Post by Hawks on Nov 19, 2009 12:38:18 GMT -5
Hello Hockey Fans, Chuck Forum here reporting for the JGHL. Today I sat down with General Manager Gavin Steidele of the Chicago Blackhawks to discuss the "State of the Hawks"; How the team is doing overall, player performances, last years Free Agency and Recent Trades.
Chuck: Nice to see you again Mr. Steidele
Gavin: Glad to be here Chuck! You can call me Gavin, no need to be formal.
Chuck: Alright Gavin. So tell us, 14 games into the season, is the team performing to your expectations?
Gavin: I'd say they are performing above my expectations so far. 9-4-1 is better than I'd thought we'd be at this point. A lot of the kudos goes to exceptional goaltending we've had up to this point. Harding has been very solid and Thomas has been exceptional between the pipes.
Chuck: Thomas of course was signed this last off-season in Free Agency to a 3 year contract at 9.5m a year after Nabokov was delt late in the year. How strong was that need to get a top goaltender?
Gavin: You can't put a price on great goaltending, I considered us incredibly lucky to have saved $500,000 on his contract when the other goalies all went for 10 million. Goaltending is always a primary concern here in Chicago and is a prime ingredient in our goal to hoist the JGHL Stanley Cup. Nabby was going unrestricted anyway, so the need to find another goaltender was already there.
Chuck: Is there a reason you didn't attempt to re-sign Nabokov during Free Agency last year?
Gavin: Nabokov made it clear he wanted to continue his career elsewhere. We thanked him for his time with the Blackhawks and moved on.
Chuck: How close do you think you are to being a top contending team? Is there a chance at a run this year?
Gavin: Our goal coming into this season was to get back into the playoff race. Last year we hung out at the bottom of the standings and we wanted this to be a come-back year. If we secure ourselves a spot, who knows what may happen. At this point, being in those top 8 is our main objective.
Chuck: Who has been your #1, #2, and #3 stars up to this point?
Gavin: Tough question. I'd have to go with Timmy Thomas, Valtteri Filppula, and Dennis Seidenberg. Without them, we'd be sitting at the bottom of the conference.
Chuck: Who has to step up their game?
Gavin: I'd like for Grier to become more of a factor for us, he is getting a lot of ice time and hasn't seen the scoresheet yet. I'd love to see a little more secondary scoring from the lower lines.
Chuck: Can you discuss the Belanger trade with us? What was the motivation there?
Gavin: Mostly the face-off circle and experience. Frolik was playing very well, but we wanted a guy who could win us some important draws on the other lines and on the PK. Giving up a 3rd round pick wasn't a tough choice, and we made it up slightly with the Lalime trade to grab an extra 4th. All around is was a solid pick up for our team.
Chuck: Belanger's percent in the circle doesn't seem to show he is doing what he was brought to Chicago to do….
Gavin: Well, thats not totally fair, he isn't a face-off expert but he is more experienced at it than Frolik is. I'm hopeful he'll find his game and improve that stat in the future and allow Frolik to continue his development at the right pace. He is also a valuable member of the team on the PK, which is important to every team.
Chuck: Who are you most hopeful to see in the lineup next year from your prospects list?
Gavin: Our prospects are pretty deep, something we are very proud of. Not many are really to make the jump just yet into the JGHL with the exception of John Tavares. We had a few make the jump from last year onto this year, including Frolik, Wheeler, Alzner, and Repik, so this coming year will be a bit shorter on fresh faces, but we have a solid talent pool which continues to develop. We look forward to seeing them in an Indian Head sweater very soon.
Chuck: Who do you predict will win the Cup this season?
Gavin: Haha, well…I'm gonna go with Detroit, as painful as that is to say as the GM of the Blackhawks <smile>
Chuck: Last question and I'll let you get back to managing your team. Who do you think is the most valuable player in the league?
Gavin: Wow, now thats a hard question. So many good players come to mind, but if I had to pick just one guy, I'd have to go with Ovechkin, he is by and large the one player I think every team wishes they had on their roster. Shawn is a lucky guy.
Chuck: That concludes our interview. If you'd like to have your team interviewed, please send contact information to Zenn3000@verizon.net (or just PM me). And I'll send you some questions. Thanks for reading!
Chuck: Nice to see you again Mr. Steidele
Gavin: Glad to be here Chuck! You can call me Gavin, no need to be formal.
Chuck: Alright Gavin. So tell us, 14 games into the season, is the team performing to your expectations?
Gavin: I'd say they are performing above my expectations so far. 9-4-1 is better than I'd thought we'd be at this point. A lot of the kudos goes to exceptional goaltending we've had up to this point. Harding has been very solid and Thomas has been exceptional between the pipes.
Chuck: Thomas of course was signed this last off-season in Free Agency to a 3 year contract at 9.5m a year after Nabokov was delt late in the year. How strong was that need to get a top goaltender?
Gavin: You can't put a price on great goaltending, I considered us incredibly lucky to have saved $500,000 on his contract when the other goalies all went for 10 million. Goaltending is always a primary concern here in Chicago and is a prime ingredient in our goal to hoist the JGHL Stanley Cup. Nabby was going unrestricted anyway, so the need to find another goaltender was already there.
Chuck: Is there a reason you didn't attempt to re-sign Nabokov during Free Agency last year?
Gavin: Nabokov made it clear he wanted to continue his career elsewhere. We thanked him for his time with the Blackhawks and moved on.
Chuck: How close do you think you are to being a top contending team? Is there a chance at a run this year?
Gavin: Our goal coming into this season was to get back into the playoff race. Last year we hung out at the bottom of the standings and we wanted this to be a come-back year. If we secure ourselves a spot, who knows what may happen. At this point, being in those top 8 is our main objective.
Chuck: Who has been your #1, #2, and #3 stars up to this point?
Gavin: Tough question. I'd have to go with Timmy Thomas, Valtteri Filppula, and Dennis Seidenberg. Without them, we'd be sitting at the bottom of the conference.
Chuck: Who has to step up their game?
Gavin: I'd like for Grier to become more of a factor for us, he is getting a lot of ice time and hasn't seen the scoresheet yet. I'd love to see a little more secondary scoring from the lower lines.
Chuck: Can you discuss the Belanger trade with us? What was the motivation there?
Gavin: Mostly the face-off circle and experience. Frolik was playing very well, but we wanted a guy who could win us some important draws on the other lines and on the PK. Giving up a 3rd round pick wasn't a tough choice, and we made it up slightly with the Lalime trade to grab an extra 4th. All around is was a solid pick up for our team.
Chuck: Belanger's percent in the circle doesn't seem to show he is doing what he was brought to Chicago to do….
Gavin: Well, thats not totally fair, he isn't a face-off expert but he is more experienced at it than Frolik is. I'm hopeful he'll find his game and improve that stat in the future and allow Frolik to continue his development at the right pace. He is also a valuable member of the team on the PK, which is important to every team.
Chuck: Who are you most hopeful to see in the lineup next year from your prospects list?
Gavin: Our prospects are pretty deep, something we are very proud of. Not many are really to make the jump just yet into the JGHL with the exception of John Tavares. We had a few make the jump from last year onto this year, including Frolik, Wheeler, Alzner, and Repik, so this coming year will be a bit shorter on fresh faces, but we have a solid talent pool which continues to develop. We look forward to seeing them in an Indian Head sweater very soon.
Chuck: Who do you predict will win the Cup this season?
Gavin: Haha, well…I'm gonna go with Detroit, as painful as that is to say as the GM of the Blackhawks <smile>
Chuck: Last question and I'll let you get back to managing your team. Who do you think is the most valuable player in the league?
Gavin: Wow, now thats a hard question. So many good players come to mind, but if I had to pick just one guy, I'd have to go with Ovechkin, he is by and large the one player I think every team wishes they had on their roster. Shawn is a lucky guy.
Chuck: That concludes our interview. If you'd like to have your team interviewed, please send contact information to Zenn3000@verizon.net (or just PM me). And I'll send you some questions. Thanks for reading!