Summer Report: Blackhawks

Monday, July 24, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry

The lockout didn't help the Blackhawks find their way. Last year, they missed the playoffs for the third straight season. In the last eight seasons, they've qualified for the Cup chase only once and they haven't won a playoff series since 1996. It definitely doesn't help the league when an Original Six team in one of the U.S. top markets fails so miserably.

GM Dale Tallon has been busy this offseason, trying to push his team in the right direction. With the permission of ownership, Tallon bought out veterans Matthew Barnaby and Curtis Brown. (Both players quickly found new homes; Barnaby signed with Dallas, while Brown inked a deal with San Jose.)

Tallon, who spent wildly on free agents last summer, took a more conservative approach this time. He made several quiet pickups, including the signing of former Predators pivot Denis Arkhipov and ex-Blues stopper Patrick Lalime.  
 

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  • E.J. Hradek E.J. Hradek

    E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.

    In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.

    Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.


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