CSNChicago.com Blackhawks Insider Tracey Myers and PGL host Chris Boden will evaluate the 2011-12 performance of each player on the Hawks roster. One breakdown will occur every weekday in numerical order.
After being acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on Jan. 27, Brendan Morrison was uses sparingly by Joel Quenneville. He only played in 11 games for the Blackhawks, averaging 12 minutes and 22 seconds of ice time and did not record a point in the regular season, while finishing minus-4. Morrison played in three games of the firs-round series vs. Phoenix, playing just over 12 minutes per game and scoring a goal in Game 4.
Boden's take: Stan Bowman took a flyer on beating the trade deadline by a month and acquiring the 36-year-old from Calgary with the hope he could compete for second-line center. It backfired, but to this point, the price wasn't steep (Rockford defenseman Brian Connelly). Morrison had been slow to recover from a knee injury he suffered against the Hawks almost a year earlier, and Quenneville intimated he wasn't in the kind of physical shape as the rest of his players. He was a healthy scratch in 21 of 32 games after his acquisition, not registering a point until he scored a goal when given a chance in Game 4 against the Coyotes -- replacing Jamal Mayers in the lineup.
Myers' take: When the Blackhawks traded for the veteran forward a month before the trade deadline, they didnt give up much for him. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, they didnt get much out of their him, either. Morrison suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Blackhawks in 2010-11, and it looked like he still had off-and-on issues with that knee. Morrison struggled to break into the lineup, especially once the Blackhawks started winning late in the regular season. While he got in a few playoff games - and scored a goal - it was an otherwise forgettable few months here.
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2012-13 Expectations
Chris: The final three games vs. Phoenix were his best games as a Hawk. Still, unless no one else is giving him a shot and the Hawks just want to give him a tryout in camp, the UFA's career in Chicago would seem to be over.
Tracey: Anythings possible but I dont foresee Morrison returning to the Blackhawks next season. The veteran has had a solid career and is a great locker-room presence. But the injuries have piled up - hes hurt, and had surgery on, both knees - and there may not be anything left in his career. At least not with the Blackhawks.
How do you feel about this evaluation? As always, be sure to chime in with your thoughts by commenting below and check out Morrison's only Blackhawks goal by watching the highlights above.
News
Previously: Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, SteveMontador, Sean O'Donnell, Brent Seabrook, Nick Leddy, Patrick Sharp, Daniel Carcillo, Andrew Brunette, Marcus KrugerUp next: Jonathan Toews