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Division: Central GM: Stan Bowman Head Coach: Joel Quenneville 2013-14: 46-21-15 (3rd in Central) Playoffs: Lost in Conference Final Goals For: 261 (2nd) Goals Against: 212 (12th) PP: 19.5% (10th) PK: 81.4% (19th) That Was Then: Last seasons Blackhawks thought they were primed to become the leagues first repeat champions in a over a decade-and-a-half in claiming their third Stanley Cup in five seasons. Surely, that would warrant dynasty talk, no? Well, that debate, though it would have been a good one, never came to pass. The Blackhawks fell short in their quest, cruelly losing in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to the eventual Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings on Alec Martinez series-ender. Still, the fact that the Blackhawks came so close yet again will only swell the teams desire to again reach the summit. Last season ended up being more difficult, perhaps, than the Blackhawks had expected, thanks to increased competition in the division. A year removed from the Presidents Trophy (in a shortened season), the team finished third in the Central behind the surprising Colorado Avalanche and the improved St. Louis Blues. But the Hawks got the last laugh, outlasting both of their divisional rivals come playoff time, including dispatching the Blues in the first round of the playoffs, taking four straight after falling behind in the series 2-0. As is expected with great teams, the Blackhawks best players played like their best players. Duncan Keith had, perhaps, what was his finest season as a pro, staking a claim for the mantle of best defenceman in the NHL and claiming a second Norris Trophy. Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa each contributed 30-goal seasons. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane again put up the type of performances youd expect from two elite young players. At 26 and 25, respectively, its still very possible that we have yet to see the best yet from either. Perhaps, the biggest instance of a player proving his mettle came from goaltender Corey Crawford. Suggested more than a few times over the past several seasons that hes more a product of the Blackhawks success than a contributor to it, Crawford proved his critics wrong last season. The 29-year-old started a career-high 59 games and posted a 2.26 goals against average (eighth in the NHL) and 32 wins (10th). Scott Cullens Analytics Blackhawks 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 3.60 3.20 9.3 .913 57.0% .750 21-41 3.90 2.43 10.6 .914 56.1% .738 42-62 2.57 2.29 7.4 .928 54.6% .595 63-82 2.50 2.70 6.4 .903 55.4% .525 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Dominant puck possession and finishing overpowered less-than-stellar goaltending as Blackhawks came out of the gate strong. Games 21-41: Ridiculous, and unsustainable, shooting percentage, during a stretch in which Blackhawks had nine wins by at least three goals. Games 42-62: Decline started, even with a boost in goaltending, as possession dropped a little and scoring pace slowed significantly. Games 63-82: Struggled late in the year, with below-average percentages, but strong possession still made them competitive. Key 2014 Additions: C Brad Richards Key 2014 Subtractions: LW Brandon Bollig, C Michal Handzus, G Nikolai Khabibulin This Is Now: The team you saw last year is almost identical to this years with the added security that dual franchise players, Toews and Kane, are sticking around for the long term. Set to become free agents after this coming season, the pair signed identical eight-year, $84 million deals over the summer. Their annual average salary of $10.5 million per year is the highest current salary in the league, but its hard to argue that the pair isnt fairly compensated. The one key difference for the team comes down the middle. With Michal Handzus departing, the Hawks brought aboard veteran centre Brad Richards to take his place in the top nine. A Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning and fresh off of an appearance in last seasons Final with the New York Rangers, Richards, for the first time in his career, transitions into the role of a complementary piece. Gone are the pressures of a nine-year, $58.5 million contract to live up to, the 34-year-old comes to the Blackhawks at a modest $2 million salary and could slot in to either second or third-line duty, behind Toews and Andrew Shaw. No matter the role, Richards should have the chance to line with up some talented linemates, in the likes of Hossa, Bryan Bickell and Brandon Saad. If there is some cause for concern, its with the clubs final defensive pairing. Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Leddy and Johnny Oduya represent elite to above-average NHL defencemen. The issue was with that final defenceman. Sheldon Brookbank, Mike Kostka and David Rundblad all had opportunities to claim a regular role, but none did and none is back. The likely candidates to get that chance this season are Kyle Cumiskey, returning from the NHL after two seasons in the SEL with Modo, 2011 second-round pick Adam Clendening or Klas Dahlbeck, a third-rounder also in 2011. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Patrick Sharp Jonathan Toews Marian Hossa Brandon Saad Brad Richards Patrick Kane Bryan Bickell Andrew Shaw Kris Versteeg Jeremy Morin Marcus Kruger Ben Smith Peter Regin Teuvo Teravainen Joakim Nordstrom Brandon Mashinter Mark McNeill Ryan Hartman Defence Left Right Duncan Keith Brent Seabrook Niklas Hjalmarsson Johnny Oduya Nick Leddy Michal Rozsival David Rundblad Adam Clendening Stephen Johns Klas Dahlbeck Goaltenders Corey Crawford Antti Raanta Michael Leighton Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Teuvo Teravainen Teuvo Teravainen has the rare gift of 360 degree vision. Seeing all possibilities is one thing when it comes to play making but he has the ability to select the play that is most threatening to an opponent. At the same time he has a precision that makes it very difficult to deter him. With he and Jonathan Toews, the Hawks have the potential for a lethal one-two center combination that will keep them contending for Stanley Cups for years. Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Brad Richards On one hand, its easy to see that there has been a decline in 34-year-old Brad Richards production in recent seasons, the last two producing the lowest points-per-game of his career, yet he still finished with 51 points for the Rangers last season. Moving to Chicago, Richards is looking at an excellent opportunity. If, as planned, he has Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad on his wings, thats an upgrade for Richards over his most common linemates in New York and its an upgrade for those wingers, who were often skating with Michal Handzus. At this stage of his career, it would be unreasonable to forecast a massive jump in Richards production, but playing with good players does give him a chance to be more productive than hes been in the past couple years. Nike Air Max 270 Ispa White . PETERSBURG, Fla. Air Max 270 Just Do It White .com) - Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points with eight rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 92-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-black-sale.html . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. Nike Air Max 270 Womens Clearance . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. Nike Air Max 270 Womens Discount . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season.STANFORD, Calif. -- Jurgen Klinsmann tried to dance around the questions: Why take unproven youngsters to the World Cup and leave Landon Donovan home? A day after announcing his momentous decision to drop the most accomplished player in American mens soccer, the U.S. coach hinted at answers without ever saying specifically why Donovan was among the final seven cuts. "As a coach, you have to make a decision based on what you want to execute in Brazil, what you want to see, how do you want to build those components into the entire group. And then I felt -- we coaches felt -- the guys that we chose, theyre a little step ahead of Landon in certain areas," Klinsmann said Friday. The 32-year-old Donovan, the American record holder with 57 international goals and second with 156 appearances, was trying to make his fourth World Cup roster. He is scoreless in seven games with the Los Angeles Galaxy this season, and Klinsmann dropped him from the roster for the first half of 2013 after Donovan took a four-month sabbatical. Asked for specifics, Klinsmann said Donovan "maybe is not the one now anymore to go one against one all the time or going into the box or finishing off." But the coach praised "his outstanding passing game, his experience, which is a big factor always." "He changed his game over the last few years, which is normal at that stage of his career," Klinsmann said. Donovan has five World Cup goals, including a stoppage-time score against Algeria four years ago that advanced the Americans to the second round. "We all have an incredible amount of respect and appreciation and admiration for everything that Landon has done for this team and for soccer in this country," said Toronto FCs Michael Bradley. "To see him walk out the door yesterday, to see six other guys walk out the door yesterday, is not easy." Klinsmann said Donovan took the decision Thursday "with an amazing composure." "Obviously, big disappointment. That is expected, and he said that, he doesnt kind of understand it," Klinsmann said. "He thinks he should have been in the 23." Donovan was scheduled to discuss the decision Saturday after training with the Galaxy. "Just sad for all the guys who got cut and what comes with it," U.S. captain Clint Dempsey said. "You bring inn 30 players who have a lot of quality and it makes difficult decisions for the coaches to make.dddddddddddd" Klinsmann said he hopes Donovan remains in the player pool in the future: The Americans have the CONCACAF Gold Cup next year and the Copa America in 2016, when qualifying for the next World Cup also starts. Donovan also could return for the World Cup if there is an injury to one of the players selected for the roster. "How this new cycle will start after Brazil obviously depends a lot on the outcome in Brazil," Klinsmann said, "but the vision is, absolutely, that Landon continues his national team career." A World Cup champion with West Germany and European champion with Germany, Klinsmann was hired in July 2011. Less than a week after the Americans were drawn in December into a difficult World Cup group with Ghana, Portugal and Germany, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Klinsmanns contract had been extended through 2018. He maintained the new deal didnt make him think more toward the future when making his picks. "This is based on today. This is based on what hopefully goes well the next seven, eight weeks, so that had nothing to do with my contract or with the perspective that those young players have for the longer run," he said. His roster includes 18-year-old winger Julian Green, who made his national team debut last month and has just six minutes of first-team experience with Bayern Munich; 21-year-old central defender Anthony Brooks, who has three international appearances; and 20-year-old right back DeAndre Yedlin, whose only national team appearances were as a second-half substitute this year. "Some have a learning curve ahead of them, theres no doubt about it," Klinsmann said. "But they are ready for that learning curve, and they might surprise some people out there." Since returning to the World Cup in 1990 after a 40-year absence, the U.S. has alternated first-round elimination with advancement. The Americans open against Ghana, which knocked them out in the group stage in 2006 and the second round last time. "As of today Im very strongly convinced this is the right way to go for it," Klinsmann said. "Now time will tell. If Im not getting the job done at the end of the day, you know the outcome of things in the soccer world." ' ' '