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2010-11 Offseason
A Handsome Season: Patrick Sharp
May 5th
There’s no question Patrick Sharp is a very handsome man. His numbers this season were awfully attractive as well.
With secondary scoring taking a hit due to departures during the offseason, Sharp provided the Blackhawks with a boost through to his unfortunate injury toward the end of the regular season. It was evident how valuable his presence was during the stretch run, when the ‘Hawks had to fight to the final day for a playoff spot.
Here’s what Sharp did this season:
What Happened? The Sinking of the Defensive Corps
May 4th
Photo: Rich Lam/Getty Images
For the longest time the Blackhawks drafted players backwards. The foolishly misguided ‘Hawks brass went into each draft looking for defensive forwards and offensive defensemen. One by one the picks were wasted on players that had barely a snowball’s chance in hell of making the team. Dumbest thing I’ve ever seen, and it was a key reason for the Blackhawks missing the playoffs so many years in a row.
The Blackhawks have very few of the remnants of that offensive defensemen draft strategy with the team now. What we do have is a defensive corps that went from having arguably the most effective top-four D-men in the league last year, to a group of four underperforming and disjointed blueliners this year — without losing a single member of their top-four. Making matters worse, the bottom pairing went from bad to worse to downright heinous before two additions to the team stabilized the situation — albeit way too late.
This, more than any other area of the team, was a disappointment for the Blackhawks and their fans during the 2010-11 season, and we’ll take a look at all of the culprits one by one.
Season Review: Blackhawks Forwards
May 3rd
For all the deficiencies of the Blackhawks’ defense – which Tim will get to tomorrow – the offense actually played pretty well. Scoring didn’t seem to be the issue, as the ‘Hawks finished fourth in the NHL with 252 goals – just six behind league-leading Vancouver.
Jonathan Toews (76), Patrick Kane (73) and Patrick Sharp (71) each put up a good amount of points, but neither of those three will be on today’s list. The three who made up the top line for a good part of the season – plus Marian Hossa - will be reviewed on their own in the coming week.
Here’s a look at the rest, with a 4-Indian Head grade being the best.
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