Amongst all speculation going into the free agency period, the question blatantly points towards who will replace?
While most of the discussion has revolved around the Dustin Byfuglien trade and Antti Niemi possibility, one thing hasn't been discussed.
Defense.
It is the part of the game that was the biggest piece to allowing the fewest shots during the regular season and the sole unacknowledged attribute to the Blackhawks offense.
The capability of the defense went unnoticed for the fact of all the names up front—understandably so when you have the names Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa—just to name a few.
While initially attributing the Hawks championship to their perseverance and ability to adapt, it always fell on the defense more than any other part of the team.
Niemi and Cristobal Huet played outstanding at times, but lets be real and ask ourselves how often were we in awe throughout the season with the goaltending?
Forwards—well, look at it this way. When the forwards wanted to score, the Hawks won.
While I'm not complaining with the 112 ...
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Article written by Kyle Wahlgren
For The Blackhawks: The D Will Be What’s Key Next Season
June 30th, 2010 by Kyle Wahlgren Leave a reply »
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