Havlat Unloads on Blackhawks
Former Hawk stands up for Tallon
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Marty Havlat has a few more parting shots for the Hawks.
When the Blackhawks chose to sign Detroit Red Wings forward Marian Hossa, which effectively ended winger Martin Havlat's much-beloved and successful stint with the team, the Hawks accomplished two things. They made the Blackhawks better. And they made Martin Havlat very angry.
Havlat wasn't shy about this anger: he took it to his ever-popular Twitter feed, where he wrote cryptic little Tweets about fans not having the "whole story." It was probably only a matter of time before said "whole story" came out, and with the firing -- excuse us, reassigning -- of former general manager Dale Tallon (who just happens to be very close with Havlat), it appears today is that day.
Havlat eschewed Twitter and spoke with TSN Canada's Darren Dreger instead. Some of what resulted:
"My negotiation with Chicago was not between Dale and my agent, it was between Dale and McDonough," Havlat said. "Why? Because McDonough couldn't stand that Dale was so successful and getting the credit for building the Hawks from a last place team to making the Conference Final in three short years. Remember, we were also the youngest team in the NHL last year.
"I was too closely identified with Dale," he continued. "McDonough knew long ago he was going to fire Dale. He wanted someone he could claim as his own He wanted to stand up at the convention and claim credit for signing this guy or that guy."
Havlat seems genuine -- no one has questioned his loyalty in all of this -- but he's also coming off as a little bitter. He's also potentially misreading how most Blackhawks fans feel about the situation. Some might be rightfully outraged, but most probably just want the whole sordid mess -- which has turned one of their favorite players against their favorite franchise, and who do you think is going to win that one? -- to be done.
As for the actual veracity of Havlat's claims, it's been long rumored that McDonough wanted to fire Tallon as soon as possible. Whether that has to do with ego or merely the standard house-cleaning associated with any new hockey regime -- well, your guess is as good as ours.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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Posted Friday, Jul 17, 2009 - 10:48 AM CST
