Chicago signed some of the real gems that were on the free agent market this summer, but is it enough to complement a young core that not only missed the playoffs the last two NHL seasons, but was near the bottom of the league in 2003-04?

The fine print: these previews will now appear five a day (hopefully), or one division on each of Monday (Central), Tuesday (Northwestern), and Wednesday (Pacific) until the season starts on October 5th.  They will be put on-site by division, roughly in order of predicted finish.  Note that the rookies listed are only those most likely to make the team, not necessarily ones who have already sewn up a spot, and surprises always occur in training camp, though with camps out at this point the guesses are more solid than they were two weeks ago.  The In/Out portion represents significant players added and lost since the end of the 2003-04 season.  And now, on with the show...

In: Todd Simpson, Nikolai Khabibulin, Matthew Barnaby, Jassen Cullimore, Adrian Aucoin, Curtis Brown, Jaroslav Spacek, Martin Lapointe, Jim Dowd, Michael Holmqvist

Out: Bryan Berard, Jocelyn Thibault, Brett McLean, Travis Moen, Scott Nichol, Erik Nickulas, Deron Quint, Steve Poapst, Steve McCarthy, Jason Strudwick, Stephane Robidas, Ryan Vandenbussche, Igor Korolev

Rookies: Rene Bourque, Anton Babchuk, Pavel Vorobiev, Matt Ellison, Cam Barker, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith

Chicago has made some big changes since 2003-04, including revamping their defense, installing a new number one goaltender, and overhauling their management.  New GM Dale Tallon wasted no time in letting coach Brian Sutter go and replacing him with former Blackhawk, assistant coach, and head coach of their minor league team in Norfolk the last five seasons Trent Yawney.  The question is, will it all pay off?

Strengths: 1. Two words: Nikolai Khabibulin.  The Blackhawks went all out to bring Khabibulin to town as a free agent, luring him away from Tampa Bay, where he was instrumental in that team’s Stanley Cup victory in 2004.  He gives them goaltending which should simply be a cut above; former starter Jocelyn Thibault, who spent much of 2003-04 on the injured list with a bad hip, struggled valiantly in the ‘Hawks nets for six seasons, but could never deliver the level of consistency and durability that Khabibulin should bring.  As the highest paid player in franchise history, Khabibulin knows the pressure is directly on him, but after taking a bit of a backseat to Tampa Bay’s offensive stars in terms of accolades last season, he’s hungry for that spotlight.

2. Both in terms of prospects and young players on the roster right now, the ‘Hawks have one of the finer collections of up-and-coming talent in the league, thanks in large part to former GM Mike Smith. It starts on defense, where the team has three top-notch prospects in Anton Babchuk, Cam Barker and Brent Seabrook, all of whom could make an impact as early as this season (as of this writing, Babchuk has been sent to the AHL but Seabrook and Barker were both still on the roster). Duncan Keith and Michal Barinka are both good second-tier prospects on defense as well, while Jim Vandermeer, who was added late in the 2003-04 season in a trade from Philadelphia, is just coming into his own. At forward the team’s big hope is Tuomo Ruutu; though Ruutu was forced to rest various injuries last season instead of playing in his native Finland during the lockout, he remains an elite-level talent and is only 22. Mark Bell, Tyler Arnason, Kyle Calder, Rene Bourque and Pavel Vorobiev are all 26 or younger and will be expected to lead the team’s offense in the coming years along with 2005 first round draft choice Jack Skille.

Weaknesses: 1. The ‘Hawks do have some good hope for the future up front, but really don’t have enough scoring punch to compete today. If Ruutu breaks out and scores 35 they might be ok, but the way things stand right now they’re depending an awful lot on Ruutu, Bell, Arnason, Calder, and Eric Daze’s wonky back.  Among those first four, none have scored more than the 23 Ruutu potted in 2003-04, and while Daze is a proven scorer capable of 35 goals, he’s now 30 years old and in the last two NHL seasons has played a total of 73 games because of chronic back problems. The team thinks Bourque can contribute this season, and as an American League rookie last season he had 33 goals, but it’s unrealistic to think he can get more than half that in his rookie NHL season.  While veterans like Lapointe, Brown, Barnaby and Dowd do add to a team, none of them have ever been more than support players. The ‘Hawks may have been better off adding another scorer or two instead of more role players.

2. The ‘Hawks had a truly terrible defense in 2003-04, one that finished 29^th in goals against in the league. The additions of Spacek, Cullimore and especially Aucoin will help, but the Blackhawks may still be too thin on defense.  Aucoin is one of the most underrated defenders in the league, capable of playing 30 minutes per game with a cannon of a shot from the point, which will help the power play. He’s the good news. The bad news is that the ‘Hawks don’t really have the makings of a solid top-six beyond him. Cullimore is big and can skate, but while he’s good in his own end, he isn’t particularly physical and by the end of 2003-04 wasn’t in Tampa Bay’s top four on defense and was largely a non-factor in their playoff run due to injuries. Spacek is a good power play point man but is a combined –36 in his last three NHL seasons. He also struggles with consistency from one season to the next; will the ‘Hawks get the Spacek who had 45 points for Columbus in 2002-03 or the one who had just 18 the season before that or 22 the season after? Vandermeer and Simpson add some toughness, but neither is a top-four defender. That leaves an inordinate amount of pressure on at least one of Barker, Seabrook, Babchuk or Keith to step up and play a significant, top-four defender role on this season’s ‘Hawks, but with Keith the oldest of that group at just 22, that may be asking too much.

Don’t be Surprised If: Ruutu terrorizes the league this season and leads the ‘Hawks in points by a wide margin. This kid is the real deal; anyone who saw the 2004 World Cup Final when Ruutu absolutely undressed half the Canadian team before scoring to tie the game for Finland can tell you that. Ruutu had 21 goals and 39 points in the final 46 games of 2003-04. That tells you he can be a bit of a streaky scorer, and he may well get off to a slow start, but if he stays healthy and does manage to start the season on a high after the lockout, during which he rehabbed a knee injury, he could have a real breakout season.

Outlook: Ruutu, Aucoin and Khabibulin notwithstanding, this is simply not a very good team. Yawney will have some help when it comes to developing his young players with veterans like Lapointe, Brown and Cullimore in the fold, which is a good thing, but he needs career seasons from well over half his roster if the ‘Hawks are going to be a playoff team, and the odds are very much against that happening.

Centres: 1. Tuomo Ruutu  2. Tyler Arnason  3. Curtis Brown  4. Jim Dowd

Wingers: 1. Eric Daze  2. Mark Bell  3. Kyle Calder  4. Martin Lapointe  5. Matthew Barnaby  6. Rene Bourque  7. Pavel Vorobiev  8. Shawn Thornton  9. Matt Keith  10. Michael Holmqvist

Defensemen: 1. Adrian Aucoin  2. Jassen Cullimore  3. Jaroslav Spacek  4. Jim Vandermeer  5. Todd Simpson  6. Duncan Keith  7. Cam Barker  8. Brent Seabrook  9. Anton Babchuk

Goalies: 1. Nikolai Khabibulin  2. Michael Leighton  3. Craig Anderson