I don't think knees are supposed to bend that way.

There was a time when Blackhawks fans questioned the signing of Dan Carcillo, fearing his off-the-cuff antics would eventually lead to some potentially damaging incident that validated all the concerns.

After the man appropriately nicknamed CarBomb proved everyone right, Stan Bowman went ahead and re-upped him for two more years, putting fans back in the same worrisome position.

Oh, and he got a raise at that.

Carcillo managed to pack a season’s worth of drama into a mere 28 games – a number cut short by suspensions and a season-ending injury that came while making an illegal hit he’s bound to repeat down the road.

The knock on the 2010-11 Blackhawks was that they weren’t tough and gritty enough, getting pushed around while not having a true enforcer to drop the gloves when the stars got messed with. So Bowman went out and got one of the biggest agitators in the entire NHL, sending all of us befuddled fans into a state of panic.

Carcillo began his ‘Hawks career with a two-game suspension that carried over from the previous season when he was wasting Philadelphia’s time. Then in just his sixth game wearing the Indian head, he was given another two-game suspension for boarding Carolina’s Joni Pitkanen on Oct. 28.

It sure as hell didn’t take long for Carcillo to live up to his moniker, but the surprise came in the form of him, well, actually playing some decent hockey.

He began on the second line with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa, showing some offensive skills few of us realized he even had. He was making timely passes, setting up his teammates and even tossing in the occasional goal. From Nov. 10-13, he had a goal and three assists in three games.

Suddenly, Carcillo’s presence didn’t seem all that terrible. He was providing a nice offensive game, playing decent in his own zone and even dropping the gloves. Still, Carcillo proved countless times that he’s not a top-six forward like how Coach Q was using him. I remember feeling mixed about his signing because I expected some third- and fourth-line contributions in limited minutes. Q decided he was much better than that.

He took himself out of the play at times while skating around searching for someone to hit, and some of his fights killed more momentum than he created. But those things we were able to deal with as long as he wasn’t completely fucking up.

Then came Jan. 2 against Edmonton. Carcillo laid a dirty hit on Tom Gilbert, tearing his ACL in the process. He earned himself a seven-game suspension that was served from his couch, and all the fears ‘Hawks fans had were justified.

Once news of Carcillo’s injury was released, most everyone figured we’d seen the last of him in a Blackhawks sweater.

Except, of course, for Bowman, who “rewarded” Carcillo with a two-year extension after two goals, nine assists and 82 penalty minutes. And here’s what Carcillo had to say after getting the contract:

“I don’t change anything I do on the ice. I just maybe have to hit a little less hard. Other than that, nothing is going to change.”

That just may be the problem with him, and we’ve got two more years of watching the same old shit.

The only reason it’s a full Indian head out of a possible four is because he did have a decent stretch that made everyone believe he was going to prove us wrong. Who knows, maybe we’ll see more of that. However, I’m not holding my breath.