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Jamal Mayers wants to be the missing piece in Chicago, win his first Stanley Cup

Nashville Predators v San Jose Sharks

SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 08: Jamal Mayers #10 of the San Jose Sharks in action against the Nashville Predators at HP Pavilion on January 8, 2011 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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Whenever you see a team winning the Stanley Cup and you take a look at their roster to see just who helped them reach hockey’s ultimate prize, there’s always one or two players who may not have found the stat sheet too often that helped lead the charge. Would the Bruins have been so successful last spring without the efforts of Daniel Paille on the penalty kill or Chris Kelly stepping up? It’s debatable.

Role players do their part for every team to bring them success and one guy that’s hoping to play that part is Jamal Mayers. Mayers played a tough role for the San Jose Sharks last season, but this year he brings his sandpaper-like game to Chicago with the newly toughened up Blackhawks. For the soon-to-be 37 year-old forward, he’d like to be one of those “missing piece” type players to help bring the Stanley Cup back to Chicago.

Chris Kuc of The Chicago Tribune caught up with Mayers to see what the 13-year veteran would like to do in his suddenly thrilling situation in the Windy City and what GM Stan Bowman is looking for out of him.

“I realize what my role is,” said Mayers, who had 124 penalty minutes in 78 games with the Sharks last season. “I want to create energy, be physical, use my speed and put some pressure on the other team’s defense.

“I like to think I’m a good teammate in the sense that I stick up for guys when it has to happen. It’s a physical sport and you want to allow your skill players to do their work. Sometimes you have to send a message and be physical on the other team’s top players as well.”

Mayers is part of the wave of physical players Bowman stockpiled from the free-agent market — including Daniel Carcillo and Sean O’Donnell — with the GM saying, “When you come to line up against the Blackhawks you know what you’re going to get. We’re going to come to play.”


We’ve talked a lot about Chicago’s rediscovered toughness this offseason. Everyone from Bowman to Patrick Kane have been raving about how tough the team is going to be this season compared to last and that’s all by design. Mayers has been one of those gritty irritating players through his whole career from his days in St. Louis on through stops in Toronto, Calgary, and San Jose. Getting a shot with a team that is certainly going to be one of the best in the Western Conference is something Mayers got used to last season with the Sharks.

With Mayers mixed in with the likes of Carcillo, O’Donnell, and Steve Montador gives Chicago the particular kind of snarl that helps teams in the West when it comes to playoff time. As long as he’s cozy in his role as a third or fourth line guy, the Blackhawks will have all parts of the game there to touch on. One thing’s for sure, as long as the injury bug stays away, Chicago is going to be a major pain to deal with. For Mayers, he’d like to see it all pay off in his first Stanley Cup. At his age, this might be his best chance yet to lift the hardware at season’s end.