Eddie O: Keith, Seabrook need help

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There's still more than two months until NHL free agency is set to begin on July 1, but Blackhawks analyst Ed Olczyk was willing to share a couple of ideas about what general manager Stan Bowman should do on Tuesday's Chicago Tribune Live.

"I think they've got to get some heaviness in their team up and down the lineup, not only at the forward position but also on the back end," Olczyk said. "I think you've got to get some help for Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Those guys play such tough minutes, hard minutes, against some of the best players in the world."

Olczyk also acknowledged that while Jonathan Toews solidifies the No. 1 center position and Dave Bolland is terrific on the checking line, the team needs a center between them.

"I think that was exposed in this series, the second center-ice position," Olczyk said. "Patrick Kane is a dynamic player, but is a much different animal playing center than wing and you saw the revolving door all year, Joel Quenneville looking to go to Kane or to Patrick Sharp or to Bolland or to Brandon Pirri or to Marcus Kruger. They had a lot of different guys try to fill that void and once Marian Hossa went out all of a sudden now you became less of a threat offensively without a pure finisher on the wall with the wingers. That's an area that certainly needs to be addressed."

Olczyk also defended Corey Crawford's overall performance in the series and praised the performance of Andrew Shaw and Michael Frolik while discussing why Kruger and Viktor Stalberg really took a step back.

Check out all of Eddie O's thoughts by watching the video above.

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