They say you should be careful what you wish for; it may come true. Jeff Hackett proved that the reverse is also good advice. Be careful what you wish against; it may come true.
The beginning of the end of Hackett’s Blackhawks career came on July 17, when the team traded for goalie Mark Fitzpatrick. Hackett is so insecure, his insecurities fear each other, and when he saw Fitzpatrick he saw a competitor for the starting spot.
Hawks General Manager Bob Murray said then, and now, that he acquired Fitzpatrick to replace Chris Terreri as Hackett’s backup, but he couldn’t convince Hackett.
“I told Jeff, `Listen, we have improved our backup goaltender, in my opinion,’ ” Murray said. “I kept telling him, `We all feel you’re the No. 1 goalie. Let’s play hockey.’ “
But Hackett couldn’t. As soon as he hit a slump–and Fitzpatrick played well–he lost his confidence, and he didn’t recover in time to stay a Hawk.
“A goaltender can’t be that sensitive,” Murray said.
A goaltender certainly can’t be that sensitive in Montreal, the biggest fishbowl in the NHL. Just ask Jocelyn Thibault. He has been the Canadiens’ top goalie since 1995-96, when he was traded from Colorado in a multiplayer deal that sent Patrick Roy to the Avalanche.
Thibault’s performance was never good enough for the fans in Montreal, especially as Roy carried the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup. Monday, the team gave up on the 23-year-old.
Thibault’s situation is similar to that of Alex Zhamnov, whom the Hawks acquired when they traded Jeremy Roenick. Thibault and Zhamnov have both found their shortcomings to be too glaring when compared with their predecessors.
Like Hackett, Thibault needed a change of scenery. That’s why Murray described Monday’s trade of Hackett, defensemen Eric Weinrich, Alain Nasreddine and a conditional draft pick for Thibault and defensemen Dave Manson and Brad Brown as being “good for both teams.”
In the immediate future, it probably can’t be bad for either team, especially the Hawks. Hackett’s confidence was sinking as quickly as his numbers were rising, and Weinrich was making too many defensive mistakes.
The Hawks get a young, developing goalie, something Murray has long coveted. They also get Manson, a bruising defenseman whom Graham has respected since their days playing together.
The Hawks also believe Brown is closer to being a productive stay-at-home defenseman than Nasreddine, who shuffled back and forth from Chicago to Portland, Maine, this season. Brown, who played in just five games for Montreal, will have more chances with the Hawks.
As for critics who complain that Manson is just another goon on a team with too many already, Murray has one response: “Who has more points in the last four years: Eric Weinrich or Dave Manson?”
The answer: Manson, with 106 points since 1994-95, compared with 87 for Weinrich.
If Manson can play the physical game and score, he may become one of the models for the Bob Murray-Dirk Graham Hawks. This trade epitomizes the sweeping changes Murray has made since hiring Graham as coach after last season and sends a clear signal to everybody in the organization: If Murray and Graham are going to go down on a sinking ship, at least it will be their ship.
Only 10 active Hawks remain from last season’s final roster. (An 11th, Jean-Yves Leroux, has been on the disabled list all season.) Those who didn’t fit the Graham mold, like Weinrich and Hackett, have been shown the door. Since he was hired, Graham has preached mental and physical toughness, and the Hawks are searching for players who practice what he preaches.
It shows especially with the fringe players. Murray and Graham like Dennis Bonvie’s toughness more than Eddie Olczyk’s offensive skills, so Bonvie gets praised and Olczyk gets waived.
And anybody who remotely questions Graham, as Olczyk and Weinrich did, is gone.
“I don’t think Dirk and (Weinrich) got along well,” Murray said. “There was some friction at times. I have to back up my coach.”
It shouldn’t be surprising to see such drastic movement on a team that missed the playoffs last season and has the league’s lowest winning percentage this season. But it is surprising because of the team involved.
“It’s unusual for a Blackhawks team to make so many changes,” right wing Tony Amonte said, “but this team needs to win.”
Graham has pulled players quicker than an overbooked dentist pulls teeth, and with as little concern for the pain it may cause. Everybody from Chris Chelios to Bob Probert to Eric Daze has been benched for at least part of a game, and Graham makes no apologies for it.
“For some of the younger players, that’s part of building mental toughness,” Graham said.
That’s the only way Graham will build it. Unlike under former coach Craig Hartsburg, Graham saves reassurances for those who have earned them, and those who struggle are expected to work their way out of it.
Even if it’s the No. 1 goalie who is struggling. As soon as Hackett slumped, Graham benched him. Playing through it was not an option.
“The team comes first,” Graham said. “If I compromise in that way for Jeff, I need to compromise for everybody.”
He compromises for nobody. So far, it has earned the Hawks nothing more than a 4-10-3 record, but Graham and Murray remain convinced they are going in the right direction.
They envision that one day not far from now they will have a physical, dump-and-chase team that intimidates its way to victory. If it does happen, it will probably have to happen with Thibault, or maybe Mark Fitzpatrick, in goal.
Win or lose, this team is going to grind, and the Hawks decided Hackett couldn’t hack it.
When Murray called Hackett Monday to wish him good luck in Montreal, he made no effort to hide the reasons for the trade.
“Hack, you’re a good goaltender and a good person,” Murray told Hackett. “Just play hockey. The things you can’t control, don’t worry about them.”
Ignore the criticism, ignore the circumstance, ignore the slump. Just play hockey. If Hackett and the Hawks can each learn that lesson, Murray may be right after all. This may really be a trade that helps both teams–and both men in charge of the Hawks.
