Aucoin hopes to lead Blackhawks back to NHL playoffs

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

Adrian Aucoin is well aware that money can’t buy happiness. The veteran defenseman signed a deal worth $16 million over four years with Chicago in August 2005. But the Blackhawks missed the playoffs in 2005-06, which they’ve done in seven out of the last eight seasons. Once again, they’re a longshot to make it this year.

Aucoin’s offensive production has also dwindled. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that in 1998-99, he tied fellow Ottawa native Denis Potvin’s NHL single-season record for power play goals by a defenseman (18). Last year, he managed just one goal and five assists in 33 games. He missed all 31 of the team’s last regular season games due to surgery on a dislocated shoulder. There’s speculation that the surgery has limited his once-feared 164-kph slapshot, but Aucoin disagrees.

“Not really,” Aucoin told Eishockey News. “I think a lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time and just getting it away. It’s important for me to get the power play going. I want to be used in those situations.”

The Blackhawks clearly view the 33-year-old as a leader on a relatively inexperienced blueline that includes youngsters like Brent Seabrook (21) and Duncan Keith (23). Aucoin was named team captain on October 4, and he relishes the challenge.

“There are a lot of leaders on the team but, when you’re the captain of an Original Six NHL team, it’s a pretty special thing, especially when you’re going through tough times. Young guys look at you and see how you’re reacting.”

Chicago got off to a solid start with four wins and two losses in October, but then injuries to key forwards like Martin Havlat, who led the league in scoring at the time, and Michal Handzus stalled their momentum. Aucoin is glad that gritty Finnish center Tuomo Ruutu returned to action on October 30. Ruutu scored the game-tying goal and overtime winner versus Anaheim on November 17.

“Tuomo is a game-breaker,” said Aucoin. “He hits, he scores, he leads, he does just about everything. Obviously with the rash of injuries we’ve had, it’s good to get anybody back, but especially a quality player like him.”

Aucoin recognizes the value of European talent. Before starting his NHL career with the Vancouver Canucks organization, he represented Canada at the 1994 Olympics, facing stars like Peter Forsberg and Saku Koivu. This was before full NHL Olympic participation began in 1998. Aucoin has mixed feelings about what might happen if, as expected, the NHL withdraws from the Games after 2010.

“I’m a big fan of putting the best possible players out there, obviously, so having the pros is a good thing. But about 75 percent of the players on the team I played with were amateurs, and that was the pinnacle of their careers. It was pretty special, and I think they appreciated it a lot more.”

In the meantime, it will take a lot to turn things around in Chicago, whose home game attendance has slumped to as low as 8,000 on the worst nights. But Aucoin believes it can be done with a commitment to team defense.

“We’ve unfortunately relied on our goalies too much, and thank goodness they’ve been playing great,” Aucoin said of Nikolai Khabibulin and Brian Boucher. “But we can’t give up 30 or 40 shots a game. We’ve just got to be stronger on the puck, especially in the defensive zone, and win more battles.”