By Gordon Bombay



Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz died on Wednesday of cancer at the age of 77.  I want to first take an opportunity to address the good things that he did for hockey out of respect for him and his family.  Wirtz did have a passion for the game and was a part of the Blackhawks for over 40 years.  He played a big part of merging the NHL and the World Hockey Association.  Wirtz also owned a distributing company that sold about 1/3 of all liquor in Illinois and co-owned the United Center.  On a more personal note, I was talking with a friend the other day who is still a die-hard Hawks fan (he still wears his Hawks hat everyday up here in Michigan) about Wirtz's death and he had an interesting story.  He mentioned that his father had gone to a game once, got all drunk and somehow found Wirtz's skybox.  Him and his buddies asked the security guard if they can go in and surprisingly Wirtz let them come in, took pictures with them, and gave them food and drinks.  

Now, for those of you who are not aware, Wirtz was most notably known for being very stubborn and a cheap bastard, causing the loss of many die-hard Hawks fans.  Here are a few things he has accomplished:

1.    Refused to televise Blackhawk's home games, in fact he once said "home games on TV weren't fair to fans who actually went to the games".....are you kidding me?
2.    Responsible for the loss of some players you might have heard of:  Bobby Hull, Phil Esposito, Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour, and Dominik Hasek
3.    Chicago Blackhawks being named the worst franchise in sports in 2004 by ESPN
4.    ESPN rating Wirtz as the third greediest owner in all of sports

Blackhawks Preview

As for our Hawks, well, I think we have a lot of potential.  I am going to be very optimistic about this season and say our young guys will pull through.  Jonathan Toews, Jack Skille and Patrick Kane are going to be solid NHL players.  Pat Kane is getting his 10 game tryout and has been hitting the weights.  I would like to see him get experience this year with the pros.  These guys will be key to the future of the Hawks and now with a new owner, hopefully we can keep some decent hockey players for a while.  

As for the defense, Keith, Seabrook, Barker, and Wisniewski got a lot of playing time last year being young.  These guys are going to be more reliable for Khabibulin and I only think last year made them more mature.  The Hawks picked up Andrei Zyuzin in the Aucoin trade.  I personally don't know much about Zyuzin but from looking at his stats with Calgary, I'm not too impressed, we'll see what happens.

The Hawk's go-to guy this year is Martin Havlat.  The chances I did get to see games live at the United Center gave me the opportunity to be awe-inspired by his presence on the ice.  Not since the Amonte and Roenick days have I been so excited to see a guy play.  He is such a great skater and a dominant force.  Hopefully we get to see him all-season, healthy!  The Hawks picked up all-star Yanic Perreault, along with Robert Lang from the Wings and Kevyn Adams.  I like the addition of Perreault, another offensive weapon but I do question the trading of our second-leading scorer last season (Vrbata) for Adams.  Sergei Samsonov was another addition to the Hawks from the Cullimore trade; hopefully we could see more of his old-self, putting up 50-70 pts this year.  Veteran addition Robert Lang is getting old and took a lot of stupid penalties with the Wings last year but it looks like he will be the first line center.

I'm sure most of you remember Nikolai Khabibulin's time with Tampa Bay, superb goaltending in the playoffs to say the least.  As long as he stays healthy and our defense improves, I think Khabibulin will have what he needs to be great once again.  This guy is talented, last year he did have a 2.86 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.  Which isn't too bad considering his young defense last year, and having to block nearly 30 shots on average every game.

Here is a list of some big names that changed teams in the off-season:

Scott Gomez and Chris Drury both go to the New York Rangers
Brian Rafalski to the Detroit Red Wings from the New Jersey Devils
Yanic Perreault from the Toronto Maple Leafs to our Hawks
Daniel Briere from the Buffalo Sabres to the Philadelphia Flyers
Ryan Smyth from the New York Islanders to the Colorado Avalanche
Darryl Sydor from the Dallas Stars to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Todd Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings to the Anaheim Ducks
Ladislav Nagy from the Dallas Stars to the Los Angeles Kings
Robert Lang from the Detroit Red Wings to our Hawks
Bill Guerin from the San Jose Sharks to the New York Islanders
Our old friend Jocelyn Thibault went from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Buffalo Sabres
Michael Peca from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Columbus Blue Jackets
Another old friend Jeremy Roenick went from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Sharks
Tomas Vokoun from the Nashville Predators to the Florida Panthers


Call me crazy, but here are my predictions for the 2007-2008 NHL Season:


EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC
1.    NY Rangers
2.    New Jersey
3.    Pittsburgh
4.    NY Islanders
5.    Philadelphia
NORTHEAST
1.    Ottawa
2.    Toronto
3.    Buffalo
4.    Montreal
5.    Boston
SOUTHEAST
1.    Carolina
2.    Tampa Bay
3.    Washington
4.    Florida
5.    Atlanta

WESTERN CONFERENCE

CENTRAL
1.    Detroit
2.    Chicago (I'm optimistic)
3.    St. Louis
4.    Nashville
5.    Columbus

NORTHWEST
1.    Minnesota
2.    Calgary
3.    Colorado
4.    Vancouver
5.    Edmonton

PACIFIC
1.    Anaheim
2.    San Jose
3.    Dallas
4.    Los Angeles
5.    Phoenix
PLAYOFFS (in random order):
-Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Calgary, Colorado, Vancouver, Anaheim, San Jose
-NY Rangers, New Jersey, Ottawa, Toronto, Buffalo, Carolina, Tampa Bay

STANLEY CUP
-Ottawa vs. Detroit

LORD STANLEY'S VICTOR
-Ottawa

Off-the-wall predications:
-By 2010 the Blackhawks will make the playoffs (even though I have them in this year)
-By 2013 Chicago will hoist the Stanley Cup


By Gordon Bombay

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Also on the Network: √ Can You Fill Four Holes In The Rotation Through Waivers? [Depressed Fan] √ Shea Stadium From Loge13: August 6, 2008 [Loge 13] √ FreddieLoo [El Lefty Malo] √ How Much Is Iguodala Worth? [Depressed Fan] √ Jets Season Begins in Cleveland [Green Pinstripes] √ Phil Is On His Way [Depressed Fan] √ The Clash At Shea Stadium [Loge 13] √ As the Bullpen Turns [C70 At The Bat]

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