This will set the Hawks back 3 years.
Only in the minds of people that over valued him like yourself. He's a 3rd line player that's always injured. Big deal.
He hasn't averaged more than 17 minutes in both of his seasons. This year he was under 15. The only injury he suffered on the ice this year was when he got stepped on. A fluke.
He was hurt before the season. Then got hurt again. Came back for a brief moment, got hurt again. He played 15 bloody games!
He receives power play time and ice time in crucial situations when he really hasn't done a thing to prove he deserves it. The guy has little to no offensive talent, yet people like yourself are convinced he's the next Peter Forsberg.
He's played 98 games for Finland?
It was a very slight exaggeration because Blackhawk fans have seen Ruutu more often playing for Finland than for the Blackhawks. He played 15 games for Chicago all season. He played 9 games for Finland in just about 2 weeks. And of course during the lockout, Hawk fans saw him play for Finland in the World Cup. Get the picture? Ruutu plays for Finland before the season. Chicago's season starts, Ruutu gets hurt and barely plays all year long. Season ends and Ruutu plays for Finland. It's kind of pathetic.
He's the best forward on the team by a landslide. Teams don't deal their best forward unless they have a screw loose.
Your post and opinion of Ruutu is exactly the reason why the Blackhawks should have dealt him. He's completely overrated. He's not Peter Forsberg in the making. He has very little offensive talent no matter how many chances the Hawks (or Finland for that matter) gave him, he doesn't produce. He's nothing more than a glorified 3rd line player who is prone to injury.
He's done almost nothing positive for the Blackhawks in his time there, yet some people in the "hockey world" still think he's a star....that's the kind of guy you need to deal before everyone catches on that he was just over-hyped. But it looks like they waited too long and now Ruutu might screw them. That's why the smart General Managers show some foresight and make moves before they become obvious to the rest of the league. (ie. the Wendel Clark for Mats Sundin trade years ago)