After completely screwing up my facts with the Salary Cap both in blog and PUCKCAST, I'm leaving that alone.

Although, at this point, anything I say about the how this stupid cap works, if you read/listen, you're as much, if not more, of a dumbass than I am.

That being said, the Chicago Blackhawks pretty much rendered the whole "Blackhawk 5" melodrama moot today by announcing the re-signing of free agents Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, Corey Crawford, Aaron Johnson (IS RIGHT!) and Colin Fraser. There are also reports that Cam Barker also signed, but this is still unconfirmed.

Brouwer and Crawford each got 2 year contracts, and the others each got one year deals.

Now of course, looking for meaning in any of these signings might be as futile as thinking the two-year deal Jake Dowell got means anything.

Eager will be on the fourth line once again with Adam Burish. They actually were pretty decent last season, and Eager even occasionally scored a goal and threw a couple decent beatings out there.

Fraser gave yeoman effort, also on the fourth line. Once Sami Pahlsson came in, he pretty much wound up being the odd man out. He was pretty solid on penalty kills last season, and you can't really say anything bad about him.

Brouwer, strangely, proved his worth when he was injured. Although he could amaze and astound Hawks fans with his uncanny ability to his the goalie's sweater crest from anywhere on the ice, he was pretty decent at mucking in the corners and digging out pucks for Kane and Toews. He also wasn't shy at all about taking the body...if he's still around this season, he, Kopecky and Byfuglien should get damn near 200 hits among them.

Johnson will get third-pair minutes, and Crawford will fight it out with Anti Niemi for who gets to be Cristobal Huet's backup.

Of course, Kris VERSTEEG! is still in the wind.

So, based upon signed players to date, here's a quick glance at what the Hawks have:

1st Line: Sharp/Toews/Kane
2nd Line: Ladd/Bolland/Hossa
3rd Line: Kopecky/Madden/Byfuglien
4th Line: Burish/Fraser/Eager

Where does that leave Brouwer? Whither VERSTEEG!? We'll get to that in a second.

Our defensive pairings:

1st :Keith/Seabrook
2nd: Campbell/Hammer
3rd: Barker/Sopel

So we're got 13 forwards for 12 spots, and we haven't even discussed anyone coming up, like Skille, Aliu or Beach. Beach is either on the Hawks or in Junior for another year. The Hawks can dress him for a 10-game trial, but after that they have to decide. Based upon the fact that they're a Stanley Cup contender, an extra year in Junior might not be the worst thing.

There has to be a trade somewhere. They have a glut of forwards, and some of them make a lot of dough. Big Fugly has a huge amount of upside (and trade value) based upon his performance late in the season, as well as in the playoffs. VERSTEEG! and is a very attractive RFA, and if Kevin Lowe were still running things in Edmonton, he would be in blue and orange already.

Is he worth the draft picks they'd cost? Would the Hawks want to be overloaded in draft picks, considering how the 2010 draft is, at best, lackluster?

H is anideal candidates for a sign-and-trade, since his style of play, combined with the current lineup of forwards pretty much makes him an odd man out. Plus, he's asking for Patrick Sharp money. Not gonna happen.

Given the Hawks' new found flair for the dramatic, expect a trade, possibly a big one, between now and the start of the Convention.

QUICK NOTE: Has anyone else noticed, with Pahlsson going to Columbus, and Logan Stephenson not being tendered a qualifying offer, the Hawks gave up THE GREAT JAMES WISNIEWSKI for nothing?