No, not that John Madden. The other one. (Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't quit my day job.)
The Hawks agreed to terms today on a one-year deal with the hockey-playing John Madden, a centerman who has spent the previous 10 years with the New Jersey Devils.
Madden, 36, is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and should provide the Hawks with some depth up the middle. He's not going to score much, but I can see him making himself useful on the penalty kill and providing veteran leadership for a team that is still pretty young.
The Hawks have a surplus of forwards at this point, and you have to wonder if a trade to bolster the blue line is forthcoming.
The Devils have been letting players go left and right. I thought they did the right thing letting Madden walk. He hasn't done much since he won the Selke Trophy years ago, and he gets burned often on defense. He has played like his age in recent years, and former Devils coach Brent Sutter never had any use for him so it said something about his ability to play.
The 5 Devils fans I know here will not miss him.
If Sutter never had any use for Madden, then why did he average 16:25 minutes per game, which is about the average amount of time given to a 3rd line center? He IS a 3rd line center, by the way. He will win the majority of his face-offs and is still above average on the penalty kill and at backchecking. That's his role, and he still produces in his role with quality.
With the addition of Madden, we will be better shorthanded, and our goaltender will not be facing as many shots on goal. Martin Brodeur is a future Hall of Fame goaltender, but it didn't hurt that he had guys like Madden working their butts off in front of him
It's great that you're basing things off of what you hear from a few Devils fans you know. There are threads at various Devils boards of a bunch of Devils fans who will miss him.
Once again, you need to stay out of hockey discussions.
Madden was a finalist for the Selke Trophy as recently as 2008. I have to believe he has a little something left in the tank. In addition, he's going to be in a fourth-line role with the Hawks. I figure Toews, Bolland and Kopecky will center the first three lines.
I can see Madden fitting nicely with Eager and Burish, and I can see him helping the penalty kill. Without a doubt, the Hawks had some issues with their penalty kill last season.