Brian Campbell Thriving On Blackhawks’ Blue Line

It’s difficult to find a hockey fan that thinks too highly of Brian Campbell, and most of it isn’t even his fault. Lauded as one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the NHL, Chicago turned heads when they threw out big money to sign Campbell to an eight-year deal worth over 56 million dollars in the summer of 2008. While much of the concerns around Campbell revolved around Chicago’s ability to sign Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane longterm (a problem which has been solved since), critics simply don’t believe that he was worth the money. While Campbell came in as a solid defenseman, there weren’t too many indications that he carried the “franchise” label with him on the blue line that would signify a payday like he received. He was a plus-28 with Buffalo in 2006, but had only finished with a ‘plus’ in one other season, which was split between Buffalo and San Jose. In a way, Campbell’s critics were right. The man they call &...