Huet to Rockford?
Cristobal Huet has been anything but a non-factor for the Blackhawks this season. The bloody details are this, Huet has made saves, big saves, but not enough of them. as the one soft goal a game quota from last season has become two or three soft goals a game. The Blackhawks cannot do anything more defensively than what they have been doing, and the blame has to fall on Huet. Now, Huet is a cold starter, but never has he been this cold, and never has fan or team confidence been lower for the 34-year-old goaltender. Huet is a league wide joke, and, right now, it seems impossible for him to turn around that stigma.
But I will maintain my position: I think that Huet can turn it around. I only think that will be possible by way of "injury." By that, I mean that Cristobal Huet needs some time off to clear his head and work on his form. Blackhawks goaltending coach Stephane Waite is changing Huet's style on the fly, asking him to be a more of a standup goalie instead of going into the butterfly at every oppurtunity possible. It's a good idea, but it hasn't been implimented yet, and Huet's lack of confidence in his form is resulting in disaserous play.
I can't speak to Waite's offseason, nor Huet's, but I would sincerely hope that they were together at some point over the summer, working on this change of form. If not, the Blackhawks' failures because of Huet have been the fault of Waite. A 34-year-old goaltender can't be expected to change styles overnight, and I certainly hope Waite was not expecting as much. Again, I can't speak for Waite or Huet's training, but I can speak for the play on the ice, and it obviously isn't working. If Waite wants to continue along this path, it better work soon. The Blackhawks have been covering for Huet, but that will not always be the case. It's shape up or ship out time for number 39.
The problem with that notion is that the Rockford option is unlikely to go as planned, if indeed the Blackhawks decide to send Huet down to the AHL level. While Huet would certainly benefit from a trip to Winnebago County and would without a doubt clear waivers, as to go down to the AHL level, the question is this: What happens if his form is solid, his confidence is back, and he appears poised to be a winning goaltender again? Re-entry waivers could be a major issue, as the Blackhawks would be stuck with half of Huet's cap hit if another team claims Huet at half price, as is the case with re-entry waiver claims. If Huet is good enough to be called back up, which I think is very likely to happen, he's good enough to be bought at a half-price auction, as the case would be. That would leave the Blackhawks with no Huet but a $2.8125 million salarycap hit until 2012.
My suggestion? A Brent Sopel like injury. Last season Brent Sopel never seemed to recover from an injury that probably shouldn't have kept him out of the lineup for one game, much less the majority of the season. And while I don't suggest we go Nancy Kerrigan with Mr. Huet, I do suggest he kinks his neck when he sleeps tonight. That should buy the Blackhawks two weeks to fix the problem, if indeed Huet's goaltending woes are curable. Roll the dice with Corey Crawford and Antti Niemi and I believe the Blackhawks would come out none the worse for wear. Waivers are a quagmire the Blackhawks don't want to to tangle with, and Huet is, believe it or not, too valuable to declare dead after six regular season games.
Meet the newest Blackhawk
His name is Andrew Ebbett and he is small. Andrew Ebbett is also fast and very talented. Last season Ebbett had 32 points in 48 games. His play last year had some in Anaheim expecting 2009-2010 to be his breakout year. But with Anaheim's signing of Saku Koivu, the Ducks have their top-six centers, and Ebbett doesn't fit into to Duck's mold of size and strength and mustache on lines three and four. At 5-foot-9, Ebbett isn't going to see time on the third or fourth line for the Blackhawks either, but he is the epitomy of a great spot player. With Dave Bolland nursing injury and the Blackhawks thin at center depth, Ebbett is a great waiver pickup - a player who can easily fill in for Bolland when needed with little need to shuffle lines in the process. His cap hit of $500,000 makes him the lowest paid player on the Blackhawks roster, another reason this was a great pickup by the 'Hawks. Ebbett can also play wing, and with Ben Eager questionable, Ebbett can fufil that role as well, though some lines might have to be shuffled to accomidate him. Adding a player like Ebbett, who has proven he can get it done at the NHL level, and can play several positions will eliminate the headache of Jack Skille's salary cap hit and the roster tango it takes to keep in on the NHL roster. Overall, this was one of the little moves that will pay big dividends, in my opinion, later on in the season.
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