On a day when the Blackhawks announced the signing of a new assistant coach and one of their prospects, two key questions remain unanswered — but perhaps not for much longer — regarding Jonathan Toews and Michal Handzus.
Of perhaps the most significance, Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said Tuesday he hopes to sign Toews, the highly touted first-round pick from last summer, perhaps this week.
“We’re very close,” Tallon said.
Handzus’ situation is likely to be more difficult to resolve.
Meanwhile, the Hawks announced the hiring of John Torchetti as assistant coach and the signing of Evan Brophy, their third-round pick in the 2005 entry draft, to an entry-level contract.
Toews was part of the gold-medal winning Canadian team in the world championships and had two goals and seven points in eight games while earning rave reviews from veteran NHL players who were his teammates.
Some thought if Toews had a strong tournament that would seal his decision to leave the University of North Dakota and join the Hawks. Pat Brisson, Toews’ family adviser, did not return a phone message.
While the Hawks may be close with Toews, they may be further from re-signing Handzus. Tallon said he hasn’t spoken with Matt Keator, Handzus’ agent, for a couple of weeks.
“We’re very optimistic,” Tallon said.
Money may not be the biggest issue.
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Handzus said at the end of the season he wanted to see what kind of moves the Hawks made this off-season before making his decision.
That may not necessarily mean additions but also subtractions, and Handzus’ decision could be influenced by which players the Hawks don’t bring back and how they resolve their leadership issues.
If those issues aren’t resolved to Handzus’ liking, he may ask for an outrageous sum, perhaps a deal similar to the four-year, $16 million for Adrian Aucoin — knowing the Hawks will refuse.
Keator has said there will be no shortage of interest in Handzus come July 1 and free agency.
Handzus, coming off major knee surgery and a season in which he played just eight games, likely would accept less money to play for a team with a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup.
Insurance policy?
Torchetti’s hiring is interesting on a couple of levels.
His arrival reunites him with influential assistant general manager Rick Dudley. Torchetti served as an assistant coach when Dudley was GM for both Tampa Bay and Florida and was an interim head coach in Florida at the end of the 2003-04 season.
He also served as an assistant coach with current Hawks assistant Mark Hardy in Los Angeles and was interim head coach of the Kings for the final 12 games of the 2005-06 season.
He enters a situation in which Tallon’s contract expires July 1 — there is no indication it won’t be renewed — and the head coach he’s working for, Denis Savard, is signed only through next season.
Unless the Hawks extend Savard before the start of the season, another slow start will raise questions about Savard’s future, especially with Torchetti behind the bench.
Maybe time for Plan C?
Brophy joins the endless list of future Hawks prospects.
Tallon called the first-round elimination of Norfolk in the American Hockey League playoffs very disappointing. The Hawks were counting on a long postseason run in which their prospects would get a taste of winning.
Instead, whispers that their prospects may not be as good as the Hawks had hoped may have gained some validity. Jack Skille, the seventh overall pick in 2005, played in just three of the six games with no points. Troy Brouwer, who had 41 goals in the regular season, had just one goal and one point in six games and was a minus-4.
The leading scorer in the series for Norfolk was Jonas Nordqvist, 25, with seven points. He was followed by five points each from Carl Corazzini, 28, and Craig MacDonald, 30, neither of whom would be considered prospects at this point in their careers.
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