Cloumbus, OH (My Sportsbook) - Amid a cloud of controversy the Chicago Blackhawks head to Nationwide Arena, where they will open their 2002-03 season against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On Tuesday it was learned that Chicago's key offseason addition, volatile forward Theo Fleury had been suspended indefinitely by the NHL for violating his substance abuse aftercare program.
The 34-year-old Fleury had struggled with substance abuse problems while in New York, but the Blackhawks took a chance on the diminutive forward, giving him a two-year $8.5 million deal.
Reports surfaced last week that Fleury, who had missed a pair of Blackhawks practices, could be in trouble. Fleury said he missed the sessions because of surgery his father was undergoing to remove a tumor.
Under the terms of the program, Fleury will not be eligible for reinstatement until cleared by the supervising doctors.
Spurred by a torrid 8-3-3 start and former Jack Adams Award winner Brian Sutter's stern ways, Chicago ended its four-year postseason drought with a fifth-place finish in the highly- competitive Western Conference (41-27-13-1). Unfortunately, a 2-4-1 mark down the stretch was a foreshadow of things to come and Sutter's troops were eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in five games.
Adding to the team's misery was the fact that All-Star Tony Amonte exercised his right of free agency on July 1 and signed a four-year contract worth $24 million with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Fleury was being counted on to help soften the loss of Amonte in the offensive end.
The team also swung a deal with the Montreal Canadiens for crafty Sergei Berezin, who will attempt to recapture the scoring touch that allowed him to notch 37 goals for the Maple Leafs in the late 1990s. He managed a meager 11 scores last season with the Coyotes and Canadiens, but his raw speed and offensive instinct are reason enough to gamble.
Piling on the Blackhawks' recent string of bad luck is the fact that mammoth team-leader Eric Daze, who emerged last season with 38 goals and 32 assists, will be sidelined until December after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back.
In the crease, Jocelyn Thibault will once again enter as the incumbent after appearing in 67 games and registering a 2.49 goals-against average and .902 save-percentage. However, if he slips or succumbs to injury backup Steve Passmore is more than able to fill the void between the pipes.
Chicago is 33-26-17 all-time in its 76 year history on opening night.
Columbus, which is winless in its two-opening contests (0-1-1), got off to a sluggish 1-8-4 start and ended the season 22-47-8-5, the worst mark in the Western Conference.
The Jackets scored the fewest goals (164) in the entire league and allowed the most (255) in the Western Conference -- and they finished ahead of only Atlanta in the NHL's overall standings.
The disappointing product on the ice was, however, put in perspective in mid- March, when young fan Brittanie Cecil died two days after being struck by an errant puck at Nationwide Arena. Cecil's death led to protective netting being placed in all NHL arenas.
Columbus added veteran players such as defensemen Luke Richardson, Scott Lachance, and Lachance's playmaking Vancouver teammate Andrew Cassels with the hopes of improving this team.
There are also high hopes for Rick Nash, the team's top overall selection in this past year's NHL Entry Draft. Nash, who impressed in the preseason, signed a contract with the team on Monday, just beating the deadline that would have sent him back to his junior club for the year.
In net 25-year-old Marc Denis gets his first chance as the No. 1 netminder after serving as Ron Tugnutt's understudy for the previous two seasons.
Columbus has dropped two of the last three to the Blackhawks and are just 2-6-2 in their last 10 against Chicago. They have fared well at home though, going 2-0-1 against the 'Hawks in their last three.
