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Dan Carcillo Is A Completely Unnecessary Addition for Chicago Blackhawks

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By @seansarcu

Dan Carcillo Chicago Blackhawks

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One talentless enforcer out, another one in. With Brandon Mashinter‘s injury likely to hold him out of action for a while, the Chicago Blackhawks decided that an equally mediocre player absolutely had to be signed to fill the “void” left behind. The result was a league-minimum deal struck with Dan Carcillo, whose previous tenure in Chicago was entirely undistinguished sans a moment where he remarkably managed to both tear his ACL and get suspended for 7 games on a single play.

Carcillo, of course, isn’t really the problem here; he’s simply a fringe NHL player who would have readily accepted a one-way contract from any team. The issue at hand is Joel Quenneville‘s (and seemingly Stan Bowman‘s) apparent obsession with wasting a roster spot every year on someone who doesn’t contribute meaningfully at all to wins and losses. For the past several seasons, that spot was occupied by Brandon Bollig, whose trade last June occurred mere months after a three-year contract extension and was almost unilaterally celebrated by Blackhawks fans. Before Bollig, John Scott — probably the league’s worst player, and an awful fit for Chicago’s system — held the reins.

Players like Bollig, Carcillo and Scott aren’t deterrents. The St. Louis Blues always play Chicago extremely physically regardless of whether or not Quenneville’s 12th forward is a functionless enforcer or a player with actual ability. Bollig’s handful of minutes per game in last year’s playoff series against the Blues did nothing to stop Barret Jackman from taking every cheap shot possible against Patrick Kane, something Jackman has brazenly done since Kane’s rookie season. Chicago’s star manages himself just fine, and typically chooses to get back at Jackman by taking advantage of something the St. Louis defenseman doesn’t do very well: actually defend. Chicago’s stars are grown men, and the NHL in 2014 is very different from what it was 30 years ago. Fighting and general “goonery” are way down, and star players are fully capable of taking care of themselves.

Carcillo probably won’t play all 82 games, but he’ll take part in plenty more than he should. Jeremy Morin, who has been an NHL-level player for several years now and more than earned a roster spot at the end of last season, will be the one shunted aside in favor of Carcillo. Morin is a superior hockey player in every facet, but Quenneville’s stubbornness and past-centric mindset will ultimately rule the day.

One would think that of all teams, it would be the Blackhawks that understand the irrelevance of the enforcer in today’s game. Chicago’s immense skill level is what wins it games, and the only team measurably better at holding onto the puck is the defending champion Los Angeles Kings. Unfortunately for Chicago, however, it appears that its coach and general manager are still mentally locked in a hockey era that ended long ago.

Sean Sarcu is a Chicago Blackhawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.

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