Blackhawks Blog: Buffing up!

Corey Erdman
2008-05-22 01:18:41

The Blackhawks wrapped up three important cogs for the 2009 season and beyond on Wednesday, inking RFAs Adam Burish, James Wisniewski and Dustin Byfuglien to contract extensions. Dale Tallon would have been foolish to let these three slip away, and although terms were not disclosed, one can assume he was able to ink them for a reasonable price.

Burish revived a hard-nosed “Blackhawk style” of hockey that had been lost in Chicago, arguably since the departure of Bob Probert. The former Wisconsin Badger not only led the team with 214 PIM, but when he was not in the sin bin, was the team’s most important penalty killer and most courageous shot blocker. Wisniewski was another vital piece in the penalty kill puzzle, and was a very reliable plus-12 on the back-end.

Clearly the prize of the Wednesday signings is Byfuglien, who was not only one of the team’s—but league’s biggest revelations in 2008. ‘Bubba’ led all eligible defensemen with 19 goals (for you poolies out there), and wound up with the responsibility of quarterbacking the Hawks’ power play. Denis Savard’s experiment of moving Byfuglien up to forward proved to be ingenious, allowing the gifted big man to focus more on scoring than defensive responsibility.

Tallon will now shift his focus to signing another RFA, Andrew Ladd. Stay tuned for more information and rumors during the Blackhawks’ offseason!

A former intern with The Hockey News, Corey Erdman now covers his beloved Blackhawks for THN.com. He also writes for The Sports Forecaster, Sports & Leisure Magazine covering the Rochester Americans, and is a contributor to The Hockey News and Hockey Business News.