New Blackhawk Dan Carcillo has learned lesson
BY ADAM L. JAHNS ajahns@suntimes.com July 2, 2011 9:38PM
Dan Carcillo
Updated: July 3, 2011 2:24AM
Dan Carcillo’s reputation as one of the NHL’s bad boys precedes him. But the newest Blackhawk said he has learned to temper his emotions and not hurt his team by marching to the penalty box, even if he’ll start the year with a two-game suspension.
“It’s taken a couple years; it’s a tough line to walk,” Carcillo said. “You don’t want to hurt the team when you’re playing like that. I think over the years I’ve gotten a lot better with it. Playing with that emotion and bringing it every night.”
According to Hockeyfights.com, Carcillo has been in 75 fights in the regular season since entering the league in 2006-07. He had a career-high 324 penalty minutes with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007-08 and 207 with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009-10.
But he’s also a decent player. He has lined up with talented forwards such as Mike Richards and has 13- and 12-goal seasons on his resume, despite being a scratch at times.
General manager Stan Bowman targeted Carcillo for his complete package.
“He’s got a lot of personality,” Bowman said. “There is nothing wrong with that. We can use that on our team. He’s a guy you can’t stand playing against. Not only does he get under your skin, but he can play hockey on top of it. Those are things that really interested us from the get-go.”
