BREAKING NEWS:

Bowman - "Havy has paid his dues, and is one of the best assistants, if not the best assistant out there. Will that translate to the head coaching position at the NHL level, only time will tell, but we like what he had to say and we like being able to hire a leader that has been with the organ-i-zation for so long, he knows what we expect, and he knows the guys.

Haviland - "As much as it hurts to see Q go, I'm thrilled that I get an opportunity in a City that has a passion for winning the equals mine. I'm excited to get started, and ready for opening day already, the goal remains unchanged, Stanley or bust."

"Over the past three years I think Stan has taken great strides to not only ice a competitive team but keep the focus on winning the Cup, while also being financially responsible. I'm happy to keep him here for at least another five years, as I see a Cup in our near future, and a lot of that credit will go to Stan when that happens." Said Team President John McDonough in a statement released today.

Bowman - "I'm thrilled to be back, this is where I want to be, and we haven't accomplished our goal yet, I'm not a quitter, I want to see this through. I started it and I want to finish it with a Cup, and I expressed that to Mr. McDonough when I sat down with him, now I need to prove to him, the team, and the City that he made the right decision"

Well, the proving starts.. NOW, this off-season is going to have a little bit of everything as some high priced guys are up, there are going to be more decisions made here that might not be popular, but are necessary.... here.. we... go..

Quick Hit -
Success is measured all sorts of ways, and expectations go a long way towards determining whether a season was a success or not. So, was this season a success for the Hogs? I don't know?

Coach Cotino - "Losing is never what you want, you never want to finish a season with a loss, then turnaround and be satisfied with it. I'm happy with what we were able to accomplish, not only for this team but for the Hawks organ-i-zation. More guys took steps forward this year than I thought would at the beginning of the year. Finishing as a #1 seed you have that expectation to go far, or even go all the way, but the fact that we weren't in the playoffs the last two years played a roll in the outcome. Guys have never been there, sure they may have played in the playoffs in Junior's, but this is a different animal altogether, and all in all I'm happy with what we were able to accomplished, but none of us are satisfied."

Thanks Coach, that doesn't clear it up or answer the question at all, but the Hogs performed this year, and maybe even outperformed the expectations people had going into the year. Year two under Cotino should be just as exciting as a new crop of rookies are ready to make the jump, and take one step closer to the ultimate goal of skating with and winning a Cup with the Hawks.

Top Performers
Brandon Saad (25 - 60 - 85pts)
JK Grenier (28 - 47 - 75 pts)
Chris DiDomenico (30 - 42 - 72 pts)
Timo Niemi (39-13 / 2.50 / .911)

Inside the Numbers
Goals for Per Game: 3.18 (4th)
Goals Against Per Game: 2.64 (6th)
Power Play %: 21.0% (7th)
Penalty Kill %: 83.3% (6th)

CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS--
First Round
(1) Rockford IceHogs
(8) Toronto Marlies



Top Performers
Jonathan Toews (24 - 58 - 82pts)
Patrick Kane (37 - 42 - 79pts)
Claude Giroux (30 - 45 - 75 pts)
Corey Crawford (41-21 / 2.43 / .910)

Inside the Numbers
Goals for Per Game: 3.06 (7th)
Goals Against Per Game: 2.67 (9th)
Power Play %: 20.4% (5th)
Penalty Kill %: 83.1% (9th)
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS--
First Round
(4) Chicago Blackhawks
(5) Columbus Blue Jackets

Inside the Numbers (NHL RANK)
Goals For Per Game: 3.10 (8th)
Goals Against Per Game: 2.71 (10th)
Power Play %: 20.7% (6th)
Penalty Kill %: 82.4% (11th)

Top Performers
Jonathan Toews (19 - 47 - 66pts)
Patrick Kane (34 - 30 - 64pts)
Claude Giroux (25 - 33 - 44pts)
G - Corey Crawford (31- 14 / 2.49 GAA / .907 SV%)

Comments:

Inside the Numbers (AHL RANK)
Goals For Per Game: 3.13 (7th)
Goals Against Per Game: 2.73 (9th)
Power Play %: 21.6% (6th)
Penalty Kill %: 83.7% (5th)

Top Performers
Brandon Saad (21 - 42 - 63pts)
JK Grenier (19 - 33 - 52pts)
Chris DiDimenico (19 - 33 - 52pts)
G - Timo Niemi (27 - 9 / 2.62 GAA / .907 SV%)

Comments:
It's amazing when a team comes together. Still some ups and downs, but the team is playing very well right now, and I'm pumped with Brandon Saad. Saad put up 19 points this month, including 11 goals. Another bright spot was the continued success of Niemi, the numbers seem to be staying the same, but the Wins keep going up so that is great to see. Certain guys have the ability to win games, make big saves when they need to, and maybe Niemi is becoming that guy.

Inside the Numbers (NHL RANK)
Goals For Per Game: 3.13 (5th)
Goals Against Per Game: 2.54 (5th)
Power Play %: 21.1% (6th)
Penalty Kill %: 82.9% (9th)

Top Performers
Jonathan Toews (13 - 36 - 49pts)
Claude Giroux (20 - 24 - 44pts)
Patrick Kane (23 - 20 - 43pts)
G - Corey Crawford (23 - 10 / 2.38 GAA / .912 SV%)

Comments: