Wings know Blackhawks won’t go quietly anymore

Grosse Pointe Woods – When Henrik Zetterberg came into the NHL in 2002, Chicago was not the outstanding organization it is today.

From the 1997-98 season to 2007-08, the Blackhawks made the playoffs just once.

But the Blackhawks Jerseys of this era have won three of the past six Stanley Cups. And with 85 points, tied for second-most in the NHL going into Saturday’s games, Chicago seems poised to make another Cup run.

“First couple of years when I played there, it was really quiet,” Zetterberg said of the United Center, and he knows it’ll be anything but quiet Sunday when the Red Wings play there. “Not much was going on except our fans (cheering). Then it really took a quick turn.

“Their fans are really loud, and now it’s one of the loudest arenas in the league.”

The Blackhawks defeated the Red Wings 5-2 Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena and what was interesting about that game was the amount of Blackhawks fans at JLA.

A roster full of exciting stars and prolonged success definitely builds a fan base. And all of that gets maximized at the United Center, where the Blackhawks have one of the better home-ice advantages in the NHL.

Still, road teams enjoy the atmosphere, too.

“It’s a great, fun place to play,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “All of us look forward to going to fun places to play and this is certainly one of the more fun places to play in the league.”

What would make this trip to Chicago even more enjoyable for the Red Wings would be a victory. They need one with the Eastern Conference playoff race tightening around them and a busy and difficult schedule ahead.

Blackhawks send Bryan Bickell to Rockford, recall Marko Dano

Bryan Bickell finally ran out of second chances.

The Blackhawks on Monday sent their struggling, $16-million power forward down to Rockford of the AHL and recalled 20-year-old Marko Dano. After they couldn’t find any takers for him in the trade market over the summer, the Hawks tried just about everything to light a fire under Bickell — scratching him, sending him through waivers, and putting him on the top line. Bruins Jersey. But in seven games, Bickell failed to register a point and only put five shots on goal.

He cleared waivers last month, and had the Hawks waited any longer to demote him, he would have had to clear again. Bickell hasn’t been in the AHL since the 2009-10 season, when he spent most of the season there before coming up for the Hawks’ Stanley Cup run (he played just four games that postseason).

“It’s always a tough day when you tell a guy like Bicks, who’s been around a while, that he’s got to go down,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “That’s the business we’re in. I don’t think he was happy. I think when he went on waivers that day, he knew that this day could happen. And it happened. So he was obviously disappointed.”

NHL teams can’t bury contracts in the minors, so the Hawks will only get $950,000 of salary-cap relief by demoting Bickell. He’ll still count as $3.05 million against the cap.

Bickell earned his four-year, $16-million contract after his superb performance in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, when he had nine goals and eight assists in 23 games. He was strong again in the 2014 playoffs, with seven goals, but after another inconsistent regular season (14 goals, 14 assists), he struggled mightily in the 2015 postseason, with no goals and five assists in 18 games. He also had been battling vertigo since the Stanley Cup Final, though Bickell said that hasn’t been an issue lately.

“There’s been ups and downs — healthy scratches to kind of spark me,” Bickell said after he was sent through waivers last month. “This is maybe a [motivation] to really show that I really want to be here and I don’t want to leave, and play like I used to play, and be a physical presence on the ice. That’s what I think we need and I need to bring it every night.”

But he didn’t, and now he’ll have to find his game in Rockford. When asked what he wants to see out of Bickell before he can be recalled, Quenneville simply said, “Consistency.”

Dano was a key part of the Brandon Saad trade, a promising young forward with loads of potential. In 35 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last year, he had eight goals and 13 assists. He shined during training camp at Notre Dame, but struggled during the preseason and was sent back to Rockford to shore up his defensive game and his understanding of the Hawks’ system.

“I understand it,” Dano said of being cut from camp. “I felt like I hadn’t done that well to make the team. There were better guys who played better than me. So I understand it. It happened last year in Columbus, and now I know what to do and just kept working, and now I’m back.”

He’ll skate on a line with Tanner Kero and Ryan Hartman tonight. The three of them played together in Rockford a little more than a week ago, and Hartman was Dano’s roommate. They’re hoping some instant chemistry can help break the Hawks’ stagnant offense out of its recent funk.

“We all fed off each other,” Hartman said. “We all play different styles, but we had good chemistry. We had a couple goals in Rockford, so hopefully we can continue that.”

Joel Quenneville: No change in Patrick Kane's status with Blackhawks

DETROIT — Patrick Kane Jersey was not on the Blackhawks roster Wednesday night for their 4-1 exhibition loss to the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.

But for those wondering if that means a change in Kane's playing status, it was only a routine night off — even if Wednesday's developments in the sexual-assault investigation of an alleged incident at Kane's home in western New York were anything but routine.

Several of the Hawks' top players who participated in Tuesday's exhibition against the Red Wings at the United Center — including Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook — did not make the trip to Detroit.

Coach Joel Quenneville said he was not going to use his top players much in the preseason, and Wednesday was a rest day for most of those who played Tuesday.

After Thomas J. Eoannou, the attorney for Kane's accuser, said Wednesday that a police evidence bag in the case had been tampered with and the Hamburg Police Department said no evidence had been tampered with under its control, Quenneville said Kane's playing status with the Hawks has not changed.

The Blackhawks bungled Kane crisis: Here's how to fix it

In a world of instant communications and 24/7 news cycles, most organizations protect their image by maintaining a crisis communications manual that is continuously updated and reviewed. Why? Because every PR crisis is an opportunity to place your organization on the right side of the issue in question.

In the case of the Chicago Blackhawks Jersey, it appears their crisis communications manual needs updating.

As soon as word got out that franchise star Patrick Kane had been accused of sexual assault, the crisis manual should have suggested an immediate assessment of all the facts; designation of a representative to speak for the team; and development of a message enlarging the issue's context and repositioning the organization.

By most accounts in the media, the Hawks fumbled the play.

The Hawks are this city's most vibrant sports organization, the premier hockey franchise in North America and fine community citizens—a marketing dream for any communications professional. I wish the Hawks had gotten out front of this before training camp.

The much-criticized news conference of last week, with Kane's awkwardly worded statement and refusal to answer questions, was well-intentioned but bungled.

The crisis manual tells you that targets of legal investigations should never address the media. If necessary, they read a statement but then exit the room. Reporters and lawyers understand and expect this routine.

News conferences with messages about this great hockey franchise, its record of great success, the exciting upcoming season, the new team chemistry, etc., should be left to another time and location. You never mix messages.

Blackhawks' Dano looks to cash in on 'lottery' line

The Chicago Blackhawks appear to be welcoming newcomer Marko Dano with open arms.

Acquired in the blockbuster offseason deal that sent Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the 20-year-old Dano began training camp by being placed on a stacked line with fellow Slovak Marian Hossa and captain Jonathan Toews Jersey.

"That's the lottery spot when you get to play on that line," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told CSN Chicago's Tracey Myers.

Dano paid immediate dividends in one scrimmage this weekend by scoring three goals.

The 27th overall selection of the 2013 draft, Dano collected eight tallies and 13 assists in 35 games with the Blue Jackets last season. The 5-foot-11, 178 pounder was acquired a seven-player deal on July 1 that saw forwards Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin and Corey Tropp join Chicago for Saad, fellow forward Alex Broadhurst and defenseman Michael Paliotta.

Dano would love to duplicate the success of Saad, who set career highs with 23 goals and 29 assists in 82 games with the Blackhawks last season.

Blackhawks' Dano gets chance on 'lottery line'

Chicago Blackhawks Jersey forward Marko Dano has impressed early in training camp and is relishing the chance to skate on the same line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.

Dano, acquired in the offseason trade that sent Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets, is 20 years old and has 35 games of NHL experience, but those facts may not prevent him from skating on the Blackhawks' top line when Chicago opens the season on Oct. 7 against the New York Rangers at United Center (NBCSN).

It's also been beneficial that Dano, like Hossa, hails from Slovakia.

"They're great players and there's a lot of what I can learn from them, so I'm real excited about being in a line with them," Dano told the Chicago Tribune on Sunday. "Hossa is basically helping with everything, what I need. He's a good veteran and also my countryman, so he's helping me out to get to know the guys. He's been real nice to me."

Dano, a first-round pick by Columbus (No. 27) at the 2013 NHL Draft, had eight goals and 13 assists in his brief stint with the Blue Jackets last season. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is referring to the Dano-Toews-Hossa trio as the "lottery line" due to what seems to be an infinite amount of chances to score.

"I noticed his quickness, I know he had a little pace to him," Quenneville said. "He's definitely got some size. He doesn't look like he's that big, but he's powerful. Maybe low is stature, but he's thick and he's big and he's got some strength in the puck area. I didn't mind him."

Blackhawks hope to find quality picks on Day 2 of draft

SUNRISE, Fla. -- As they have in the past, the Chicago Blackhawks Jersey were hoping to find some quality prospects outside of the NHL's draft first round.

After having zero picks in the first round on the opening day of the draft, the Blackhawks have seven selections on Saturday's second day.

The Blackhawks Hoodie drafted forward Graham Knott in the second round with the No. 56 overall selection, a compensatory pick for being unable to sign 2010 first-round draft pick Kevin Hayes.

Knott, 18, is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound forward. He had 25 goals and 18 assists in 59 games for the Niagara IceDogs of the OHL last season. Knott said he tries to model his game after the New Jersey Devils' Adam Henrique.