Kruger's Patience, Mayers, a Liasion

There was news on the Marcus Kruger front today as Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc reported that he talked with Kruger's agent, J.P. Barry.  According to Barry, both the Blackhawks and Kruger are being patient.  A long-term deal was said to be in the works, but today Barry stated that Kruger "will have no choice later in August but to do a shorter deal".  Stan Bowman has not found the right trading partner for the likes of Bryan Bickell or Kris Versteeg yet.  It is clear that Kruger wants to stay with the Hawks and time will tell what kind of deal can be made to keep him wearing the Blackhawks sweater.  Kruger, a restricted free agent, could have taken the Blackhawks to arbitration if he wanted to, but chose not to.  A sign that he wanted to get a long-term deal done.

One signing that did occur today was in the Blackhawks front office.  Jamal Mayers, a member of the 2013 Blackhawks Stanley Cup team, and was up till now, an analyst for Comcast SportsNet for Blackhawks broadcasts as well as for the NHL Network.  Today, he became the Community Liaison for the Blackhawks.  Blackhawks president & CEO John McDonough said in a statement, "We are proud to welcome Jamal back to the organization in this role.  We envision him being a strong asset to the Blackhawks as we continue to focus on the growth of youth hockey.  Jamal's involvement in our local neighborhoods will help to further ingrain the Blackhawks brand into our community."  Congratulations to Jammer!

LET'S GO HAWKS!!!