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Blackhawks walk-away from Campoli, defenseman becomes unrestricted free agent

Corey Crawford

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, centre, looks on as Chicago Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews, right, celebrates his goal with teammate Chris Campoli during the third period of game 7 of an NHL Western Conference quarterfinal Stanley Cup playoff hockey series in Vancouver, British Columbia on Tuesday April 26, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

AP

The writing has been on the wall ever since the Blackhawks went out and acquired Sami Lepisto: Chris Campoli’s brief tenure in Chicago was coming to an end. After going through the perfunctory exercise of an arbitration hearing, the Blackhawks officially announced they are walking away from Campoli and the 1-year, $2.5 million contract the arbitrator awarded the defenseman. The team had publically stated that they were working diligently to reach a deal with the 27-year-old defenseman—but those plans feel by the wayside as the two-sides couldn’t agree to terms.

Campoli amassed 4 goals and 17 assists last year in 77 games for the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks. In fact, the Campoli acquisition was one Bowman’s major moves at the trade deadline in hopes of sparking another long playoff run the Hawks. In 19 games in the Windy City, he had a goal and 7 points. He was never going to be a superstar while playing behind guys like Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Niklas Hjalmarsson, but he still managed to be dependable player for the Hawks during his short stay. He averaged over 19 minutes per game, spent time on both the power play and penalty kill, and saw important minutes in the playoffs as well. Unfortunately for both sides, they couldn’t agree on his role going forward.

General manager Stan Bowman explained the difference of opinion:

“It was apparent from the beginning that their salary demands were not in concert with where we see him fitting in our team,” Bowman said last week. “We tried to work it out with Chris. We went back and forth and made him our best offer and it didn’t work for them.”

Judging by the Sami Lepisto acquisition, the Blackhawks have already moved forward with the offseason. Lepisto’s 4 goals and 16 points with the Phoenix Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets last year were similar to Campoli’s output with the Sens/Hawks. The major difference is Lepisto agreed to a one-year contract with only $750,000. For a team that is looking at the salary cap, almost $2 million is a huge difference for players with comparable production. This decision will give Bowman a bit of flexibility going into the season—something every general manager would like to have. It’s particularly impressive considering the Hawks already have eight defenseman under contract for next season. Yes, we’re considering John Scott an actual defenseman.

For Campoli, the future isn’t as clear as it is for the Hawks. The young blueliner will now scramble for a job after most teams have completed their major offseason shopping. Thankfully for him, the two-sides were able to move his hearing up to July 20th (originally set for August 4th) so he’ll have more time to look for a new gig. Not only will he need to find a team that is looking for a defenseman—he needs to find a team that can afford a new defenseman.

To start the speculation: a team like the New York Islanders would be a decent fit. He spent the first four years of his NHL career with the Isles before a mid-season trade sent him to Ottawa in 2009. In 2005-06, he posted careers bests with 9 goals and 25 assists in 80 games. Unfortunately for both Campoli and the Isles, his rookie year turned out to be the high-water mark of his career thus far. Perhaps the former 7th round draft pick would be able to recapture the magic that had Campoli as one of the rising young defensemen in the league.

We’ll keep track of the story as Campoli looks for his next employer.