March 26--As the Blackhawks continue their rough stretch, there's one group coach Joel Quenneville said is not a problem -- the new guys.
You can look at the Hawks' 4-5-2 record since they acquired Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise, Tomas Fleischmann and Christian Ehrhoff and argue that the new guys might be to blame.
But not Quenneville.
"I'm fine with all of them," Quenneville said. "You can talk about everybody's game right now individually on your team and not too many guys right now are at their best. We all should absorb some responsibility knowing we have to be better across the board."
The Hawks certainly hope the new acquisitions can be part of the solution, especially Ladd. Ladd has been "all right," said Quenneville, but the Hawks were hoping for more than that when sending a highly valued prospect in winger Marko Dano and a first-round draft pick to the Jets for Ladd.
Ladd has three goals and two assists in 11 games since rejoining the Hawks and playing mostly on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
But that combination, like most of the Hawks, has not been producing enough.
"Whether he's playing with that line or not, he can make an impact on our team," Quenneville said of Ladd. "I think that line straight ahead is responsible. ... And Laddy, no matter who he's playing with, I expect that line to score and be reliable defensively. He gives us energy and good experience, and right now you don't want to look at one guy and say he's the reason it's not effective because everybody has to take ownership."
As for the other newbies, Ehrhoff has had trouble cracking the defensive rotation on a regular basis, while Fleischmann has played some of the best hockey on the Hawks the last month. His chemistry with Teuvo Teravainen at center was palpable from their first game together. Fleischmann has three goals in 11 games, and the fit between Fleischmann's skill set and the Hawks has been strong.
"I would be mad if (the fit) didn't happen," he said. "But I knew coming here I'd get the puck more than most anywhere else, and that gets you into the game and makes your confidence better and you feel better on the ice."
Weise, meanwhile, has had a slower start and has not scored a goal in nine games but said he is starting to feel more at home. It helps that he is back on a line with Fleischmann, with whom he skated for several games when the two played for the Canadiens.
"First couple of games you get in and it's so quick," Weise said. "You're trying to learn the system really quick, and there's not a lot of practice and you can't really pick it up from there. ... (Tomas) makes things easy. I'm really comfortable with him. He's a smart guy and he's easy to play with."
chine@tribpub.com
