As the Blackhawks make the turn for home on what has become yet another disappointing season, general manager Dale Tallon has some questions for which he must find answers before the beginning of next season’s training camp.
– What to do at the trade deadline?
The Feb. 27 deadline is about a week earlier this season and the Hawks certainly will try to be sellers. But the players they would like to move most–defensemen Adrian Aucoin and Jassen Cullimore–come with dual negatives of big, long contracts and two injury-riddled seasons.
If Cullimore can return soon from a shoulder injury that has sidelined him since Jan. 7, perhaps there would be a market for him considering he has only one year left on his deal.
Aucoin, with two years and $8 million left, and two seasons worth of groin injuries, appears to be unmovable.
Will Tallon make a blockbuster move and perhaps play kingmaker in the playoff picture by dealing goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin?
With Patrick Lalime due back from conditioning rehab and Corey Crawford perhaps ready at least to split time in the NHL next season, it might be worth considering if the Hawks could get a top-three forward in return.
– Resolve the captaincy issues.
Coach Denis Savard can spin it anyway he wants, but the fact remains that coaches don’t give the “C” to another player when the captain is injured unless the coach isn’t happy with his captain’s leadership.
No one wore the “C” in Detroit when Steve Yzerman was out of the lineup.
Two times, former coach Trent Yawney tried to change the captaincy and each time he was overruled by Tallon–an issue that could be interpreted as the GM cutting the legs out from under his coach.
Perhaps Savard, knowing what happened the first two times, didn’t try for a third. Instead, he took the opportunity to make a statement when Aucoin went down again.
An argument could be made that Aucoin has issues to focus on other than being a captain, and that making a change would be for his own good.
Either way, if the future of the franchise lies with the Tuomo Ruutus and Brent Seabrooks on the team, then one of them should wear the letter.
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– Is Savard the coach next season?
Considering he was signed to an extension in December, the logical answer would be yes.
But at the news conference announcing his promotion to replace Trent Yawney, Tallon was asked what Savard had to do to keep the job.
“He has to get us close to the playoffs,” Tallon said. “We have to win, he has to win as many games as he can.”
Considering the Hawks are further out of the playoff hunt than when Savard took over, are riding an eight-game losing streak and are facing nearly all of February on the road, that’s unlikely.
Does Tallon fire Savard and find someone else–moving Savard back to a role as an assistant? Will Bill Wirtz allow Tallon to fire Savard?
That leads to maybe the most important question of all . . .
– Will Tallon be in his position when training camp begins in September?
If Tallon were a major-league baseball player, he would be right around the Mendoza line. The misses have far outnumbered the hits.
There is no more important position in a professional sports franchise than general manager. If the GM gets it wrong too many times, the greatest coach in the world won’t be able to save him.
Record-wise, the Hawks are no better than they were at the end of the 2003-04 season.
Has Tallon earned the trust of Wirtz, Pulford, et al, to fix the mess? If yes, one wonders how. If no, then who comes in?
Club Vice President Bob Pulford likely has no interest in resuming full-time GM duties and the best candidates–Dean Lombardi and Brian Burke–already have been snapped up.
All the previous questions become moot if this one isn’t answered correctly:
Either the Hawks show belief in Tallon and have him prove he is up to the job, or they find a proven, experienced general manager somewhere else, which likely will cost a lot of money.
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