Over the weekend I went shopping for Blackhawks souvenirs and came away with a lesson on human nature. It happened at the Field of Dreams memorabilia shop at Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg.
The store has an impressive selection of Blackhawks memorabilia, from pucks and plaques to framed photos. Going through a stack of gorgeous pre-matted 8x10s, I noticed one player was conspicuous by his absence: Antti Niemi. I asked a store employee if I might have been looking in the wrong place for the Hawks’ netminder. “No,” he quickly replied, “we’re all out of Niemis.” He shouted to another gentleman behind the counter, “Do we have anymore Niemis?” The other guy just shook his head.
“But,” I chuckled, “I see you still have lots of Cristobal Huet.” They had at least a half dozen photos of the other Hawks’ goalie. The first gentleman looks at me and says, almost sheepishly, “Nobody wants Huet.”
That’s when it dawned on me how true that was. I couldn’t help thinking about that as I paid for my pictures and walked out of the store. Ever since the team clinched the title, every Blackhawk who stayed in town has suddenly become a hot commodity, commanding what I would guess to be premium fees to shake hands and sign autographs at stores, auto dealerships and shopping malls. Even fill-ins such as Jordan Hendry were getting top billing in some places. But there was one player who didn’t seem to be making the rounds of the glad-hand circuit: Cristobal Huet. Is there any place you’ve noticed that’s hosting a Huet autograph signing? I bet not.
I don’t know if Huet had a reason to leave town right after the celebration or if he’s still here but laying low. Either way, it’s not fair that he’s become persona non grata among fans, especially after being a contributor to the Blackhawks’ greatest season going back almost 50 years. Huet was actually the starting goaltender when the ’09-’10 season began and, along the way, appeared in 48 games, earning the same number of wins as Niemi, 26. True, he wasn’t a world-beater, performing below league average some of the time, and his wobbles at the end of the season couldn’t have come at a worse time for fans and their short memories. Furthermore, it doesn’t help that his large salary is often cited as the reason the Hawks have serious cap issues this off-season. But Huet was always ready when the Hawks counted on him, especially in the early part of the season, and his salary is the fault of Hawks’ management, not him. Fans should also realize that, even on championship teams, players can have subpar years.
Since the team clinched the Cup two weeks ago, Blackhawks fans have been a happy, contented lot. I’m proud to say I’m one of them. But I’m a bit disappointed in my fellow fans who’ve been giving Cristobal Huet grief, from booing him at the rally downtown to totally ignoring him at the souvenir stands. At a time when there’s plenty of celebratory afterglow to go around, Huet deserves to bask in his share of it. At least his name is on the Cup, where it’ll be forever.
