Blackhawks, D Campoli part ways prior to arbitration

The Chicago Blackhawks and unrestricted free agent defenseman Chris Campoli have parted ways. Although an arbitration hearing was set for Aug. 3, both sides elected to walk away approximately two weeks ahead of time. "The decision was made to move the date up to today because Chicago likes Chris and didn't want him to be in a position where he was suddenly an unrestricted free agent in August," Campoli's agent Rich Evans told The (Toronto) Globe and Mail. "As long as the NHL and the Players' Association were in agreement, and the player and his agent and the team were in agreement, there was nothing holding us up from doing this and moving the date." Chicago general manager Stan Bowman also felt it was in the best interest of both parties to move on. "It was apparent from the beginning their salary demands were just not in concert with where we see him fitting in our team," Bowman said. "We had to make a decision it wasn't goin...