No one has ever accused Blackhawks General Manager Bob Pulford of being a great communicator.
But that doesn’t stop Pulford from having a strong rapport with most of the players in his organization. Even Steve Larmer didn’t rip into Pulford after Larmer’s long wait to be traded.
Jocelyn Lemieux is the latest to point out that Pulford has been a source of strength and a welcome ear for him during Lemieux’s most recent troubles with coach Darryl Sutter.
Upset at his reduced playing time and believing he was being made a whipping boy, Lemieux sought out Pulford last week to air his complaints.
“A lot of things have been building and I wanted to let (Pulford) know how I feel,” Lemieux said of their meeting. “I hoped that he wouldn’t think I was going in asking for a trade. I don’t want to be seen as a whiner or constant complainer.
“I was pleased with his reaction. He gave me good feedback and I feel better about my situation.”
On the edge: Pulford said rookie center Jeff Shantz “isn’t going down today (Monday), but I agree with Darryl that he has to play somewhere if he isn’t playing here.”
Shantz was scratched Sunday for the fourth straight game. Also sitting out that game was young winger Patrick Poulin. So the question of the moment is whether the Hawks are going away from their youth movement in order to play a more veteran lineup.
Who started it? NHL vice-president Brian Burke said he looked at tape of last Friday’s fight between Dallas’ Shane Churla and Lemieux to see if he could detect an instigator. There was no instigation penalty assessed by referee Paul Stewart. Burke probably will not pin Churla-who pulled Lemieux back after he tried to skate away-with an extra foul, but Burke will watch Tuesday’s game in Dallas.