When people look at the turnover on the Chicago Blackhawks since the Stanley Cup parade, they point to the forwards. Gone are Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, John Madden, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser and Adam Burish. Arriving are Fernando Pisani, Jack Skille, Jake Dowell,  That Guy, That Other Guy, and Some Dude.

Remaining, of course, are Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp (a very handsome man), Patrick Kane, Troy Brouwer, Marian Hossa, Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell, and Tomas Kopecky. Bickell commuted between Chicago and Rockford all season, but after signing a 3-year deal, will be a part of the Blackhawks this season. Skille and Dowell also saw action in Blackhawks uniforms last season.

With such a large number of players coming and going, the only thing that's certain is that nothing is certain. So, since nobody knows how anything is going to play out, please allow us to tell you how this will play out:

FORK: First of all, condolences to every other team that had to let players go without the benefit of being able to trot out the Stanley Cup all summer long. Hawks fans can bemoan the salary cap all they want, but if there were no such animal as the cap, Hossa would be either a Penguin or a Red Wing. So forget it.

Secondly, there will be a lot of new faces this season. Guys like Bickell and Dowell will finally get their shots at the big time, full time. In fact, Dowell pretty much knows his role already, as the only position that looks set going into training camp is center, where the depth chart reads Toews, Sharp, Bolland, Dowell. Where wingers not named Patrick Kane, Troy Brouwer or Marian Hossa slot in is anyone's guess.

I think it's a safe assumption that the top line will again be Toews centering Brouwer and Kane. Brouwer's father's health issues of last spring were, understandably, a major distraction for Brouwer. It also allowed Dustin Byfuglien to take his spot on that line and become a folk hero to all. This year it's not unreasonable to expect 80-100 goals out of this line. Kane has taken his place among the best wingers in the league, being named a first-team All-Star. Toews is constantly looking for ways to improve his game. Think about that...the Hawks have two of the best players in the league in Kane and Toews, and they still have upside. Brouwer gained a lot of confidence last year, and while he'll never be a superstar in this league, he's learned to accomplish a lot by keeping his game simple.

Speaking of improving their games, I never expected Sharp to be as effective in the faceoff circle as he was last season. While Toews became one of the best in the league, Sharp became pretty damn dependable. He and Hossa took a little while to gel, and I still think Hossa plays better with a pure playmaker, which Sharp isn't. Flipping Hossa and Kane would certainly play into each other's strengths, as a line of Toews, Hossa and Brouwer would be absolutely punishing, and a line with Kane and Sharp would allow Kane even more of a chance to get creative. However, you'd need someone to ride shotgun there to keep teams from taking liberties. Unfortunately, Kyle Beach will probably start the season in Rockford, otherwise he'd be the perfect guy. So I wouldn't expect anything different to start off the season.

Bolland had a strong playoff, but he really needs to pick it up on faceoffs. He no longer has the luxury of having Versteeg and Byfuglien on his wings, so he'll need to get control of the puck more often. Pisani will help on that line, and I don't see any reason why, if he's healthy, he doesn't take Madden's spot next to Bolland on the first Penalty Kill unit. This spot was originally supposed to be Marty Reasoner's (which also would have placed Bolland between Sharp and Hossa), but he proved too expensive an option, compared to someone like Pisani.

Viktor Stalberg is an interesting case, if only because he doesn't fit the profile of a Blackhawks forward. He's not willing to mix it up in traffic, and he doesn't backcheck. But, Lordy Begordy, the kid has serious wheels. He has decent hands too. He might be a surprise this season.

Jack Skille needs to roar out of the gate, or he's back in Rockford, where everybody knows his name. Also, if guys like Jeff Taffe or Hugh Jessiman ever see regular-season play, it means either the Hawks have clinched the President's Trophy, or the whole damn season's gone pear-shaped.

CT:

5 of the Hawks top six forwards are basically set.  Toews, Kane and Brouwer will likely start out as the top line.  We know what Toews and Kane can do, and Brouwer's good enough to chip in 20-25 goals playing with those guys.  The interesting question will be who gets to ride shotgun with Hossa and Sharp.  Bickell seems like the obvious choice, as he had some success in the playoffs playing the role of big body in front of the net, but Bickell's downside is that he's slow as hell.  It didn't matter much against Nashville's slow-down trapping style in the first round, but his speed was definitely exposed against Vancouver and he couldn't keep up with Kane and Toews in a wide open game.

I think Viktor Stalberg and Jack Skille will be given a shot to win that 2nd line job.  If you think about it, it's very a good spot for a young player to be in.  Both Sharp and Hossa are excellent defensive players, which takes a bit of the pressure off in their own end.  Hopefully one of these two can make a contract drive from that spot this year.  Of course, there's always the chance that Quenneville decides to play Kopecky here, because Slovaks gotta stick together.

The bottom six forwards are exactly the opposite from the top six.  The only thing that seems definite is that Dave Bolland will center the third line and the rest of this crew will be filled out by some combination of Skille, Stalberg, Bickell, Jake Dowell, Kopecky, Fernando Pisani and possibly Evan Brophey and Brandon Bollig.  This is where Q and his coaching staff will earn their pay, since other than Bolland and Kopecky, these guys are all very green and several of them (Skille, Stalberg and Kopecky) don't possess the classic skillset of a 3rd or 4th line player.  I'd guess that if healthy, Pisani will start the season on the 3rd line, if only because six of these guys spent most of last season in the minors, and it seems like too big a leap in logic to think they'll all stick with the big club out of training camp.

So, unlike last year, the Hawks will actually have a very intense training camp, as there will be a lot of forwards fighting for jobs.  While it may not be the most ideal way to defend a title, it should at least prove interesting.