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Ed. Note: This preview had been scheduled to publish today on SFM for several days; it should be noted that Bill Wirtz, owner of the Blackhawks, died Wednesday morning at age 77. R.I.P., Dollar Bill.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 2007 Sports Fan Magazine NHL Preview! As usual, we take hockey bloggers and webmasters from each NHL city and ask them questions about their team, the entire NHL, and hockey in general. Stay tuned throughout the next few weeks as we lead you up to NHL Premiere in London, England on September 29th.

Next up is Chicago's "other" lovable losers, the Blackhawks. For the team whose fans have so much pent up hatred for its executives, only one man could help us out with the preview: Mr. Miller of Wirtzsucks.com. He talked to us about diving, the Hawks fortunes this year, and who might deserve a visit from Bob Probert.

1. At What Moment Did You Realize Your Team's Season Had Gone to Hell Last Year?

There was a single weekend, about 5 games into the season, when Khabibulin, Havlat and Handzus went down with injuries. Handzus was out for the season and the other two were going to be out for at least 4 weeks. Granted, I wasn't so optimistic as to think the playoffs were possible anyway, but surely "gone to hell" crossed my mind at the time.

2. If You Ran the NHL's TV Department, Name One Thing You'd Change About the Broadcasts.

Only one? More so than the play-by-play guy, I think a very solid color commentator can bring so much to the viewing audience. In regards to Chicago, not many people can stand Dan Kelly's play-by-play announcing. But many do like what Eddie Olczyk brings to the both. Beef up the color personalities.

I'd also put into the any national broadcasting contract a clause that stipulates that if anyone from Fox, NBC, Versus, ESPN or anywhere else ever brings up the idea of the Glow Puck again - a coked-up Bob Probert gets 2 minutes alone with them.

3. If you could legalize 1 NHL penalty, what would it be?.

I have a real problem with the referee calling, say, a hooking penalty on one player while simultaneously calling a dive on the playing being hooked. If there's a legitimate hooking call or a legitimate slashing penalty that is going to be assessed - calling a "dive" at the same time is often wasteful. Get rid of the DIVING call.

4. Who will be your team's "Super Rookie" this year?

Jonathan Toews. Some people say it'll be the 1st pick in this last draft, Patrick Kane. But my gut feeling says that Kane won't be given the chance. Besides, Toews is a bit older, a bit more experienced and he has alot of hype surrounding his upcoming debut. I don't think that he'll disappoint.

5. Name the Best and Worst NHL Play-by-Play Men.

Worst: as stated above, Dan Kelly. Listening to about 5 minutes of this guy can cause internal bleeding of the eardrums.

Best: Pat Foley. He's no longer with the Blackhawks and is now doing games for the AHL's Chicago Wolves. But for me, there's no better in the business.

6. Word Association

Daniel Briere - 52 million reasons why loyalty means nothing to professional athletes.

Chris Drury - Hell of a little league pitcher.

Pierre McGuire - I think I'll put him in my Dead Pool next year.

Brian Burke - Looks like he could still dress as the Ducks' enforcer.

Mike Keenan - Has he been fired yet?

Mike Emrick (US) - Alrighty, I admit it. I had to look this guy up. I don't care what his MO says, he's still no Pat Foley.

7. Which player best represents, for better or worse, the character of your team?

You could pick virtually any of the kids (Keith, Seabrook, Toews, Kane, Wisniewski...) The plan is to rebuild with solid prospects sprinkled with the occasional veteran presence. The youth of the team is ready to take over if not this year, then surely next. Seabrook's been around for a few years now and is mentioned in many conversations about wearing the "C". Toews also gets a lot of hype as does Kane. And Havlat's only what? 26? It's a young team.

8. Which player on your team would you most hate to lose?

With the overall lack of depth on the Blackhawks, this is a tough one. Although the depth issue has been addressed somewhat this past off-season, without a #1 center (still), I think losing Robert Lang would hurt the team the worst. He's the closest thing to a #1 center they've got and having to adjust the lineup in his absence could be tough on Savard.

9. Which can let the door hit his ass on the way out?

Kevyn Adams or Khabibulin. Adams represents a "character guy" that GM Dale Tallon likes to refer to so often. But let's face it: he's not very good. Especially considering who he was traded for in Radim Vrbata. As far as Khabibulin goes, he's a joke at $6.75 million per and even if he plays solid - goaltending is far from the biggest issue on this team. A healthy Patrick Lalime could do an adequate job between the pipes while the rest of the team develops into a possible contender.

10. Name your team's biggest "villain."

Martin Lapointe looks like he's on a perpetual work-release program from Statesville Prison.

11. What off-season move (gain or loss) was the biggest transaction for your team this Summer?

As much as I think Aucoin received way too much criticism from, well, EVERYONE - I think getting rid of him was probably the best thing for the team. Throw in the fact that the 'Hawks got Samsonov in return could prove to be huge. Of course, the Blackhawks have a history of overpaid, lazy, Russians who are just looking to collect a paycheck. So we'll see...

12. Best Fictional Hockey Fan: Tommy Gavin ("Rescue Me" - Rangers) or Dr. Perry Cox ("Scrubs" - Red Wings).

Since I've never seen a single episode of each, I'm probably not very qualified to answer this question. But I have to say, all Red Wings fans suck - fictional or real. Detroit sucks. Their fans suck. Octopi suck. And their arrogance of calling themselves "Hockey Town" most definitely sucks.

13. What is the atmosphere like at a Blackhawks game?

Sadly to say, unless the previously mentioned Red Wings come to town - most Blackhawk games do not have a very good atmosphere. I've talked many times about how the 'Hawks marketing department is behind the proverbial 8-ball in terms of drumming up interest for the team. But with the likes of Tommy Hawk walking around, the noticeable absence of the drummers and other questionable in-house marketing ideas... it's just not very good.

14. The one thing my team needs to do to improve it's off the ice image is ______?

The easy answer is to say that they need to air home games on TV. But that's such a moot point at this stage. Otherwise, my first suggestion would be to get a fan-favorite player who isn't afraid to honor any, and all, interview requests; who'll show up at Bulls games; who will be in the public spotlight doing charity work or autograph sessions, etc. Someone like Jeremy Roenick used to be. The media would eat that up.

15. Finally, where do you expect your team will finish? What will its record be? What one thing will make or break your season?

Initially I'm thinking that the Blackhawks will finish 10th, perhaps even 9th if a few things go their way. Two seasons ago they had 57 points. Last season 71. This year I think another 14 point improvement is possible. Perhaps even a bit more, although I don't see them hitting 90.

I think injuries make or break the season.

-SFM-

Steve Lepore is a writer for SportsFan Magazine.


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