Blackhawks get creative; send Huet to Switzerland
Now Playing: moe. – Warts & All, Vol. 3
In the interest of sparing everyone the thousandth rehashing of the Chicago Blackhawks off season cap woes, let’s all just agree that everyone is well aware that they put themselves behind the eight ball, and move on. Not to mention the fact that the numbers game has been worked and reworked so many times that even my dog has a pretty good understanding of the NHL salary cap at this point.
That said, goaltender Cristobal Huet‘s cap hit for his remaining two seasons is going be a hefty $5.625MM, and seeing as he lost his starting job to Antti Niemi halfway through last season, it was apparent that his role going forward would be, at best, as a backup. Look all you want, but you’ll be hard pressed to find any team in their right mind that can (or will) pay a second string netminder that kind of scratch.
According to an article by The Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle, even Huet’s agent Steve Bartlett acknowledged the fact that Huet’s playing days with the Hawks were numbered :
“Clearly Chicago was going to have cap problems and clearly he wasn’t even the No. 1 goalie,” Bartlett said. “And they walked away from their No. 1 goalie (in arbitration) for half the price. I don’t think it took a whole lot of introspection to figure out that we were headed on the fast track to nowhere as far as playing for Chicago this season.”
So it’s evident that Cristobal Huet will most likely be playing for Fribourg-Gotteron in the Swiss Nationalliga A next season. According the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement (which I actually took the mind-numbing time to try and comprehend here) and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, it will be “no different than an assignment to the AHL” meaning the Blackhawks will still be mostly responsible for his salary, but not for the hit on their salary cap. (Quote thanks again to James Mirtle)
No one defended Cristobal Huet more vehemently in the early portion of last season than yours truly, but it was painfully obvious that when called upon, he did not get the job done. He was given more than his fair share of opportunities to take the reins in net, and he came up short time after time. If the Goalie Guild has told us once, it’s told us a thousand times, goaltending is at least 90% mental. It seems that Huet just doesn’t have what it takes between the ears to get it done at the elite level at the age of 34. So, at this point, the choices seem to be assigning him to play in the AHL, or, the more respectful option, loaning him to a European team that will make him their top choice between the pipes. It makes sense on all levels, including a personal one, as it moves not only him, but also his wife closer to their hometowns while allowing him to be top dog.
He of the signature red pads heading across the pond
This move has been called out by many as another attempt to circumvent the salary cap, and while it may seem that way, according to the CBA, and the aforementioned quote from the NHL’s Bill Daly, it’s completely within bounds. It appears that the NHLPA sees it as a more dignified option than sending an accomplished player to the minors, while still allowing him to receive his previously agreed upon salary.
From a Blackhawks standpoint, their moves on the goaltending front have been drastic, but not unreasonable. Huet’s contract was almost unmanageable, Niemi’s agent made things incredibly difficult, and Marty Turco is an experienced guy whom, although he’s had little postseason success and is admittedly long in the tooth, has the right cerebral makeup to succeed with the defense he will have in front of him. It was tough to wave goodbye to the first Stanley Cup winning goalie in Chicago in close to 50 years, but financial reasons deemed it necessary.
The impending hockey season will be interesting in the Windy City, as the Hawks defend the Cup with a very different lineup and a veteran backstop who loves to play the puck. My guess is there will be no shortage of “what if..?” talk, second-guessing and heart-pounding moments. Then again, isn’t that kind of what makes this the greatest sport on earth?
