Eric Weinrich and Chris Terreri are gone–to Finland to play for the United States in the world championships.
Steve Smith and Denis Savard? They may be gone via the retirement route.
The Blackhawks said their goodbyes for the summer Monday at a short team meeting at the United Center. Some players then met individually with coach Craig Hartsburg; the rest will Tuesday.
From management to players, the main focus this off-season will be to get ready to fire out of the starting gate in 1997-98 rather than waiting until the final two months of the season to get their act together, then scramble for a playoff berth.
“The first half of the season is crucial, getting those wins behind us and gaining some confidence,” said Tony Amonte, who’s confident his agent, Rich Simone, and Hawks management can work out a new contract this summer.
General Manager Bob Pulford’s focus is shoring up an offense that produced 50 fewer goals this season than last and fine-tuning the defense.
“If we could get a marquee player, I think we’d do it,” he said. “But the chances of that happening . . . “
Defenseman Luke Richardson is one unrestricted free agent Pulford might try to land. Pulford also thinks a “character” player, such as former team captain Dirk Graham, is what the Hawks need.
But no matter how many changes Pulford makes, Hartsburg is convinced one significant change has to be made.
“The whole organization has to revamp its thinking about referees and `we’re getting screwed,’ ” he said. “We’ve got to lose that mentality. We get penalties because we deserved penalties.”
