Despite what you may hear, Denis Savard said Thursday that he expects to be back with the Blackhawks next season. ”It`s out of my control, but I`ve been a good employee for nine years, and I don`t think they`d want to trade me,” Savard said by phone from Chicago.
He continues to have daily treatments on his injured ankle and hopes to work out on the ice by Sunday. ”Maybe I can play by the following weekend,” he said. ”It`s up to Mike. I want to get a couple games in before the playoffs.”
Coach Mike Keenan has said all along that it`s strictly up to Savard when he feels he`s ready to play again.
”No one`s pushing me to come back before I`m ready,” Savard said. ”I think I came back too soon last time, and that`s why I only lasted five games. I want to be healthy for the playoffs.”
– If Savard does come back during the regular season, it appears now that rookie Jeremy Roenick won`t have to be returned to junior hockey. Winger Doug Gilbert`s broken foot raises the number of injured Hawk forwards to four, and only three are needed to keep Roenick with the team under the conditions of his emergency recall.
– Minnesota rookie Don Barber has stayed longer than he thought he might after being recalled Feb. 15. ”I hadn`t really been at the top of their prospect list,” the right winger noted. ”You just tell yourself that you`re going to come up and show them what you`re best at. They wanted guys to go to the net, and, being a big guy (6 feet 1 inch, 205 pounds), it`s easy to plant your feet and coast there.”
Coach Pierre Page was unimpressed with Barber`s intensity during preseason training camp. ”But it`s picked up, and he`s lost about 10 pounds,” said Page. ”Plus he`s got a taste of the big leagues now and doesn`t want to go back to Kalamazoo.”