When Blackhawks' GM Stan Bowman had to start dismantling the Stanley Cup Champions before the confetti had even been swept off the street, the general consensus was that the one component of the team that would suffer least was the blueline corps. The only defenseman from last year's team to not return was Brent Sopel, who dragged his sizable talent to Atlanta before his dongage was requested in Montreal.

The Hawks kept Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Boynton and Jordan Hendry. They added behemoth John Scott on the first day of free agent signings, and they looked set.

So how did it go?

FORK: All season long, Duncan Keith didn't look right, and then at the end of the season, he admitted he didn't feel interested, and had trouble self-motivating. Now, the boy had eight million pretty good reasons to be interested and motivated, not to mention all the work he put into becoming one of the elite defensemen in the NHL, culminating last season in winning the Olympic gold medal, Norris Trophy and Stanley Cup. On the bright side, there are players who loaf their way through seasons after signing their big contract, and never acknowledge their own laziness. The fact that Keith saw and admitted what was going on means he is more likely to address it. Hopefully watching three rounds of playoffs on TV instead of skating in them will get him ready to go.

The brightest light on the blue line was Brent Seabrook. Over the past couple years he went from being a guy who looked like he might have the tools, to a pretty good defenseman to a necessary piece to a championship team. This season he scored 48 points, a new season high for him, and supplanted Keith as the Hawks' best defenseman, night in and night out. Now he's got a new contract, and I actually expect to see him continue to improve.

Brian Campbell was another one who improved, although with an asterisk. His quality of competition number, according to Behind The Net was .023, as opposed to Keith's .086. so take his gaudy +28 with a box of salt. That being said, he was excellent in the role he was given, although it might have been nice to see QStache maybe give him more time against the top lines of the other teams, especially when Keith was struggling.

Niklas Hjalmarsson signed his $3.5 million offer sheet with the Sharks, which the Hawks promptly matched. He played like his usual beast self for about half the year before he suddenly got the yips out on the ice. He stopped taking the body, got too antsy with the puck, and just stopped playing like Niklas Hjalmarsson. I guess it's safe to say he's the Blackhawk who is most likely to be traded this summer, as you can replace what he contributed this offseason for a lot less than three and a half million dollars, but he still might be able to skate on a top pair in enough NHL cities to give the Hawks options.

Why Qstache has always hated Jordan Hendry is anyone's guess. By all accounts, his athleticism is unmatched, and he's always done whatever has been required. Unfortunately, he was set to make a nice haul this summer, and still might be able to do so, before he tore up his knee. If the Hawks don't want him back, someone will certainly take a flyer on him.

Chris Campoli seemed like a consolation prize on trade deadline day. They really needed a hitter & penalty killer, and Campoli didn't fit the bill. He replaced Nick Boynton as the defenseman who never met a pinch he didn't like, and had the misfortune of saving his worst screwup of the season for overtime of Game 7, and it put the Hawks on a handshake line before heading home. His $1.4 million deal is done, but I can't see the Hawks spending that kind of money to bring him back to skate on the third pair.

We can probably do an entire post just on Nick Leddy. He was ill served in coming to Chicago as early as he did. I understand the Hawks giving up his slide year, just so he and Jeremy Morin don't come due together, but he could have used the extra time in the AHL learning how to play the game. The bright side is he actually developed on the job more than anyone in their right mind could have expected, and the Hawks have got themselves a good one going forward. At some point, he will undoubtedly be a top four on this team, and the Hawks might be able to move some of the larger salaries as players like Leddy, Dylan Olsen and Joe Lavin start finding their way into roles in Chicago.

John Scott is fun when he pummels guys. I still can't figure out why Stan Bowman gave him two years on July 1, but what's done is done.

The less said about Jassen Cullimore and Boynton, the better.

CT: Part of me wants to give Duncan Keith some kind of credit for admitting he wasn't as interested this season.  So, I award him one point for honestly and minus a million points for being a jerk.  Keith was wildly inconsistent this year, and he needs to find his focus or his smile or whatever the hell right quick.  If I'm in the Hawks front office, I tell Keith to forget about this year, get himself healthy in the offseason so he can show up motivated to play on Day 1.  Then I pray that I didn't just hand what amounts to a lifetime contract to a guy is now completely satisfied with himself. 

Meanwhile, while his usual running buddy was giving us all fits, Brent Seabrook was putting together the best offensive season of his career, while still remaining a force in his own end of the rink.  I think Seabs biggest improvement came  on the power play, where injuries and lineup juggling found him getting a lot more time on the man advantage.  The results were good, Seabrook appears to be a credible trigger man from the top, as well as filling in admirably in Patrick Sharp's usual spot on the weak side when Sharpie was injured.  This was very good news because...

Niklas Hjalmarsson took a step back this year.  I disagree with Fork on Hammer's first half, he was no beast, just kind of there.  In the second half of the season, he really made himself noticed, mostly because he was a complete basket case in his own end.  Hjalmarsson seemingly heard nothing but footsteps, and his strategy of blindly throwing the puck away like a live hand grenade made him hard to watch.  I think my favorite moment was when during one shift at the end of the season, Nik reversed the puck not once, but twice to his partner Brian Campbell, despite the fact that Campbell had broken his stick.

Speaking of Brian Campbell, he had a very good season, to the point where I don't remember hearing an idiotic trade rumor involving him being bandied about at the deadline this year (then again, I don't remember what I ate for dinner last night, either).  Campbell seemed to reign in his offensive game a bit to be more responsible in his own end.  Whether that was in response to coaching or the fact that his formerly solid partner had become a basketcase is up for debate.  My biggest issue is with the coaching staff - I don't see why Campbell isn't playing on the number 1 power play unit.  The Hawks biggest PP issue is their entry, and it would seem that Campbell is the guy who would provide the most obvious solution.  It's got to be better than watching Duncan Keith firing a 60 foot pass to a forward who is about to meet his maker at the opponents blue line.

In less than a year, Nick Leddy went from a college player at Minnesota to a throw-in in the Cam Barker trade to Rockford to the NHL.  As one might expect, the results were mixed.  I'm in the camp of people who think Leddy should go back to the AHL next year.  While it's nice that he developed to the point where he didn't shit himself everytime he saw an NHL forecheck, Leddy needs to play full time on the power play and penalty kill to develop, and he's not going to get that opportunity with the Hawks.

Unlike my partner, I actually liked Chris Campoli.  Yes, he got a bit pinchy at times, but at least he could justify it by scoring the occasional goal (unlike, say, Nick Boynton).  Otherwise, he brought a bit of mobility to the third pairing, which we all know the Hawks front office loves.  Yeah, it was his turnover that ended the Hawks season, but that shit happens, and he was hardly the only defensemen on the team who committed such sins.  In the end, I think Campoli is a guy that Chicago wants back if they can get him at the right price.  I'd take him.

The rest of the defense was a collection cast offs, and, uh that's it.  Jordan Hendry did little of note other than tear his ACL.  Nick Boynton was terrible on the ice, then showed what a dope he was by telling reporters he didn't understand why he was a healthy scratch (now THAT'S veteran leadership).  Thankfully, Boynton was waived and we never have to see him again.  Jassen Cullimore was actually much more competent than Boynton, and for that, he was shipped to Rockford.  John Scott was John Scott.  A might oak of a man who was a mighty oak of a hockey player.  Let's hope he puts down permanent roots in the press box.