*Regular Season Finish: 4th in Western Conference’*Postseason Finish: Eliminated in Western Conference Finals’
Chicago is one of the top success stories in the new, post-lockout NHL, having rebuilt themselves around the explosive tandem of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Surprisngly however, the Hawks’ top scorer last season was Martin Havlat. After the 2009 offseason, Havlat will not be suiting up in a Chicago uniform, after negotiations deteriorated and Havlat was left free to sign with the Minnesota Wild for $30 million over the next 6 years. 
Fortunately for the Blackhawks, they signed one of the league’s top performers, who should more than adequately replace the departed winger. Marian Hossa is widely recognized as one of the top two-way forwards in the game, and chose not to re-sign with Detroit after losing in the Cup Finals to his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blackhawks gave Hossa a 12 year contract worth nearly $63 million, that will likely keep him in Chicago for the remainder of his career. Recent developments have indicated that Hossa suffered a serious shoulder injury that will likely keep him out through the first half of next season. The signing should still be a beneficial one for the Blackhawks, as they will now have three of the top offensive players in the Western Conference for a number of seasons.
The Hawks had some administrative difficulties this offseason, including some paperwork issues which forced them to offer brand new contracts to a number of players that would not have been eligible for new contracts until next season, including standout winger Kris Versteeg. A significant development in the front office was the sudden and unexpected firing of GM Dale Tallon, who was replaced by the son of Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, Stan Bowman.
Chicago has apparently put their trust in young keeper Cristobal Huet, after allowing Nikolai Khabibulin to sign with Edmonton. They did bolster their offense however, adding two strong forwards in Tomas Kopecky and veteran John Madden. Kopecky has proved his worth over the past three seasons with Detroit, while Madden has made a career out of being one of the top penalty killers and defensive forwards in the NHL. The Blackhawks now have one of the deepest groups of forwards in the league, as well as one of the top groups of young defensemen. Chicago was only a couple wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, and then went out and took one of the Western Conference champions’ top forwards in the offseason. Chicago is definitely poised to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup this season, so long as their goaltending holds up.