Key Additions: G Marty Turco, D Ivan Vishnevskiy, RW Fernando Pisani, C Ryan Potulny, LW Viktor Stalberg, D John Scott.
Key Subtractions: RW Dustin Byfuglien, LW Ben Eager, C Colin Fraser, D Brent Sopel, LW Kris Versteeg, LW Andrew Ladd, G Antti Niemi, C John Madden, RW Adam Burish.
There is a price to be paid for any team wanting to win it all, and the Chicago Blackhawks found out just what that price was in 2010 offseason.
Within the span of two months, Chicago lost half a dozen key players from their Stanley Cup run due to a salary-cap crunch, leaving them to find cheap replacements all around.
Gone were tough, gritty role players like Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, and Dustin Byfuglien. Veterans like Brent Sopel and John Madden departed, too. Then, the Blackhawks passed on star goalie Antti Niemi in favor of a cheaper Marty Turco.
Running back to the Finals will be an arduous task for Chicago, but they’ve kept close to the pieces that got them there in the first place.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are the poster boys for the team, proving with each year of experience that they are superstars of a new generation.
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Benjamin Benya
Chi-Town Rumble: Chicago Blackhawks 2010-11 NHL Season Preview
October 6th, 2010 by Benjamin Benya Leave a reply »
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