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It was an easy decision for new Chicago Blackhawks' forward Andrew Brunette. When the Hawks reached out to him at the onset of free agency on July 1, he took the call immediately.

"As a hockey buff and historian growing up I've always dreamed of wearing an original six jersey," Brunette said at a Monday introductory news conference. "For me it's probably the best crest in all of pro hockey."

Brunette and Dan Carcillo were unavailable during the weekend of the Blackhawks fan convention, so they had their own day to meet and greet the Chicago media. One theme emerged: Chicago is indeed becoming a destination for would-be free agents.

Brunette was told how well the players were treated by former Hawks players Cam Barker, John Madden and Martin Havlat. All were teammates of Brunette in Minnesota this past season.

"They had everything good, nothing bad to say," Brunette explained. "They bragged about the organization to anyone that listened. At times we got tired of listening to it. It was always how good Chicago does things and how they treat their players. Word travels fast in this game, and when you're doing something right every player kind of hears about it."

That must be music to the ears of the Hawks' brass who were looking on, including general manager Stan Bowman.

"It's obviously great feedback," Bowman said. "It starts with the top. When he [owner Rocky Wirtz] came in he made it clear we're going to do things the right way. There is the Blackhawks way. John McDonough stresses that all the time. We want players to play here for a number of reasons. We're going to do everything we can to continue to make this a destination."

Brunette is infamously slow of foot but has produced no fewer than 15 -- but no more than 27 -- goals in each of the past 11 seasons. He knows where to find the scoring areas, but he turns 38 on Aug. 24.

"It's tough to lose a step when you get older if you never really had one," Brunette joked. "A lot of guys or coaches see me skate and say 'Oh, boy what did we get ourselves into,' but I've been blessed with other abilities."

The Hawks have been looking for someone to stand in front of the net since trading Dustin Byfuglien last summer. Brunette doesn't have the size that Byfuglien has but possesses the know-how.

"I think I can think the game fast," he said.

A bonus to coming to the Hawks is playing 41 games at the United Center. Brunette first played there in 1996 when the building was full, but he remembers the lean years and is thrilled the good times have returned.

"To play in this building is one of the biggest treats of being a professional hockey player, especially the last few years," he said. "When this place gets rocking there is nothing like it. I can even say in pro sports, I've been fortunate enough to be in a lot of different places and it gives you chills."

If you're the learning type, then the 2011 Chicago Blackhawks offseason taught you a lot, starting with general manager Stan Bowman's current philosophy and ending with the type of player Joel Quenneville likes.

Bowman has made it clear: The Hawks are going to win with their core, helped out with add-ons until their prospects can be ready to be stars or role players themselves.

As for Quenneville, he quickly identified a need -- grit -- for the Hawks and then either suggested a few names or quickly signed off on the ones the Hawks brought in. Make no mistake, as in any organization there are "front office guys" and there are "coach's guys." There is always a healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) tug and pull between the suits and the sweatsuits.

Spotlight Players

So what's most important to know about this offseason of change? Its on the back end. Two names -- outside of the core -- have the potential to have the biggest impact: defensemen Steve Montador and Nick Leddy.

Montador is undoubtedly a "front office guy." And on the Hawks, that means he's a Stan/Scotty Bowman guy. The younger Bowman has talked glowingly of Montador since the day the Hawks traded for him. He admitted trying to acquire him at the trade deadline last season, and when he finally did, he spoke of his underrated game, from his offensive potential to his defensive prowess.

Who knew Montador would be the big acquisition this summer?

But did the Hawks invest too much? One front office executive from an opposing team said they had Montador slotted in the $1.6-$2 million range as an unrestricted free agent. The Hawks are paying him $2.75 million per year for four years. And right now he's penciled in as the Hawks No. 5 defenseman. That's a big commitment.

And then there is this from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News:

"The issue on the ice is over consistency," Harrington told ESPNChicago.com. "In the first half of last season, everyone watching the Sabres was wondering why the team wasn't approaching him with the three-year extension right then and there. But his play tailed off dramatically in the second half and it seemed his confidence did too. There were big mistakes at bad times in his own end, bad decisions both with the puck and without. He got in a slump he never got out of.

"And when you're talking getting scratched in Game 7 of a playoff series, that was that, in terms of Montador coming back. No chance."



From a healthy scratch in the biggest game of the season to a four-year multimillion dollar contract. In fairness, there are daily discrepancies between front office people within teams, let alone from team to team when it comes to scouting players. One team's refuse is another team's gold, but the point still stands: the Hawks value Montador more than most.

As for Leddy, he now takes on the role of No. 4 defenseman and will be counted on to move the puck in the style of Brian Campbell and Chris Campoli. Is it too much, too soon for the 20 year-old? Maybe. He faltered some down the stretch and now will begin his first full year in the league. There will undoubtedly be some dog days for the former first-round pick but he's essential in initiating secondary scoring when Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook aren't on the ice.

Quenneville's Influence

To understand the rest of the changes on the team is to understand Quenneville. He wants the chemistry his championship team displayed and is trying to get some of that back in the form of character (Jamal Mayers, Andrew Brunette, Sean O'Donnell) and mayhem (Dan Carcillo).

Those are Quenneville type guys, and Brunette and Mayers played for the Hawks coach previously. John Scott is a Quenneville guy as well but the front office spoke up when they signed players that put Scott's roster spot in jeopardy.

Still, it's Quenneville's voice that resonates the most with the changes. Their contracts may have helped move them out of town but it can't just be a coincidence that Brian Campbell, Troy Brouwer and Tomas Kopecky were not "Quenneville guys," and found their way out.

Quenneville wants tough players, either mentally or physically or both. Its why Viktor Stalberg is considered a "front office guy." He's in the mold of some that left town but he's tried to change his style. Is it enough for Quenneville? Time will tell. Ben Smith is a Quenneville guy because he is tough in all ways. Look for him to get a prime chance to play big minutes.

Priorities

In the end, like a summer ago, Stan let a restricted free agent walk away and got nothing for him, but this time there was no Corey Crawford waiting in the wings. Chris Campoli might not be an All-Star but he's better than Sami Lepisto. He became more valuable when Campbell was shipped and Montador was signed but for whatever reason the Hawks drew a line in the sand with him, just as they did with Antti Niemi. With Niemi they were out of money. With Campoli, this was their choice. Why they didn't pay Montador a tad less and save some on Michael Frolik is probably a complicated answer but a savings here or there would have made Campoli easier to sign. It's about priorities and Campoli wasn't one.

So questions abound as the calendar inches to August, a notoriously quiet month around the league. Did the Hawks slow up too much or does the grit and sandpaper they added overcome the age and the lack of speed? And who will be the second line center come October and more importantly come April?

I'll need August off before tackling that last one.

It was a busy opening day to the annual Chicago Blackhawks convention on Friday. Even before opening ceremonies late in the afternoon, the Hawks were making news. Here’s a wrap up of the day’s events and their implications:

Blackhawks sign Frolik, Lepisto: The Blackhawks released a statement they had signed forward Michael Frolik to a three-year contract and defenseman Sami Lepisto to a one-year deal.

“It wasn’t done before I was on the plane,” Frolik said. “When I landed, I got a call from my agent with an offer and we liked it. I’m happy it’s done and I can enjoy the weekend here. I’m excited to be here.”

At first look, the Hawks might have given Frolik (three years, $7 million) a tad more than he needed to be paid, especially for a player on the outside of the top six forwards. The Hawks nearly tripled his salary, and without arbitration rights he had no leverage except to sit out or play in Europe.

“My first mindset is to play in the best league,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about Europe. I was hoping we could make a deal.”

The Hawks have shown if they like a player, they’ll take care of him. Frolik is now closer to being a core guy than anyone may have thought.

“Michael is an important part of the team,” general manager Stan Bowman said. “We expect him to be part of our group for a while. We talked about different deals, one-year, two-year or three. But in the long run, he’s a big part of what we’re trying to do here.”

Frolik’s new contract is as much a result of his stellar play in the seven-game postseason against the Vancouver Canucks as in his 28 regular season games with the Blackhawks after coming over in a trade with Florida. He underwhelmed at first, but came on strong late. That’s the play the Hawks are counting on when he most likely returns to his role as a third-line winger and sometime center.

The Lepisto signing was a surprise and had implications later in the day.

Blackhawks announce Kane will have wrist surgery: The Hawks released a statement from team doctor Michael Terry explaining why Patrick Kane is having surgery on his left wrist. His recovery time is 6-8 weeks, which puts him ready just in time for training camp, if there are no setbacks.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville revealed Kane hurt the wrist in the second-to-last game of the regular season, but it was only sore at the time. His wrist wasn’t mentioned in any postseason wrap-up sessions with the media, and only Kane knows why he didn’t take care of it at the time. But then again, if it got worse throughout the offseason there isn’t much he could have done and he seemed genuinely surprised he needed surgery.

Bottom line, whenever he got it fixed it would have affected his offseason. As long as he’s ready for training camp it’s hard to be too critical, considering it was an injury in flux. It got worse as the summer wore on, according to Kane.

Bowman says Campoli won’t return to Hawks: Bowman revealed that the Hawks had come to an impasse with Chris Campoli and he wouldn’t be returning, a likely reason for the Lepisto signing.

The sides were on different pages when it came to a new salary.

“We kind of indicated this to Chris at the beginning,” Bowman said. “’You may want more from us, and it’s really about fitting in with our structure. On our team, with the guys we already have signed, we need somebody in the certain price range for that role.”

There is always a guy or two who doesn’t feel like a priority. Last summer it was Antti Niemi, and Campoli must feel the same way.

When the Hawks traded Brian Campbell, then traded for and signed Steve Montador to a mega-deal, Campoli must have been thinking his stock was going up. After all, he was a puck-moving defenseman and the Hawks just lost one. And though Montador is older, he doesn’t have that much more on his resume than Campoli. But the Hawks saw it differently. They obviously value Montador and even Frolik more than Campoli. Those players got paid, and maybe overpaid.

By saying goodbye to Campoli even before his arbitration hearing, they’re telling him they weren’t even willing to pay him market value or close to it. In the same vein as Niemi, even if the Hawks “won” in arbitration, they still didn’t want to pay someone that figure who they undoubtedly feel is a fifth or sixth defenseman.

Moving forward, the Hawks have overhauled their defense in a big way since the beginning of last season. Last summer, they only moved out one player -- Brent Sopel -- while keeping the core of the Stanley Cup blueline together. Now, just three players -- Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson -- remain. The newcomers this offseason are slower and older, though Lepisto brings some of what Campbell and Campoli did. The Hawks have invested a lot in both Montador and Hjalmarsson, so increased performances out of both players is needed and expected, and Nick Leddy also needs to take a big step.

The Hawks value their blue line more than any other position on the ice. Assuming Keith and Seabrook return to a high level of play, how the newcomers perform on defense will go a long way toward determining how special this team is. Right now, they aren’t much different than a few seasons ago. There is plenty of potential, but plenty of questions to be answered with so many new faces taking on key roles.

Blackhawks convention gets underway: Jim Cornelison sang the national anthem, Eddie Olcysck introduced present and former players and the fourth annual Blackhawks convention began.

But not before a busy news day came to an end.

He's one of the most popular Chicago Blackhawks, if the crowds around Patrick Sharp at the team's annual fan convention mean anything.

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The emerging theme from Chicago Blackhawks' players as they gathered for the opening of their annual fan convention is that the organization’s offseason acquisitions give the team back something it had lost.

It’s the same thing the front office has been saying since signing Jamal Mayers, Daniel Carcillo and Sean O'Donnell and trading for Steve Montador.

“I’ll never say anything bad about our locker room last year, but we definitely wanted to add some of that charisma, that personality and I think a noisy locker room and energetic one is better than one that is the opposite,” captain Jonathan Toews said. “With the changes we made the previous summer, when you lose guys like Adam Burish and Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien for some of our role players, those are big shoes to fill.”

Toews and his teammates believe guys like Carcillo can provide that “personality.” Even big John Scott says he can delegate some duties.

“This offseason I haven’t focused on fighting because I don’t think I’ll be doing it. Or if I’m doing it, I won’t be doing it as much," he said. “I’ll let (Carcillo) go do his thing. He can mess things up. I’m excited for that. That’s what we didn’t have last year. No one started stuff, no one started scrums or got underneath other teams’ skins. I’m going to say ‘go for it. I’m going to be there to back you up.’”

Other players echoed what coach Joel Quenneville said all last season: it was too quiet in the locker room.

But what about the subtractions on the ice? Brian Campbell and Chris Campoli represented a good portion of the Hawks’ puck-moving game on the blue line while Troy Brouwer and even Tomas Kopecky were decent skaters with and without the puck up front. The Hawks got slower with some additions, such as O’Donnell, Andrew Brunette and Mayers.

“Whatever we lost, we gained in other areas,” Patrick Sharp said. “I have full trust in Joel and Stan (Bowman) and John McDonough and everyone that has a hand in making those decisions.”

And that’s the crux of what the Hawks believe. They subtracted in certain areas where they were “redundant” but found a better mix of players to fill the spots where they were deficient, on and off the ice.

“You just can't put the best 12 players on the ice at all times because they are the most skilled,” Patrick Kane said recently. “You need certain players for certain roles.”

And those role players do more than just cause havoc. They take the attention away from the goal scorers.

“The tougher and feistier you are helps the skilled guys, definitely,” Sharp said.

The Hawks are on board with the changes but if their speedy puck-possession game takes a hit, then all the toughness in the world might not be enough to get them where they want to go.

CHICAGO -- Defenseman Chris Campoli won’t be back with the Chicago Blackhawks, according to general manager Stan Bowman.

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The Chicago Blackhawks agreed to terms with restricted free agent forward Michael Frolik on a three-year contract on Friday.

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Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman continued to defend his offseason decisions Wednesday, re-iterating his position the team is not thin at the center position.

"I don't look at it that way, that we are thinner," Bowman said at the opening of Blackhawks/Stanley's Kitchen & Tap restaurant at O'Hare Airport. "Ben Smith played really well in the playoffs. He played a lot of center in Rockford. And [Marcus] Kruger. Both those guys were probably two of our more effective forwards in the playoffs.

"They're young, but there is something to be said for that. Kruger was one of the top 2 centers for Sweden in the World Championships. I think he's ready for the next step."

Kruger continues to come up as a key component for the Hawks moving forward. He played 12 games combined between the regular season and the playoffs after a surprise decision to bring him over from Europe late in the year. He had one assist and showed good instincts but didn't have the puck enough.

"It's kind of like Nick Leddy," Bowman stated. "You can be as confident as you want, but you're playing in the best league in a pressure situation.

"He had no training camp with us. Kruger was dropped in here in a tough situation and he responded pretty well. He's been working out. He‘ll be stronger and have a full camp. He's got an edge to him too. He's feisty."

It's believed Joel Quenneville wanted Kruger to start last year with the Hawks and would have made him their third line center. Expect that to be his role when this season starts, which means Patrick Sharp doesn't have to start the year in the middle.

Though the Hawks say they're happy with what they have, it doesn't mean they didn't try to get better.

"We talked to a number of people," Bowman explained. "It's hard to find centers, and they get tons of money.

"We wouldn't have done some of the other things I thought we needed to do if we went out and spent $3.5 million on a center. I mean, I agree center is a very important position. It is the strength of our prospects right now. It's in the middle. We have [Kevin] Hayes, [Mak] McNeill, Phillip Danault. If we are talking a year or two from now we are going to be trying to be moving guys to the wing as opposed to looking for centers."

As for Ryan Johnson or John Madden or another center, there's simply no room right now, according to Bowman.

"We have 14 forwards right now who are in the mix for our team," he said. "We don't want to block out too many guys. That's why I signed all these guys to one-year contracts.

"Now we might re-sign most or all of them, or we might say these guys that we like are developing. On July 1 a lot of these free agents are looking for multi-year deals. If I signed a couple of centers to three-year deals then we would have to jettison some of these guys because we believe in our system here of developing players. We'll see how it plays out, but that's why we want to leave enough room in the budget."

Bowman made the decision to sign his crop of free agents instead of overspending on a center. Time will tell if that was the right call.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks and defenseman Chris Campoli have a date for arbitration on Aug. 3 but the sides continue to work toward avoiding it.

It's the same scenario that played out last summer when former Hawk Antti Niemi and the club could not strike a deal before an arbiter awarded Niemi $2.75 million. The Hawks said no thanks and Niemi became a free agent, leaving the team after winning the Stanley Cup. The Hawks got nothing for him.

Is general manager Stan Bowman more willing to explore a trade to avoid a similar fate with Campoli?

"Yeah, but we're not at that point yet," Bowman said Wednesday. "We still have a few weeks to go until the arbitration date. It's no different than any other player. There is a number they want, and there is a number we can afford. If they don't match they don't match. But we're not at that point yet."

Bowman does not believe Campoli's and Niemi's situations are similar.

"You can't compare the two situations," he said. "They were totally different, just because of what we went through last summer. We're not in that spot now."

Bowman re-iterated this is no different than most negotiations.

"We're working at it," Bowman said. "It takes two to make the deal. If we can come to an agreement we're going to get it done."

CHICAGO -- Yet another member of the Chicago Blackhawks' 2010 Stanley Cup winning team is apparently moving on, according to his agent Jeff Helperl.

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ARLINGTON, Va. -- Troy Brouwer has signed a two-year, $4.7 million contract with the Washington Capitals.

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The Chicago Blackhawks made a splash on the first day of free agency, signing five players, while living up to offseason promises of getting bigger and finding more grit.

In the process the Hawks got older as well.

Wingers Jamal Mayers, 36, and Andrew Brunette, 37, along with defenseman Sean O'Donnell, 39, and center Brett McLean, 32, all agreed to one year deals Friday. Daniel Carcillo, 26, is the youngest player the Hawks signed Friday, also agreeing to a one-year deal.

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After a frenzy of free-agent signings, trying to figure out line combinations for the Chicago Blackhawks right now would be like working a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

Including restricted free agents Viktor Stalberg and Michael Frolik, the Hawks now have no less than 14 legitimate forwards who could make their roster. That includes Ben Smith, Marcus Kruger and the newly acquired Rostislav Olesz.

On defense, the Hawks have seven players under contract and one waiting to be signed in Chris Campoli.

For the record, Bowman reiterated Friday night he expects all three of his restricted free agents to be re-signed. He said unrestricted free agents were the priority right now since players were moving “quickly off the market.” However, just last weekend at the NHL draft, Bowman said this week would be the time to focus on his three unsigned players, so it’s worth noting that none have been inked yet.

In any case, the Hawks could carry the roster maximum of 23 since their salary cap crunch is over for now. There shouldn’t be a need for a player to perform the “Rockford shuffle” as was the case the last two seasons, when guys like Jack Skille and Nick Leddy were sent back and forth between the NHL and AHL to save money.

So let’s assume a 23-man roster. With 14 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies the Hawks are just one man over. Maybe Kruger doesn’t make the roster out of camp, or with the addition of some older players, someone starts on injured reserve. Bowman said they will let it all play out in the fall.

“That’s what training camp is for,” he said. “We’ll come to camp and sort it all out.”

One of the interesting aspects of his shopping spree was the ability to give out one-year deals. That speaks to the city of Chicago and the team the Hawks have built. Maybe there weren’t many multi-year contracts available for aging players, but five one-year deals certainly allows for continued flexibility.

“We are very committed to the future of our franchise with young players but I don’t think you want to hand out jobs in the summer time,” Bowman said. “I think those are jobs to be earned.”

And if they need another year to earn them, there will be openings again in 2012-13. But it doesn’t mean the veterans have anything locked up.

“If those (young) players are better than other players we’ll find a way to get them in the lineup,” Bowman said. “Competition brings out the best in everyone.”

And just to make fans happy, the thought of all those deals coming off the books can only help when the team opens their wallet for popular Patrick Sharp. Then it’s a win-win for everyone.

For now, let the competition begin. That is unless Bowman has more moves up his sleeve.

Who knew Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman would listen to star forward Patrick Kane so closely. After the season was over, it was Kane who bluntly said his team could use more toughness.

He got his wish.

In a tough-guy buying frenzy Bob Probert would have been excited about, the Hawks picked up size and strength on the opening day of free agency. And also a few goals in the form of Andrew Brunette.

The Hawks’ fighting majors over the last three seasons look like this: 54, 36, 28. Fights alone don’t tell a team’s toughness, but it’s obvious the direction the Hawks want to go. When finesse isn’t working, they’ll throw some nastiness at an opposing team now with Jamal Mayers and Daniel Carcillo. Combined, they’ve fought 181 times in the NHL. Defenseman Sean O'Donnell simply provides the size on the back end they’ve been short on.

“We’d like to change the momentum of the game with our third and fourth lines,” Bowman said. “There are going to be nights where, for whatever reasons, things aren’t clicking up top. If you fall behind early in the game or it’s not working that night, you need to get that energy from within. We didn’t have that element last year and I think we certainly want to recapture that. I like the mix of our guys right now.”

So did the Hawks replace what they were missing after last summer’s salary cap purge?

Playing the role of Andrew Ladd is Brunette. He’s a solid up-and-down player who is a model of consistency and knows how to find the net. They even have similar physical dimensions, around 6-2, 205 pounds.

Carcillo is the agitator the Hawks had in Adam Burish, and should provide some antics both on the ice and in the dressing room. Mayers and Ben Eager are switching roles and while Brent Sopel and Steve Montador aren’t necessarily the same type of player, they both kill penalties and provide tons of leadership. These comparisons might not measure up exactly man-for-man but it’s obvious the Hawks were on the hunt for something lost after the championship season.

Did they find it? On paper, they may have. But when it comes to 36-, 37- and 39-year-old legs, you can never be too sure. That’s the ages of Mayers, Brunette and O’Donnell before they add another year when the season rolls around. The two oldest players—Brunette and O’Donnell—are more durable than most, so maybe age is only a number.

Make no mistake, coach Joel Quenneville’s hand prints are all over these signings. He coached both Brunette and Mayers in previous stops and he’s wanted size on the blue line since he was gung-ho about John Scott last summer. He got more in O’Donnell.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Quenneville signed off whole-heartedly on Carcillo as well. Throughout last season, and even early this summer, the Hawks’ coach repeatedly mentioned how different and “quiet” the dressing room was. Usually guys who amass fighting majors like they’re assists, as well as 334 penalty minutes in 133 games over two years, don’t go down quietly. Carcillo will agitate -- maybe even his own teammates -- but that’s what hockey coaches like. It keeps people on their toes for the 82-game grind.

The Hawks got what they wished for on the opening day of free agency, 2011: plenty of grit, size and toughness. But are they better just because of it? That’s what the season will tell.

Despite money available for a top end player, don't expect the Chicago Blackhawks to be shopping in the expensive section of the free-agency store when it opens for business on Friday, according to general manager Stan Bowman.

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