Will Martin Havlat Stay?

Who is the Blackhawks's best player? Most casual fans would answer that question by name-dropping one of the high-profile youngsters -- either Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane. A die-hard fan with a nose for defense might tell you Duncan Keith. If your only concern is a slick open-ice spinorama, then Brian Campbell's your man. (Pity spinoramas don't count as points; Campbell might have led the Hawks this year.)

Any of these could be the right answer. So could Martin Havlat. Havlat, once a just-solid, if talented, playmaker, emerged as the Hawks's best facilitator in 2009. Havlat is a wizard with the puck, controlling it as few in the NHL can, swerving from side to side, and feeding pretty little passes on the break that somehow always seem to find their desired target. He could score more goals, too, but seems to prefer facilitating rushing Hawks players. He's a joy to watch.

And the Blackhawks, if they want to to keep improving, need him back. Without Havlat in 2009, the Hawks are a solid, plucky upstart; with him, they became something more.

The good news is that Havlat seems determined to stay in Chicago. His Twitter feed -- the preferred method of communications for athletes the world over -- ought to be incredibly encouraging to Hawks fans:

i want to tell everyone, right here, right now. There is nowhere else I want to be except Chicago. -- 8:17 PM May 28th from web

i would be honored to be a Blackhawk for the rest of my career. I love it here. -- 8:18 PM May 28th from web

Meeting with Dale Tallon for dinner tonight, leaving to Prague tomorrow. FYI, I am NOT putting my condo up for sale (if you get my drift!). -- about 22 hours ago from web

That last tweet was from Sunday morning, meaning Hawks GM Dave Tallon and Havlat likely met last night to get started on a deal. Will it happen? It depends how willing the Hawks are to pay Havlat, who made $6 million per year from his previous contract and who is looking, at age 27, for a long-term deal. Do the Hawks want to commit? Do they think Havlat, who has battled injuries throughout his career, is worth the hefty price tag? And what about Havlat? If the free agent market appears to be paltry, will his apparent loyalty to Chicago keep him around?

We'll see. For now, the signs are encouraging. The tweets are full of love. Bringing Havlat back -- and doing so without a major free agent standoff -- would be a great first offseason accomplishment for Tallon, and a great development for Hawks fans already thinking about competing in 2009-10.

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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