Former Hawks take on replacements tonight

Published: 20^th Jan 12 2:09 pm

Blake Schuster
Blake Schuster

RANT It!

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

When the Chicago Blackhawks (28-13-6) take the ice tonight at the United Center against the Florida Panthers (21-14-10), the spotlight won’t be on the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Stephen Weiss, and Tomas Fleischmann, but rather the secondary scoring, or in Florida’s case the primary scoring, of the two teams line-ups.

During the Blackhawks Stanley Cup run in 2010, Kris Versteeg, Tomas Kopecky, Brian Campbell, and John Madden, all of who are now members of the Panthers, provided a large piece of the backbone that allowed Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa & Co. to focus on their own game and contributions on the scoreboard.

In fact, the aforementioned secondary scorers posted a combined 126 points, on a team where prized players Toews, Kane, Sharp, and Hossa tallied a total of 273. Not bad for a fourth line center, second line winger, power play quarterback, and a power forward.

But tonight’s match-up will not revolve around how the former Hawks will match-up with their past teammates, rather it will be how the former Hawks replacements perform against their predecessors.

Nick Leddy, who has taken over as the Blackhawks signature puck-moving defenseman, has certainly been able to account for the loss of points that the Blackhawks gave up when they traded Brian Campbell, who was paired with Leddy for most of last season, to Florida over the summer.

Leddy’s points per game this season is at .49, slightly higher than Campbell’s .42 mark from last season, but Leddy’s production hasn’t come without cost, as the sophomore is a -3 on the season, where Campbell was +28 a year ago.

And while Kris Versteeg might have been the most important player lost during the salary cap purge after Chicago’s Cup victory, his rookie stand-in of late, Andrew Shaw, has not only excelled, but has quickly become a fan favorite.

With six points in his first eight NHL games, including a current four game goal-scoring streak, Shaw has not just provided a spark to the line-up, but has also taken pressure off general manager Stan Bowman’s, who had talked about trading for more depth up front.

Where Tomas Kopecky was once along side Dave Bolland another rookie, Jimmy Hayes, now occupies space. And again for Bowman, Hayes is the type of player both he, and coach Joel Quenneville, were looking to have step up on the checking line.

The Florida match-up not only provides a chance for the Hawks pick up two points against a middle of the road opponent, it’s a litmus test to see if and how Chicago has moved past it’s off-season woes and found the right tools to replace the ones that produced a championship.