pt
-Game 3 vs Det he let in at least 1 weak goal, and got outplayed again....
Looked like Barker got absolutely smoked on the 3rd goal, but you can't allow a shot to beat you short side regardless.
I am not a Barker guy and said so the other day. But the puck did bounce over his stick making him look worse than he might have been. And try to find a replay of the hit he smoked Maltby with, open ice head on as the puck just got to Maltby. Textbook hit. That's the kind of read and follow through that gets the job done. If he shows the ability to time hits like that on a regular basis, I would buy the line that he is a physical player.
Barker had to recognize that Draper was ready to pounce if the puck got past him, and should have done everything to ensure that bouncing puck doesn't get by him, like going down & blocking it with his body like a catcher on a wild pitch. instead he swings wildly at it like a pitcher hitting .134 & draper blows by him, with a clear shot at huet.
draper is old, but still has better wheels than barker (actually i'm not sure who barker can keep up with, other than sopel).
for all the positives barker brings - hard shot (that he can't get thru on net, even on a 5 on 3), size (can be big & physical, but usually when he is, he puts himself out of position to try to make a big hit), he brings more negatives - slow to react, slow to recover & just simply slow.
hawks are using up over $3M for the next 3 years in cap space on this guy - a 5th Dman who averages under 15 mins /game & couldn't manage to get a point shot thru on a 5 on 3 for almost 2 mins last night
this guy should be moved ASAP.
He could have played the man and not been penalized. He makes horrible decisions in his own end. $3 Mil per plus for a #5 defenseman that the rest of the league thinks is great. SEE YA!
I tried to give him a break because of the hit, but I do agree with Chico on all points.
Duncan Keith?? I will not say much more because he is usually solid but that was one of the worst games I've seen him play in a long time. Two dumb penalties (one was embellished by Datsyuk) but you know Detroit was bound for a make up call after the 2 man advantage. And the best we can do on a 5 on 3 is shoot from the point? Even after a timeout? Glad that was well spent. Sharp fires away at will, he needs to develop some patience...especially on the pass from Versteeg. And I can't believe how slow our checking line was without Eager and Burish. Wow, that was the most noticeable thing I saw last night. I guess I can see why there is so much discussion around the importance of losing Burish. It's one game, they have to get 2 points tomorrow night. Especially with Calgary, Edmonton and Nashville next week...no easy games there.
lack of imagination, lack of creativity, lack of movement = lack of good scoring chances. if all you are going to do is fire from the point, you have to make sure the shots get thru to at least force the goalie to make a save & allow a chance for a deflection or rebound chance...yet with 2 extra guys, the hawks couldn't even manage that!!
& for Q to essentially leave the same guys out there after the timeout was a bad choice especially when he had other options - you can bet some of the other guys left on the bench (versteeg, campbell, keith, etc.) couldn't have been too thrilled to not get a chance after those other guys squandered a great opportunity to take control of the game.
As for the checking line, I think Eager's loss is much more concerning since he was much more of a threat physically & scoring wise than burish ever was and eager can also skate.
Re; the Edmonton game, I strongly suspect they will start Khabi & it will be very interesting to see who Q picks to start against him. Does he save Huet for the next night in Nashville (an important divisional game) & spare him the inevitable comparisons that will surely be made if he goes head to head vs. khabi? it might depend on how huet does vs. colorado & calgary - if he gets hot, i think he plays, if not, i think Q spares him from the added pressure of going up against khabi & saves him for nashville, fwiw.
Exactly where is our hero strong at being a "blocker"? Agree Holmstrom (how does he get away with putting his ass in the goalies face all the time) screened the goalie, but the puck still was right at him and went right through him. Short side high from an angle is a gimme for a 4th line grinder. And the first one was a fluke, even though it was deflected far enough away and going slow enough for an alert goaltender to pick up the puck. They scored over, under, and through. So, where else can they score on this guy? And did anyone notice Foley & Olczyk mentioning a larger shot blocking effort (first period I think) by the hawks. I wonder why. Bottom line, if the hawks don't score 4 or more, they have almost no chance with the french flopper. Really, why does he even bother to get up in the first place?
You are incorrect. Huet had no chance on the first and third goals. Try going into the games with an open mind and an try and give an unbiased view of EVERY player's game.
The second goal hurt, but we controlled most of that game and should have popped in more than two.
Dude,
I think you make some good points. But you need to do this today. Go on nhl.com and look at the highlights of WASH/NYR, PHI-PITT last night and tell me which of the goalies in those games played better or even as well as Huet did. Go back and look at Cleary's goals in the WCF. High. On Khabibulin. Down in the butterfly.
Look at the goals, given up high while the goalie was down in the buitterfly, by: Fleury, Emery, Lundqvist.
Three of those teams are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.
I don't care what Edzo and Foley say. And I especially don't care what Pierre Maguire says.
The Hawks' defense was not good last night. The forwards (even Versteeg) were very good. Huet was Meh considering the circumstances.
if not, I don't think you are in a position to compare the games those goalies had with the way huet played vs. detroit. and in any case washington & philly have similar, acknowledged goaltending question marks looming over them as the hawks do. to try to compare huet to lundquist or fleury is ridiculous.
Huet made 1, perhaps 2 good saves on good scoring chances last night that saved goals. you may not think any of the goals he allowed were "weak", but many will disagree with you.
the first goal went right between his legs while he was in the butterfly position - yea it deflected, but an elite goalie on a cup contender has to be quicker to react, especially with detroit on a pp. if his stick was on the ice as it should have been, that puck doesn't go in, imo
on the 2nd goal, on which I fault barker as much as huet, draper had a ton of room short side because huet went down early, apparently thinking draper was going to shoot rather than skate to an even wider angle...that left a gaping short side hole that draper found.
the 3rd goal got thru him somehow even tho he went down to cover the bottom part of the net because he was screened by holmstrom.
so 2 of the 3 goals beat him low - which is supposedly his strong suit, since he goes down early to play the percentages, leaving him vulnerable up high.
all i can say is he better beat colorado, because calgary & edmonton will be even tougher games to win...and he'll be facing anders(s)on who I expect will be extra motivated playing in his hometown against his x-team.
it isn't inconceivable that the hawks & huet could lose their next 3 at home.
if that happens, things will get very interesting indeed.
THEY better beat Colorado and HE better have a good game
JJ
That butterfly style requires that the defense plays very well. If they don't pressure the shooter, then the shooter can score from goal line to goal line- a full 180 degrees. That's a lot of ground to cover, and overall the hawks D is not that fleet of foot. Look at Draper last night. He knows where to shoot. That can be said for a lot of butterfly guys. But somehow they cover more of the net. They just seem to stop the ones that their teams expect them to stop much more often. If Huet is strong down low, then why do so many pucks go underneath him? Or right through him? Other guys seem to either have better sight or work harder to get a view of what's coming. And they certainly anticipate better. I know Khabbibulin did. This figures to be an exciting year, but the biggest show killer I have ever seen is Huet. And I said that when he was in the playoffs with Washington. I couldn't believe he was signed here. Ruined my summer last year. But I just love his "which way did it go" look after some goals. There are always going to be fluke goals. Just stop the shots he's expected to stop, no so many surprises, and I'll shut up.
JJ-
I respect your opinion, but honestly.....we can't keep turning a blind eye to the fact that Huet lets in weak goals ALL THE TIME. It seems like every game he lets in some BS, weak goal that derails this team.
Barker was chasing on the 3rd goal, but how many times are we going to keep on watching this horror show? Huet down, getting beat short side?
Ray Emery is horrible. That's why I don't get the Flyer love. He is THAT bad.
Marc Andre-Fleury has won a cup, but doesn't let in these weak goals all the time.
At some point, if this continues, and the hawks keep giving away points.....you have to start looking at other options. With how competitive it is to get into the playoffs, you can't be giftwrapping games early on.
Hey Steve, Emery is not half as bad as you say he is. Every team has a weird game like last night in Philly. Who would expect Coburn in an attempt to fire it behind the net and around the boards instead rifle it off a shocked Emery and into the net. Really weird game there last night. I would take Emery over Huet anyday. I have never thought of Huet as a starter and have predicted during the off season that he is the weak link and until a bonafide starter is acquired the Hawks are in trouble. Just maybe Niemi may be good enough to come to the rescue.
You think that Huet would have had some motivation to get off to a fast start after his luke warm first season in Chicago. So far he's been average at best. Consistency is missing from his game, and it's only going to keep the door open for a controversy until he gets in a groove, or Niemi takes over his job.
It'll be interesting to see what happens if he starts tomorrow night, and struggles. Do the fans start to let him hear it?
I'm not sold on Emery. The guy got kicked out of Ottawa for being bad, just wait until he starts to struggle in Philly. They have high expectations this year as well.
Time for the Hawks to start taking advantage of the home schedule.
& not so much that he was "bad" in a goaltending sense.
He was their #1 goalie in the finals before turning 25, but it was his continual off-ice problems that finally led to them buying out his contract just a year later - continually late for practices, fights with teammates, stopped 30 times by police while driving his Hummer, etc. he was constantly making news for the wrong reasons which affected his play in addition to becoming disruptive to the entire team.
if he has learned to stay out of trouble off the ice & focus on hockey, he has a great opportunity to redeem himself with an otherwise very good flyers team.
This team is still light years from coming close to competing with the Wings for the division. Detroit doesn't play their best game and they still find a way to kick our ass. Osgood steals one for them tonight. Does anyone ever see Huet stealing a game for the Hawks?
The Hawks will muddle through the first half of the year around .500 waiting for Hossa to return but it will be to little to late. No goalie, our second line center is the second coming of Eric Daze II, our entire 4th line from last year on the IR and no cap room to solve any of these issues.
Respectfully disagree JebJeb. The Hawks outplayed Detroit and they know it. A message was sent regardless. Huet was not terrible and I'm not a fan of his by any stretch. The Hawks will win the Division this year. They may not get out of the gate quickly but they'll be there in the end. My opinion only of course but I think they're quickness, defense and passing ability stack up w/ anyone.
I think the Hawks outplayed the Wings as well, and got plugged by a hot goalie on some good stops. But they did miss out on offensive chances. And I'm concerned that the theme of the Huet Hawks is going to be "Just. One. Bad. Goal". Neither of these flaws translate to a Cup.
That said, it's a long season, the Hawks are going to suffer some from the Euro trip and the squeezed schedule, but there is a whole lot to like about the team. Sure they need some more size, but they also need smarts and I'm confident the latter will come with experience.
I would love to see Brouwer bury a few of his chances. For someone who was a 30 goal scorer in AHL and in juniors he doesn't seem to have the touch in the big league.
I'm losing patience with Barker's defensive lapses. I like his potential but there comes a time when you have to learn from you mistakes and start to show some progress.
I thought we outplayed Detroit , Osgood and a few lucky bounces prevented us from coming away with at least a point.
He's had bad concussions before. Bolland's back has to be a worry too. That said, after watching that game, I still think the defense is the problem.
ONLY Brent Sopel made any effort to move Tomas Holmstrom out of the crease all night. Holmstrom (unmolested) screening Huet is how goal #3 for Detroit was scored. Period. Watch how Kronwall moves our guys out of the crease with cross checks all night and gets away with it. Our guys could too. But they don't. That is completely unacceptable.
Keith, Campbell and Barker (in that order) did not have good games.
No Huet was not great. He wasn't terrible. Yes, he got beaten high once while down in the butterfly. So did Fleury, Lundqvist, Emery and more. All of them tonight. It happens when goalies play that style. Lundqvist and Emery were absolutely brutal tonight.
Osgood was great tonight though. Hawks still outshooting everybody and getting lots of quality chances, which is good. Defensive lapses, bad.
There has to be ebnch guys who can skate up and down and answer the call if needed.
Tough break for Eager, as his bread & butter is playing in a way that make shim susceptible to concussions.