-With the Ilya Kovalchuk saga finally coming to an end, the long and nerve-racking process involving Chicago Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa ended as well.

Word had leaked on Wednesday afternoon that the NHL had issued an ultimatum in the Kovalchuk situation. If the Players’ Association didn’t agree to certain conditions, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, then not only would Kovalchuk’s latest 15 year contract offer have been rejected, but Roberto Luongo and Hossa’s contracts would have been voided as well.

Fortunately for all involved, the PA conceded to the requests of the league, and Ilya’s contract was approved.

If the NHL had gone the route of voiding Hossa’s deal, especially after it had already been in effect for a full season, the legal hassle that would have resulted would have been the biggest legal battle within a sport since the Curt Flood decision paved the way for free agency in baseball. Hossa and the Blackhawks would inevitably have sued the league, and in most folks’ opinions, the Hawks would’ve had a very strong case.

In any case, the potential issue never came to pass, and Hossa can rest comfortably in the knowledge that he will be a Blackhawk for the next 11 seasons.

-Antti Niemi finally has a home.

After a ton of deliberation and even flirtations with joining the KHL next season, Niemi signed a one year, $2 million contract with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. The number was about $750,000 less than the number the arbitrator gave to the Hawks back in July, and it will be a pay-hike of a little over a million dollars for the 27 year old Finnish import.

"Mossa" Is Safe in the Windy City

The Blackhawks elected not to bring back Niemi after a summer of contentious contract negotiations, and a reported request for $4 million at his arbitration hearing with Chicago. When the arbitrator handed down his decision, it took the Hawks less than a day to decide that they would not be bringing back the Stanley Cup goaltender.

Prevalent after the signing was the conspiracy theory that the Sharks had intended to snag Niemi from the Blackhawks all summer. The onus for this theory was the offer sheet that the Sharks gave Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, which forced the Hawks into matching it to prevent a huge blow to their defensive corps. The move limited the Hawks’ cap space, and according to the conspiracy, it prevented them from signing Niemi, giving San Jose an opportunity to hurt their Western Conference rival.

Of course, the speculation that the Sharks gave Hjalmarsson an offer sheet to snag Niemi from the Blackhawks is pretty absurd. There is no way that the Sharks would have stuck their necks out on the line if they didn’t want to take a real run at Hjalmarsson. The addition of Niemi was a move discussed quite a bit within the organization, and it gives them a tremendous one year insurance policy in case Antero Niittymaki falters.

Stan Bowman certainly subscribes to the theory that the defense of the team has the potential to make or break a goalie, and in the case of Niemi vs. Hjalmarsson, he certainly chose strengthening the defense over putting his eggs in the basket of a guy who has one year of NHL experience.

It was a smart move by Bowman to bring back Hjalmarsson, and he made a very savvy move in bringing in Marty Turco to be the goalie for the team. He is a comparable goalie to Niemi, and a financially solid option in the crease. His genuine enthusiasm to join the Hawks is a pleasant bonus as well.

-Finally, as many of you already know, the Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews is appearing on the cover of NHL 11, following in Patrick Kane’s footstep as cover-boys of the signature NHL video game series.

While the game doesn’t come out til later in the month, the Hawks are appearing in ads promoting the game. Here is Duncan Keith’s ad:

The captain also got into the act with an ad of his own, battling with Kane to determine which team is superior: Team Kane or Team Toews? Here’s a video of the battle.

Co-conspirator Christopher Ralph

“I’m really excited, I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a new chapter in my life,” Fernando Pisani told The Edmonton Sun after signing a one-year, one-way deal with the Chicago Blackhawks for $500,000. “I’m ecstatic. We’d been talking for the last week or so and it just kind of came about today. I’m happy to be part of the Hawks organization.”

On what he feels he’ll bring to the defending Cup champs: “They like the fact I’m a versatile player and can play in different roles.”

On his health issues (among which have been a broken ankle and ulcerative colitis): “Health-wise I feel great, everything is good. I’m raring to go,” he said, adding his colitis history might have scared away some suitors. “I think that was an obstacle. There’s obviously a little bit of leeriness when it comes to that, people think I’m still sick and all that, but I just have to keep reminding them that I’m healthy, everything is good and I feel great.”

- Stick tap to Chris Nichols – Sportsnet

Marci Di Michele of The Hockey Writers reports on the latest Bowman signing – Fernando Pisani for the league minimum of $500,000 per year for 1 year.

“His most memorable season came in the 2005-06 season, the year the Oilers went to the Stanley Cup finals. He scored a career high 18 goals and 37 points in 80 games and 14 goals in 24 playoff games helping fuel the Oilers to game 7 of the finals. It was his shorthanded goal in overtime of game 5 of the finals that kept Edmonton’s cup hopes alive, as they ended up just one win shy of a Stanley Cup victory. Pisani scored 5 game winners in that Cinderella playoff run, further cementing his place in the Oilers line-up. He had a successful season the following year, putting up 28 points, but that would be the pinnacle of his Oiler career.

Before the start of the 2007-08 season, Pisani was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, causing him to miss 26 games that year.”

Fernando Pisani’s Game 5 OT Winner (Oilers Cup run in 2006)

A pretty safe gamble here by GM Bowman as the veteran forward, if healthy, can be one of the league’s most effective penalty killers. It also gives more of a veteran presence on the fourth line, with some potential offensive contribution.

*Follow Paint It Blackhawks on Twitter for all the latest and greatest Blackhawks news. (Twitter)

I honestly cannot believe I’m about to allow Larry Brooks to occupy space on this website, but his recent article at the NY Post has spurred me (self proclaimed Hockey Vigilante) to do just that:

Bettman under Article 26 would then be in position to levy debilitating penalties including fines up to $5 million; forfeiture of an unspecified number of draft picks; and, and this is the kicker as applies to the Blackhawks, “a forfeiture of any NHL Game(s) determined to have been affected by a Circumvention.”

Hossa was in the lineup for 22 playoff games last spring. Presumably his presence affected the outcome of at least some Chicago victories. If the NHL is consistent and does move to prosecute the Blackhawks and Hossa, Bettman could vacate the title as if his league were the NCAA dealing with Reggie Bush and USC.

Article 26 grants supreme power to the commissioner. The Blackhawks should enjoy the Cup while they can.

larry.brooks@nypost.com

A Calgary Puck member (TextCritic) actually helped put things in a more realistic perspective for this writer:

First, the NHL has always had problems with the “diveback”, as evinced by the investigations opened into the Lungo and Hossa deals after they were signed and approved. Second, it was revealed in the arbiter’s report that these investigations are ongoing. While the League may have approved the contracts, it would seem that registration was conditional to the results of this ongoing investigation. Third, the League is within its rights to investigate and revoke a contract after it has been registered, and this has been written into the CBA.

I would suggest that the decision to register the aforementioned deals resulted from the recognition that such deals were more likely to have received the approval from an arbiter, which in turn would have potentially opened the door for the Kovalchuk deal and others like it. The League was more likely waiting for the right opportunity to challenge the problem of the diveback, and the Kovalchuk has provided that. Now that a precedent has been set, there is more ammunition available to address the problem of the Hossa and Luongo contracts, which remain under investigation.

Follow Paint It Blackhawks on Twitter for all the latest updates on this and other Blackhawks breaking news and analysis.

As Chicago Breaking Sports reported:

Veteran defenseman Chris Chelios has apparently decided to hang up his skates and join the Detroit Red Wings front office.

According to a report on Fox Sports Detroit, the 48-year-old revealed his plans after singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during a Cubs home game.

The station also quotes Red Wings general manager Ken Holland as confirming the move, but without a specific role.
Chelios played in a record-tying 26th NHL season last year, a brief seven-game stint with the Atlanta Thrashers where he failed to record a point. He tied Gordie Howe’s original mark, first set when he played from 1945-71 and 1979-80.

Here another look at Chelios’ tribute to Probert, singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”

Kuklas Korner highlights his time in Chi-town:

Chelios had one more season in Montreal before being traded to Chicago in a blockbuster deal where he and Montreal`s 1991 second round pick (Michael Pomichter) were moved for Denis Savard.

Chelios was now home in Chicago.  His first season with the Hawks put him on the NHL`s Second Team All Star and earned him a spot in the 1991 Canada Cup.  USA finished second in the tournament, losing to Canada in the finals and Chelios made the tournament All Star Team.  1993 saw Chelios win his second Norris Trophy and earn his second First Team All Star berth.  In the 1994 lockout, Chelios played three games in Switzerland for EHC Biel-Bienne before returning to North America.  The 1994/95 season was abbreviated to 48 games, but it was long enough for Chelios to make the First Team All Star again.  The following year was his third Norris Trophy season and fourth First All Star Team nomination.  When the 1996 World Cup of Hockey was played, Chelios was one of the key players in the American victory and he made the tournament All Star Team.  His 1996/97 season earned Chelios another Second Team All Star berth.  Chelios continued to represent America in international tournaments when NHL players were allowed into the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.  The US team finished a disappointing sixth.  At the 1999 trade deadline, Chelios`s days in Chicago came to an end.  A rebuilding Hawks team traded him to Detroit for Anders Eriksson and first round draft picks in 1999 (Chicago picked Steve McCarthy) and 2001 (Chicago picked Adam Munro).

Unfortunately for the Norris Trophy, Chelios wasn’t always smooth:

Robert Novak of Blackhawks Flock sums it up nicely:

As much as he is affiliated with the Red Wings and is now working for the Red Wings in player development and being an ambassador for them, I’d like to see the Blackhawks honor him in some way. Whether it be retiring his number, giving a day to celebrate his career, just something to honor him. He’s a local boy, he helped lead the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup final in 1992, he was the captain of the Blackhawks from 1995-1999, and he is no doubt a Hall of Famer and he deserves to be honored.

One final video to end off PIB’s tribute to Chelios:

Co-conspirator Christopher Ralph

“The players that aren’t with us any more, we’ll always have that championship together. We’ll always walk together as Stanley Cup champions. [Niemi] was a big part of it, clearly, but we’re on to the next thing.”

- Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman

GM Stan Bowman, displaying the intensity of father Scotty, has once again made the best of a tumultuous situation.

When it was announce that Niemi was awarded, $2.75 million per season in arbitration, I really thought the word awarded should be used very loosely. That award has turned into no contract at all and, of course, we now know Niemi will not be back between the pipes for the defending champs.

On a postive note, how can you not love the Blackhawks nabbing a goalie coming from the same hometown as the legendary Tony-O?

Enter Marty Turco: As the Blackhawks perform the goalie shuffle, and it could easily be argued the ‘Hawks are better off in goal. The veteran netminder’s puckhandling ability is well known and adds another dimension to the Blackhawks. More than just a product of his stats, Marty had a respectable .913 save percentage and 4 shutouts on a less than stellar 2009-10 Dallas Stars squad.

With a one year $1.3 million contract, Turco and the Blackhawks are seemingly a match made in heaven. This will give Turco a chance to showcase he has plenty left in the tank. Even with the now eight Cup roster players now departed, the Blackhawks still possess an impressive roster.

Turco’s response after the signing announced:

“I’m more than excited to help Chicago do what they want to do, which is [defend] the Stanley Cup. It’s been almost a dream come true to play for an Original Six team, especially one with [the number of] Tony Esposito, who’s from my hometown [Saul Ste. Marie, Ontario], up in the rafters. It’s an amazing day for my family and me to become a Blackhawk.”

TSN’s Scott Cullen notes:

Going to Chicago does present Turco with a good opportunity to be successful.

First off, the cap-crunched Blackhawks are likely going to need to put Cristobal Huet in the minors, which could leave unproven Corey Crawford to handle the backup role and that would figure to give Turco the bulk of the starts.  Should Turco falter, Crawford does become an intriguing sleeper candidate.

Secondly, Turco was facing 31.8 shots per 60 minutes while with the Stars last season, while the Blackhawks surrendered 24.7 shots per 60 minutes in 2009-2010.

I see Turco as brilliant fantasy netminder for the coming season.

Mirtle breaks down the price of success nicely and the work still left to be done with regards to Huet. His take on Turco:

His (Turco’s) career save percentage in the postseason, however, is a solid .914 – better than the .910 mark Niemi posted last season in Chicago’s run to the Cup.

Compared to Niemi, Turco is a relative greybeard – he turns 35 next week – but expects to play at least another five years at a competitive level. Behind a Blackhawks defence that allowed the fewest shots in the league (six fewer per game than Dallas) last season, he could rediscover the form that made him a three-time all-star (2003, 2004 and 2007).

Chris Kuc of Chicago Breaking Sports adds to the statistical analysis:

Turco had a better even-strength save percentage last season (.926 to .914) and had a .900-plus save percentage in 34-of-53 games (64 percent), compared to Niemi’s 20-of-37 games (54 percent).

Second City Hockey has a fantastic take on the Blackhawks goalie remodeling:

Turco’s always been a fantastic dressing room guy, and is the exact opposite of Niemi when it comes to off-ice demeanor. He’s outgoing, gregarious, and articulate. So while Niemi may have been a favorite of his teammates, I have little doubt that Turco will be able to ingratiate himself quickly with his new mates, provided he performs. And based on the fact that he’s taking a one-year discounted deal shows that he’s willing to bet on himself to use this as a stepping stone to one last multi-year deal (despite the depreciated rate for goalies this off-season), and should be highly motivated.

Next up on the docket for Bowman is, of course, finally hammering out what will happen to former GM Dale Tallon’s trojan horse gift, Cristobal Huet, who is in all likelihood about to become one of the richest players in the AHL.

Where will Niemi now end up?

Atlanta, Montreal, NY Islanders and San Jose seem like the best bets.

Do you miss Niemi already, along with all the other recently departed Blackhawks. Re-live great Cup moments and enter PIB’s contest where you can win a free Cup Champions DVD!

*Follow Paint It Blackhawks on Twitter for all the latest and greatest Blackhawks news. (Twitter)

Welcome to the Convention (Laura Neveau/PIB)

The Guest of Honor (Laura Neveau/PIB)

Corneilson Singing the Anthem (Laura Neveau/PIB)

Denis Savard (Laura Neveau/PIB)

Patrick Sharp (Laura Neveau/PIB)

Jonathan Toews (Laura Neveau/PIB)

Patrick Kane (Laura Neveau/PIB)

Most of these pictures came from the Opening Ceremonies this afternoon at the Chicago Hilton & Towers. The Stanley Cup was obviously front and center for most of the evening, and all of the alumni and current players seemed thrilled to be in the same room again with the hardware.

One of the more noteworthy occurrences of the evening was the unique celebration of Patrick Kane’s Stanley Cup winning goal. Not only did the Blackhawks record Pat Foley “calling” the goal that he rightfully should have after 28 years in the broadcast booth, but they also brought in a red lamp to light, since the goal judge in Philadelphia never lit it after the fateful goal was scored.

Day 2 of the Convention will provide a ton of material in the way of Q-and-A sessions and more interactive opportunities, and Paint it Blackhawks will continue to provide pictures and coverage from the event.

And now, how Jim Neveau nearly got kicked out of Blackhawks Convention

If you’ve ever seen the forgettable film “Anger Management” with Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson, there is a scene at the beginning of the movie that perfectly captured the scene that occurred outside the Grand Ballroom this afternoon at the Hilton.

In the beginning of the movie, Sandler’s character is on a plane, and he gets into a confrontation with an air marshal while flying. He remains calm during the ensuing exchange, but the marshal insists that Sandler needs to calm down. At the end of the conversation, Adam gets tazed, and he is sentenced to undergo anger management.

I had a similar thing happen to me today outside of the Ballroom. People had been waiting inside for a good solid two hours for the opening ceremony to start, and after a couple of alcoholic beverages, I had to use the facilities. After obtaining clearance from a blue-shirted Hilton employee named Marco, a second assurance from another employee, and finally getting permission from a third at the bottom of the stairs, I made my way to the bathroom without incident.

When I returned to the Ballroom entrance, however, a bald suit-wearing security guard (who looked suspiciously like the air marshal mentioned in the movie reference above) said that I could not get back into the Ballroom. After telling him several times about all of the employees who had assured me that I could get back in, he still would not budge and let me back in to the room. He instead told me to go find his boss, but that he had no idea where he was.

After arguing for a few more seconds, the guard took a step toward me and told me to go downstairs, or he’d have to

Long story short, his description of a short, balding white man in a suit proved fairly difficult to narrow down, but I did end up finding his boss and discussing the situation with him. After showing him pictures on my cell phone that proved that I had been inside, he let me in, but not before admonishing the other guard who had given me the hassle about how “we can’t let anyone else leave the room and come back. PERIOD!” It was a rare moment of satisfaction over an authority figure, and it was one that I shall certainly never forget.

Author’s Note: Several changes have taken place within this text. The author incorrectly believed that healthy scratches did not count against the salary cap (they do), and therefore his original roster only had 20 players. The new roster will have 21 players on it, and has the potential to be 22 if the Niemi arbitration case gives him a cheaper than anticipated salary.

Thank you for all of the reader feedback on this piece.

With all of the roster hemorrhaging that has occurred during the 2010 off-season, many Blackhawks fans are going to have to get to know quite a few new faces this season. Players like Jake Dowell, Bryan Bickell, and Jack Skille are all going to get serious shots at making the Opening Day roster for the Hawks, and with their cheap cap hits and youthful enthusiasm, they will provide a cheap spark to a team in desperate need of good news.

It has been an eventful off-season in the roster move category for Stan Bowman, but there is still one loose end that needs to be tied up: the Antti Niemi situation. With the Finnish goaltender’s arbitration hearing scheduled for this coming Thursday, the challenge of getting him signed to a new contract has been a hot button issue for Hawks fans and team observers. If the team were to lose Mr. Niemi, most fans would likely hurtle over a precipice of despair over the continued loss of players they know. If they are able to keep him, it would serve as a morphine drip for fans, easing the pain of losing so many players.

The question of how they would keep Niemi is a complicated one. Chicago currently is $403,000 over the salary cap, and they only have 17 players under contract at this moment. That means that, in addition to Niemi, the Hawks need to get at least one more forward and one more defenseman under contract. Doing all of this while shedding enough salary to make it under the $59.4 million salary cap is going to be a challenge for Stan Bowman, but using Cap Geek’s handy dandy salary cap calculator, it is possible to get a couple more players under contract AND keep Niemi in the fold.

Goaltending

The first step in keeping Niemi will be to get rid of the contract of Cristobal Huet. It is a $5.625 million millstone around the necks of the Blackhawks, and sending him down to Rockford would give the team a great deal of cap space to use to bring back their Cup winning goalie. The team could also move him to Europe instead of burying him in the minors, but needless to say, getting rid of Huet holds the key to any of the rest of these moves being possible.

Since we just got rid of Huet, we will need a back-up goalie to have on the roster behind Niemi. While Hannu Toivonen wouldn’t be a bad option at the back-up goalie slot, the Hawks are likely leaning toward bringing long-time farmhand Corey Crawford into the fold instead. His $800,000 cap hit is not hideous for a back-up keeper, and he is definitely more NHL ready than Toivonen.

Defense

Currently on Cap Geek, John Scott is listed on the blue line for the Blackhawks. While his $512,000 cap hit would be perfect for Chicago’s purposes, he isn’t who we had in mind for the Hawks’ roster. Instead, in our simulation we have Jordan Hendry re-signed for a cap hit around $900,000 (don’t be surprised if it ends up being lower than this), and we put Ivan Vishnevskiy in Scott’s place. This move serves two purposes:

1. It gives the Hawks a solid puck mover on their third line, something that most teams don’t have the luxury of possessing.

2. By bringing in his $822,000 cap hit, Chicago will give themselves a little bit of flexibility if they encounter any injuries to some of the cheaper players they would have on the roster. They could ship Vishnevskiy down to the minors and bring Scott up, saving about $300,000 off the cap.

With Vishnevskiy and Hendry in the fold, the defensive corps will look something like this:

Line 1: Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook

Line 2: Brian Campbell – Niklas Hjalmarsson

Line 3: Jordan Hendry – Ivan Vishnevskiy

Offense

Another difference of opinion that we have with Cap Geek is the presence of Viktor Stalberg on the roster. Yes, he has been a highly touted prospect for some time, and he may very well win a job coming out of training camp, but there is one key element working against him: his $850,000 base salary and $65,000 bonus that he would be due. Neither one of these numbers look good for a guy who would likely be a third or fourth line winger for the Hawks, so they probably will send him down to the minors to marinate a little bit longer.

Taking Stalberg off the roster would leave the Hawks with 10 forwards. This number will likely fall to nine, as the Hawks would probably trade Tomas Kopecky in order to fit in Niemi’s salary,  so they would need to select three more players out of their minor league system to flesh out the roster. For the sake of this simulation, the three players we have chosen for the Hawks are Igor Makarov, Rob Klinkhammer, and Marcus Kruger.

All three players recently signed low cap-hit contracts with the Blackhawks, and the common belief is that they did this in order to maximize their chances of playing in the NHL this season. They are all expected to have excellent chances of making the roster, and in our minds, they will be the players chosen not only because of their potential to help out the fourth line, but those cap hits will be very attractive as well.

In this scenario, here is how PIB sees the lines breaking down:

Line 1: Troy Brouwer – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane

Line 2: Jack Skille – Patrick Sharp – Marian Hossa

Line 3: Bryan Bickell – Dave Bolland – Marcus Kruger

Line 4: Rob Klinkhammer – Jake Dowell – Igor Makarov

With these salaries lined up, the Hawks would be able to carry a 21st player on the roster, and for the sake of this simulation, this player would be center Jeff Taffe, who carries a $550,000 cap hit.

And the Final Cap Figures Are………

With the rosters as we have set them up here, the Blackhawks will have approximately$56, 534,924 worth of cap hit with 20 players signed. If no other moves are made, that leaves them with $3,167,576 worth of cap space with which to sign Antti Niemi. It may not be enough to do the job in terms of getting Niemi signed to a longer term deal, but it might be enough to convince him to sign a one year contract with the Blackhawks.

If for whatever reason the Hawks feel like they would need a little bit more money to sign him, they could also bring up Shawn Lalonde instead of Ivan Vishnevskiy, saving them nearly $300,000. That savings would give Niemi a very respectable $3.4 million cap hit, and would likely be enough to bring him into the fold long term.

Of course, this could all be for naught, as the arbitrator might decide that Niemi only has earned a contract of around $2.8 million. In that case, the Hawks could possibly maneuver the roster to be able to carry a 22nd player (likely another defenseman like John Scott), or a higher cost 21st player (like Stalberg or Jeremy Morin). It is also feasible that a $2.8 million contract could enable the Hawks to keep Tomas Kopecky, albeit only if they bring up a cheaper player like Evan Brophey to replace Marcus Kruger.

If this exercise has taught us anything, it is that the process of keeping Niemi will be a difficult trick for Stan Bowman to perform, but it is doable if he makes certain roster decisions. Keeping Antti will be a tight squeeze no matter how you slice it, but with the right moves, and a little bit of cap creativity, the probability of the Finnish Fortress patrolling the crease for Chicago is a little more likely than some would have you believe.

Author’s Note: Be sure to enter our contest to win a free copy of the Blackhawks Stanley Cup Championship DVD. Click here for details.

Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Stan Bowman is still wheeling and dealing to get his roster together under the salary cap, and he was busy again on Thursday. He signed Evan Brophey to a two-way contract (he can still be sent down to Rockford without having to clear waivers), and he also dealt Marty Reasoner to the Florida Panthers in exchange for center Jeff Taffe. The move saved the Hawks about $600,000 in cap space, when you factor in bringing up a minimum-salary guy to replace the veteran Reasoner.

Neither one of these moves are particularly Earth-shattering, but when you consider the money they saved in the Reasoner deal, it just gives Bowman a little bit more financial ammunition to bring back goaltender Antti Niemi, who is six days away from an arbitration hearing that could see him wrested away from the Hawks if the arbiter sets his pay-rate too high.

For more information on that story, you can check out Jesse Rogers’ blog on ESPNChicago.com. For now, here are some factoids about the Hawks’ Thursday acquisitions.

Jeff Taffe is a 29 year-old center who has played with four different teams in an NHL career that began back in the 2002-03 season with the Phoenix Coyotes. Originally drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 2000 Entry Draft, Taffe has 44 career points (21 G, 23 A) in 174 NHL games.

Last season, Taffe spent most of the season with the Rochester Americans of the AHL, scoring 28 goals and adding 28 assists in 61 games. He did play 21 games with the Florida Panthers last year, picking up a goal and an assist during his tenure with the team.

He probably isn’t going to be on the active roster for the Hawks to start the season, but with a $550,000 contract, he certainly would fit into the picture cap-wise if he earns a spot coming out of training camp.

Evan Brophey is a 23-year old center, who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks back in the 2005 Entry Draft. The Hawks signed him to a one year, $500,000 deal, and with a solid training camp, it isn’t a stretch to see him making the opening night roster.

Brophey scored 14 goals and dished out 17 assists last season with the IceHogs, and his role would likely be similar to that of former Hawks C Colin Fraser, where he would play on the fourth line and be in the game for defensive purposes. He has the perfect body type for that role (6-foot-1, 205 pounds), and with his cheap cap hit, he’s an ideal fit for the squad.

Co-conspirator Christopher Ralph

“Shots From The Slot” (SFTS) scans Hawks hockey cyberspace for all the latest and greatest articles.

• ChiCity Sports has a great web site featuring all sports from the Windy City. Paint It Blackhawks will soon be listed as the official blog for the Hawks and we now have them amongst our “Preferred Destinations”. I would like to highlight the fantastic Blackhawks fan forum.
• If you haven’t already, check out and enter Paint It Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champions DVD giveaway contest! (PIB)

There are so many gems over at Puck Daddy via Yahoo Sports, they are getting lots of PIB love today!

• One of the 5 most painful arbitration cases – Don’t we know it! Antti Niemi(notes), G, Chicago Blackhawks (Puck Daddy)

Finally, this conundrum. We’ve written before about Niemi and the puzzle the Blackhawks have to solve about his value, based on such a small sample in the regular season. But the real issue is, of course, that the Blackhawks remain in a cap crisis. From ESPN Chicago:

Currently, the Hawks have little salary-cap space to afford the raise Niemi is due from his $800,000 salary of last season, when he helped lead the Hawks to the Stanley Cup title.

“I’m a bit at their mercy trying to find creative solutions to a problem I have no control over,” Niemi’s agent, Bill Zito, said on Wednesday.

Prediction: They still end up signing him before the case goes to arbitration, or they win a one-year deal to their liking.

• Stargazing: Could Turco find his way to Chicago? Maybe so, if the arbitrator’s award for Niemi is not to Bowman’s liking. (Defending Big D)

Highlight:

Mr. Stepneski of ADSP discusses the possibility:

If Chicago isn’t happy with an arbitration ruling on Niemi – say in excess of $3.5 million – would the cap-crunched Hawks walk away and make a pitch to UFA Marty Turco for a couple mil and the opportunity to win a Stanley Cup at 35? Maybe Theodore? In the meantime, Corey Crawford gets 20-25 games as backup and, who knows, maybe he becomes the next Niemi.

And we’re starting to see those in Chicago themselves acknowledge the chance…[Chicago Now]

The Hawks’ inability to reach a deal with Niemi tells us that the asking price is simply too high. It seems likely that Niemi will go to arbitration on July 29th, where his salary award can realistically range anywhere between 2 and 4 million. If it is on the lower end, the Hawks can afford him. If it’s anything above $3m, it might be time to order a Blackhawks Marty Turco jersey.

• Jesse Rogers’ Backup Plans in case we can’t afford Niemi (ESPN)
• Marty Reasoner, We Hardly Knew Ye (Blackhawk Up)
• Sumer Smoke by McClure – Sharp ain’t going nowhere and Hossa’s Bucket List (Second City Hockey)
• Behind Enemy Lines: Red Wings Zetterberg and his ultra weird wedding (Yahoo Sports)

*Follow Paint It Blackhawks on Twitter for all the latest and greatest Blackhawks news. (Twitter)

Co-conspirators Christopher Ralph & Jim Neveau have banged heads together to create a maelstrom of ideas for Paint It Blackhawks first ever readers contest.

In conjunction with the release and the premiere of the brand spanking new Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champion DVD, we have a copy of this highly anticipated commemorative DVD up for grabs in our tantalizing contest.

How to Win:

We have put together a hat trick, that is three ways in which you can win.

• 1st (and the main way to win): Describe and submit the memory you are most forward to re-living on the DVD.
• 2nd: If option #1 is too limiting in what you would like to write, you can state and explain 5 reasons why you love the Blackhawks.
• 3rd: If you want an alternative to options 1 & 2, you can write and submit a Blackhawks related article. If this option is chosen as the winner, the winning author will also have his article posted right here on Paint It Blackhawks. The subject of the article is left wide open. It can be on anything from Stan Bowman’s offseason moves, to future moves that should be made, to the outlook for next season and beyond.

*Please submit entries to:

• Co-conspirator Chris Ralph: hockeyspy@gmail.com
• Co-conspirator Jim Neveau: jamesneveau@hotmail.com
• Short submissions can be sent to Paint It Blackhawks via Twitter: http://twitter.com/paintitblackhwk 

*Depending on the quantity and quality of entries, we may post some of the top entries as the contest goes on. By submitting your entry you are giving us permission to do so.

Contest Closing Date:

We have decided not to set a specific date for the contest to close, but know that it will be within a reasonable amount of time.

Since we are in the giving mood, we would also ask something small back from our readers:

For those of you who haven’t already, please follow (and get friends, family, hockey and Blackhawks fans alike to follow) Paint It Blackhawks on Twitter: http://twitter.com/paintitblackhwk

We currently  have some great support there, but we would like to see our following grow. Like the Blackhawks organization, we too set goals. At present, our One Goal, is to achieve a certain number of Twitter followers.

What is this mysterious number that we have set as a goal? At present, we will keep a secret, but know that the number is of significance to Blackhawks history!

We will reveal the number once it is achieved and then announce the winner of the contest and DVD. Again, know that it is a reasonable number and we expect the contest to be completed in a more than reasonable amount of time, but it will depend somewhat on our readers.

We’re looking forward to reading entries from our fantastic readers and to give away an amazing DVD.

Here’s the trailor:

Ladies and gentlemen, start your submissions…