By George Ofman
First and foremost, let me say how much I respect and admire Dale Tallon.
Second, let me say how he may have gummed up the Blackhawks’ chances of winning a Stanley Cup.
Third, let me state emphatically that Cristobal Huet won’t cut it. Not now, not later.
This is how you get extricated from the job as general manager.
Sports Illustrated picked the Hawks to meet the Boston Bruins in the Cup finals, but only if it finds another goalie by the trading deadline. Not exactly how you damn with faint praise.
Huet’s four year, $22 million contract was not only excessive, it gave the Hawks two goalies earning a combined income of more than $12 million. Even Warren Buffett wouldn’t approve.
But it also put the Hawks in a trick bag when it comes to the NHL’s restrictive salary cap rules. Worse yet, it puts them in the unenviable position of having to work harder when this guy is between the pipes.
Not the blueprint for sipping from Lord Stanley’s rather large urn.
Last Saturday Huet was booed by the faithful, which is quite something these days since the faithful have become fanatics again and the Blackhawks can barely do anything wrong, save being down 5-nothing in the first period yet rallying for the biggest comeback in team history. Huet was in goal for that game and was yanked after three pucks passed by him.
His save percentage this season is .844. This is like Alfonso Soriano hitting .185 in the month of August. The word hideous comes to mind. You can use your own adjective.
Pucks are finding Huet only he’s not finding them often enough. This is a major dilemma if you happen to field a hockey team that has aspirations of parading down Michigan Avenue next June.
Why did the now-deposed Tallon sign the unrestrictive free agent goaltender to a potentially cost-strangling contract? Could it have been too many rounds of golf or did he accidentally hit himself in the noggin with a nine iron?
Maybe Tallon was enamored of Huet’s brilliant effort in 13 games with Washington after Montreal dealt him there in 2008. There was barely a puck he didn’t stop. His record was 11-2, including nine straight wins. He allowed only 21 goals and his save percentage was a very robust .936.
But he was less than mortal in a seven-game playoff series against Philadelphia, in which he yielded 22 goals with a save percentage of .909. The Capitols were out and so was Huet.
Meanwhile, Tallon didn’t think much of Nikolai Khabibuian, who was in the final year of his own megabucks deal. So he lavished Huet with enough money to buy goaltending lessons for life.
Apparently, Huet passed on the lessons.
And why did the Canadiens trade Huet? Perhaps they felt he wasn’t good enough to win it all.
Funny thing is, Huet had pretty good credentials.
He actually led the league in save percentage during the 2005-2006 season, and finished fourth the following campaign. But then the numbers started to grow, which is good for a goal-scorer but not for a goalie. Huet finished 10th in save percentage in the 2007-2008 season.
Tallon’s largesse followed and so did Huet’s larger save percentage. It ballooned to 28th and nearly last in the league. The aging Khabibulan was outplaying the suspect Huet and when the playoffs arrived, it was a no-brainer. Khabibulin was named the starter while Huet mostly collected a hefty paycheck.
And for the soon-to-be jettisoned Tallon, it was a no-brainer to let Khabibulan walk after the Hawks were ousted by the Red Wings in the Western Conference finals, which he did to the frozen output of Edmonton. Tallon had no choice unless he could deal Huet. There may be a sucker born every minute, but not when analyzing Huet and his fat contract.
Now Huet is dragging the Hawks down. They won’t say it but we will. They should have beaten Dallas over the weekend but instead of standing on his head, Huet let his head drift while a few pucks sailed by him.
The Daily Herald’s Tim Sassone, who has chronicled the Hawks soap opera for more than 20 years, suggests one option is to send Huet to the minors. He’ll get his dough but it won’t count against the salary cap. This may happen, but not in the very near future.
Meanwhile, Antti Niemi has played well when called upon. But you have to figure if the Hawks are serious about winning the Stanley Cup, they’ll search for a solid netminder by the trading deadline in March.
You can bet John McDonough’s bottom dollar on that.
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George Ofman, an original member of The Score and a veteran of NPR, has covered more than 3,500 sporting events over the course of his career. Comments welcome.
Posted on October 21, 2009