Havlat holds out hope for Hawks

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007

By Lucas Aykroyd

Which is more likely, that Chicago will make the NHL playoffs or that the Berlin Wall will be rebuilt this year? According to some, the chances are about equal.

Last season, the Blackhawks pinned their hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2002 on the “Bulin Wall,” Nikolai Khabibulin. But the Russian netminder failed to replicate his 2004 prowess with the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. This season, Czech forward Martin Havlat moved into the spotlight when he was acquired from Ottawa in a three-way trade also involving San Jose on July 9, 2006.

The gifted 25-year-old right winger has delivered offensive heroics as the club’s top scorer, despite missing 22 games due to injuries. In fact, he led the NHL in scoring before going down with an ankle injury on October 20. But Chicago still finds itself battling teams like St. Louis, Columbus, and Los Angeles to avoid last place in the Western Conference.

When the Hawks defeated Vancouver 3-0 on February 7 at GM Place, it was only their fifth win of the New Year to go with nine regulation and two overtime losses. However, most of those wins came starting at the end of January, creating hope (at least in the Chicago dressing room) that a desperate playoff push might still pay off.

“Our mindset is that we still have 28 games, a lot of hockey left,” Havlat told Eishockey News afterwards. “We’re trying to take it game by game. You don’t want to look too far ahead.”

That approach is especially important in light of the number of youngsters that Chicago ices each night. Although fading veteran Peter Bondra celebrated his 39th birthday on the same night that 32-year-old Patrick Lalime recorded his first win and shutout of the year, the future lies with the likes of forward Tuomo Ruutu and defensemen Brent Seabrook and Cam Barker.

“We’re rebuilding and we don’t have that much experience,” Havlat said. “But we’re getting better every game. There are some more young guys coming next year, so hopefully we’re going to get better every year.”

Havlat, who inked a three-year, $18-million contract before the season, hasn’t allowed the weight of expectations to hinder his play. The Mlada Boleslav native is enjoying the opportunity to be the go-to guy after being overshadowed in Ottawa by stars like Daniel Alfredsson and Marian Hossa.

He’s also delighted with the 22 minutes of ice time he’s averaged so far under coach Denis Savard: “He’s putting me out there in all kinds of situations: penalty-killing, power play, shootouts. I’m really fortunate. I can feel support from the whole coaching staff, and that’s really important for me. I’m no different from any other guy in the league in that I want to be out there on the ice.”

Although the 188-cm, 94-kg prodigy has enjoyed playing with Bryan Smolinski and Radim Vrbata recently, he hopes to renew his partnership with Michal Handzus next year. The big Slovak center, whose Jesus Christ Superstar hairdo outshines even Havlat’s, went down with a torn ACL in his left knee on October 21, and is out for the season due to surgery in November.

“I think he was great for us in the first eight games for us before he got hurt,” said Havlat. “Hopefully everything works out OK with his knee. He’s a free agent in the summer, so we’ll see what happens.”

In various ways, Martin Havlat has always tried to associate himself with excellence. He bought an autographed Wayne Gretzky jersey for $1,400 as a rookie with Ottawa. He loves the Oscar-winning historical epic Braveheart. And he spent last summer training intensively in Montreal with two fellow Czechs, Florida’s Rostislav Olesz and San Jose’s Milan Michalek.

So even if it doesn’t all work out for Havlat this year, the man whom Denis Savard recently dubbed “a Peter Forsberg on right wing” should have a bright future in the Windy City.