Hawks sign Fernando Pisani, 1 year, 500k

[genefoley]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=330941



Didn't see this anywhere else. Good signing imo.



edit: **********, mods please delete.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=259&start=280



In the transactions thread, lol?



:dance:

 

[PatrickSharpRules]

Hope the ulcervitis or whatever those commercials are about are doing good.



Like the signing.

 

[Guest]

Hey Gene it's worthy of it's own thread.



We'll keep it up. I'm sure there's a lot of people that don't bother to look in the "transaction thread". I don't and only saw this trade when I clicked on the 300 level.



If Pisani can remain healthy this is an excellent pick up. Probably top two, maybe three PK Wings in the League.



Health will be the key. Gotta give the hawks some credit. It most certainly replaces Ladd on the PK.

 

[bookjones]

Well just in case, I'll repost that Edmonton article over here too!



From an Edmonton Journal blog:

The signing of Pisani a good bet by Blackhawks

By CULT OF HOCKEY WED, AUG 18 2010 COMMENTS(6) CULT OF HOCKEY



Oilers stalwart Fernando Pisani -- one of the final members of the Stanley Cup finalist '06 squad still on the team -- has signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.



The deal is one-year, one-way, $500,000, according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug. That's a great deal for Pisani, and maybe for the Hawks as well. If Pisani is healthy, the Blackhawks are signing a useful player, even though Pisani was arguably the worst Oilers forward at even strength last season.



The Hawks are the kings of even strength play, of course, so it's not as if Pisani is needed to star in that role on the Hawks. Instead, it's likely that Pisani will be most utilized in Chicago where he is best utilized, as a penalty killing ace.



When it comes to killing penalties, even an ailing Pisani has been the Oil's best penalty killer by far the past two seasons. Indeed, his performance on the kill has been so competent, I'd venture a guess that he's one of the two or three best penalty killing wingers in the entire NHL.



Before we count the ways Pisani was great on the penalty kill, however, let's take a closer look at his weak play at even strength.



Even among Oilers forwards, the worst group in the NHL, Pisani ranked poorly. He had few shots on net, the shots that did come were from outside, he made not one, single hard play at the net that saw the Oilers score a goal, he scored goals at a slower rate than any other forward (and, yes, that includes J.F. Jacques), and he contributed to goals at a lesser rate than any other Oilers forward.



His defensive play at even strength wasn't much better. He made a high number of mistakes that led to goals against and he was out for a massive number of shots and goals against.



So why bother signing the player?



Well, for one thing, according to Behind the Net, Pisani faced the toughest quality of competition of all Oilers players last season. He was entrusted with tough checking assignments, and if he struggled, at least he was struggling against the Jarome Iginlas and Patrick Kanes of the world.



But, really, the big factor is his work on the penalty kill.



You've all heard of players with a "good stick" defensively. Well, Pisani has an excellent stick, the best stick. He has a great sense of where to position himself at the top corner of the box in order to deflect, deny or pick off passes.



In 2008-09, in 91 minutes of penalty killing, he made just one mistake that contributed to a goal against the Edmonton Oilers, by far the best rate on the team. By comparison, his teammate Ethan Moreau, now in Columbus, made 17 such goals against-contributing errors in 199 penalty kill minutes that year.



This year, 2009-10, it was the same story. In 92 minutes on the kill, Pisani made just three goal-causing mistakes. Moreau made 12 in 162 minutes, Patrick O'Sullivan 12 in 116 minutes.



If you compare the goal-causing mistakes these players made per 60 minutes of penalty killing time, Pisani's rate two years ago was 0.65/60 and his rate this year was 1.97/60.



Over those two years, the next best Oiler on the kill was Erik Cole in 2008-09 with 2.20/60, and Shawn Horcoff and Andrew Cogliano this past year, at 2.95/60. Moreau was 4.44/60 in 2009-10, 5.13/60 in 2008-09.



Pisani succeeds so well in his own end on the kill because it's a mental game, all about reading the play, positioning the stick, making the right decision. At even strength, defensive play is more about brute strength and winning physical battles. The ailing Pisani struggled a bit at those two things, but with better health, one could reasonably expect his even strength defensive play to pick up as well.



If he's not expected to check the top scorers of the NHL, that would be a plus for him as well. On a fourth line, with softer minutes, I expect he will do just fine.



He's not going to score goals or create them. He never has been anything more than a grinder with a streaky touch here and there. But if Chicago is looking for a shut-down forward on the kill, Pisani is a great bet.



If Chicago is looking for a decent defensive winger at even strength, Pisani is an OK bet. It all depends on his health.



In the past two years, he has missed large chunks of time, playing just 38 games in 2008-09, 40 games in 2009-10. This is the real risk for the Hawks.



So good luck to them, and to Pisani, on that account.



The man is still a hero in Edmonton, revered by the Oilnoscenti for his head for the game, his hustle and his stellar play in '06. He will be missed, but he makes more sense as a role player in Chicago than as someone trying to do the heavy lifting again here in Edmonton.



SOURCE: http://communities.canada.com/edmon...-pisani-an-excellent-move-by-black-hawks.aspx

 

[MassHavoc]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8bm6XlxuCY[/youtube]

BEST GOAL SONG EVER.

 

[jakobeast]

UC at the UC!!!



Im going to hell.



Ulcerative colitis. It sounds like it sucks.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis

 

[bookjones]

[quote name="jakobeast"]UC at the UC!!!



Im going to hell.



Ulcerative colitis. It sounds like it sucks.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis[/quote]



Hell, judging by the pictures that accompany that Wikipedia entry I'd say it looks like it damn well sucks too. BIG-TIME.



Major props to the guy for trying his damndest to maintain an NHL career all these years while combating all that hot mess of a chronic disease.

 

[bri]

Doesn't Erik Christensen have something similar? I remember reading horrible comments about him from some of the Pens fans when he was on there. It must be very hard to play with something like that and try to keep it under control and maintain their energy level. I know the Pens used Christensen for the shootout quite a bit, but don't think he got a lot of ice time.

 

[Guest]

Good 4th liner.

 

[sth]

Can't argue with someone with that much speed on the PK. Smart signing I think.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

He gets beat up as good as Adam Burish!

 

[bri]

[quote name="Stu Grimson"]He gets beat up as good as Adam Burish![/quote]





Stop being a tool.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

[quote name="bri"]





Stop being a tool. [/quote]



I was just joking!



It was from the transactions thread:



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNg-2QfmDEM[/youtube]



I am actually really excited about this signing.

 

[CLWolf81]

Interesting.... Never saw this one coming at all.



Nice move by the Hawks on this. Wasn't expecting him to come here, and definitely not for that price, that's for sure.

 

[mikita's helmet]

Good PK pick up and if Pisani can regain his 2006 playoff form and keep his ulcerative colitis in check, it could end up being a VERY smart move by the Hawks.



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_b9tyzBA4s[/youtube]



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nR6T7fHgMc[/youtube]



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhdj1e2dtj4[/youtube]

 

[the canadian dream]

Hmmmm why am I hearing about this at 2 am? I gotta get back to the boards more.



Nice little signing Hawks. I like it!! Damn rights if Pisani can get his health in check this could be a very productive signing. I think Pisani has some things to prove to himself and his critics. He will be a nice addition to the Hawks this season. I have a feeling he will surprise some people.



Very happy. Gives a bit more depth to the 3/4 lines. Very surprised to see this yet very happy.

 

[roshinaya]

To those who have a hard time to check on the stickied topics, use the boards 'View New Posts' feature in the upper right. That way you can see all new posts from all the topics in every forum. Probably the best forum feature there is.

 

[BigPete]

Good signing, I hope he stays healthy.



Can anyone find the Knob Hockey episode with Fernando featured? It is hilarious but has seemed to have disappeared from the internets...

 

[Sathington Willoby]

Solid depth signing. At 500K, very little risk in this move. I could see him shine in the right role, and he should be slotted correctly on the Hawks.