It's early in the season, but that's okay if you're the Chicago Blackhawks and were hoping your offseason transactions would yield immediate dividends. Just five games into the season, the Blackhawks are sitting in second place in the Central Division.
With three wins and two losses thus far, the team is certainly not starting out as hot as its star winger, Martin Havlat. Havlat, who came to Chicago from the Ottawa Senators, has blazed through his first five games, tallying 12 points — sitting atop the league in points and second in goals (six) behind the Buffalo Sabres' Chris Drury and the New York Rangers' Brendan Shanahan.
Havlat, who turned 25 last April, exemplifies the quick and finesse style of play that the NHL had hoped to facilitate and celebrate when it altered the rules prior to last season. However, Havlat didn't have much of a chance to shine last year — he missed 58 games to a shoulder injury, along with five more from a suspension. But when he did play, he produced, scoring nine goals and 16 points in a shortened season that saw the Sens ousted by the Buffalo Sabres in the second-round of the 2005-2006 playoffs.
This is the year Havlat needs to prove to the Blackhawks and the rest of the NHL that he can deliver league-leading points consistently, under pressure, and is worth the three-year, $18 million contract he inked in July. The Czech native, a restricted free-agent, had initially hoped to sign a one-year deal with Ottawa so he could test the free-agent market next summer.
Unwilling to accept that as a reasonable request, Ottawa shipped Havlat to Chicago in a three-way deal that included the San Jose Sharks. San Jose traded defensemen Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy to Chicago for Mark Bell, culminating with the Blackhawks moving Preissing and Hennessy, defenseman Michal Barinka, and a 2008 second-round draft pick to the Senators in exchange for Havlat and forward Bryan Smolinski.
Even though Havlat missed almost three-quarters of last season, the Senators' proclivity for ceaseless scoring from stars Dany Heatley and captain Daniel Alfredsson, and up-and-comers Jason Spezza and Patrick Eaves, hardly diminished during last year's campaign — it is doubtful the Sens will suffer severely from Havlat's departure. (Even though they're currently below .500 in the Northeast Division.) Chicago, conversely, will certainly reap the benefits from a player who has a penchant for highlight reel goals. Acquiring a pure offensive talent like Havlat will deepen the Blackhawks' shallow scoring pool.
The Blackhawks have only reached the postseason once in the last eight seasons, losing in the conference quarterfinals in 2002. Havlat will be a vital component in breaking that streak, and he's already proven he can put points on the board when it counts. (His 13 points in 10 playoff games last year, and 23 career game-winning goals are evidence of that.)
Since his rookie year in 2000-2001, Havlat's scoring has increased steadily with each season — with the exception of last year, of course. It is unlikely he'll continue the offensive pace he's kept so early in this season, but if he can stay healthy, Havlat's production will surely evade heavy scrutiny. Regardless of his offensive consistency, the real wager rests on Havlat's explosive temper. Not one to think about his actions prior to committing them, Havlat has routinely been penalized for retaliating and has a steep history of suspensions.
He was criticized in the 2003 playoffs by Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock for his stick-work. In an incident later the next season, Hitchcock said that "somebody is going to make him eat his lunch" — clearly displaying the frustration that Havlat can create even when he doesn't have the puck. During the 2003-2004 season, he was suspended twice, once for kicking and once for high-sticking the Flyers' Mark Recchi. Havlat was then suspended again on October 17, 2005 for five games after another kicking incident involving Boston Bruins defenseman Hal Gill.
If Havlat doesn't avoid overreacting, taking cheap shots, and retaliatory penalties, he's going to have a tough time finding a team who will offer the money he wants when his deal with Chicago expires. Failing to calm down during the interim can simplify his opponents' game plan — antagonize Havlat until he takes a stupid penalty. But after only five games, Havlat has just six penalty minutes (compared to 30, that of NHL penalty-in-minutes leader Matthew Barnaby) — not too bad for a player averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game. It's probably safe to assume that Chicago GM Dale Tallon addressed those concerns when negotiating for Havlat.
Still, another factor that may play a role in Havlat's success in his new home is how he handles being Chicago's go-to guy. In Ottawa, there was such abundant offensive talent that no one player had to provide the bulk of the scoring. Even the Sens' defense had offensive power in since-traded-to-Boston Zdeno Chara and the contract-extended Wade Redden. The same is not so in the Windy City, where big names are as scarce as the Blackhawks' recent post-season appearances.
Yet, if he can curtail his volatility and injury woes, the only hindrance that could prevent Havlat from having a career year will be the Blackhawks' lack of depth, which was not ameliorated when they dealt their leading scorer from last season, Kyle Calder, to the Philadelphia Flyers. (Calder had 59 points in '05-'06 versus Michael Handzus's 44, who came over from Philly.) Their other top scorers are Handzus and Radim Vrbata, both Havlat's linemates. If the rest of the team struggles to produce, coach Trent Yawney may have to dilute that line to balance out the scoring, a move that could backfire if Havlat proves to be the only reason Handzus and Vrbata are scoring in the first place.
In the end, Havlat has all the requisites to be Chi-town's finest: the speed, the scoring touch, a keen awareness of his teammates on the rink, and respect in his locker room. How Havlat operates with such a burden remains to be seen. And at this point, no one can know if relying on Havlat alone will translate into a playoff birth. But if he plays like he has throughout the next 77 games, Havlat might get a first-round match up at the United Center as a birthday gift next April.
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