End of Preseason for Hawks, Oil

The Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers played their last preseason games this evening.

Thankfully, Tom Gilbert's stats in tonight's game look better than previous preseason games: TOI 22:27 (PP 1:26, SH 5:49, EV 15:12), SOG 2, A/B 1, MS 1, HT 1, BS 2. Game wasn't televised, I don't think, so I haven't heard any chatter from those who saw the game. Oilers went with pretty much their regular season lineup and defeated the Dallas Stars 3-2.

Jack Skille got decent icetime in Chicago's 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He was held of the scoresheet, but his stats seem to indicate that he had a solid night: TOI 11:19, SOG 2, MS 1, HT 4. Nice to see Skille playing a physical game.

By the way, it looks like I missed (gasp) a Jack Skille article from last month. (Unless I posted it and forgot, which is entirely possible.)

''That was a reward for doing what he did all summer,'' said Savard. ''He deserved that opportunity. He worked so hard.''

''I had a good, solid year -- for a rookie in the minors,'' Skille said. ''It was a mental test for me. Everywhere I'd played before I was a top-six forward. Last year was a grind because I wasn't.''

''I'm a lot more confident, and playing with Sharpie and Kaner was a heck of a opportunity for me to prove myself,'' Skille said.

''Jack is going to be an up-and-down winger in this league,'' Savard said. ''He's a banger. Hopefully we can make him a penalty-killer at some point. He'll fit because of his speed. He's fast and has the ability to recover.''

Speaking of Jack Skille, he's been mentioned in a trade rumor with Boston. This is just a rumor, but I thought I might as well mention it since The Third Man In already did.

Matheson (Edmonton Journal):
CENTRE OF ATTENTION

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to troll for a No. 2 centre to take some heat off Jonathan Toews.

If they don't get Michael Nylander of the Washington Capitals, they may go after the Bruins' Marc Savard. Boston already has Patrice Bergeron, who could be the No. 1 guy, and David Krejci to move into the second slot. If the Bruins got blue-liner Brent Seabrook and young winger Jack Skille, they might do it.

Chris Block (The Third Man In):
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal is reporting the Hawks not only have had trade discussions with Washington about Michael Nylander, but they could also be interested in the Bruins’ Marc Savard. In mentioning the latter, Matheson suggested Brent Seabrook and Jack Skille as the two names together who could trigger a deal. That sounds about right but Skille and Phil Kessel in the same locker room as teammates?

Adam Burish played for the Hawks tonight as well. In 8:08 of icetime, he had 1 blocked shot and no PIM.

Obviously Burish and Gilbert have made their respective teams. Now we just need to keep a watch on Skille -- you can expect the Hawks to make final cuts Monday or Tuesday. I think he'll make the team, but what do I know?