When Free Agency began the Blackhawks returned a familiar face in Brian Campbell. General Manager Stan Bowman addressed a huge hole on defense, and with Campbell in the fold, the Blackhawks defense went from bad to good in the blink of an eye. The Blackhawks now have a big four on defense again and could have another gem in recently signed Michel Kempny.
While Bowman made a good signing in bringing back Campbell. he failed to address another issue, the forwards. This off-season the Blackhawks forward group has gotten significantly weaker through trades and free agents signing elsewhere.