Stormy winds about to hit the Windy City?

Bob Foltman of the Chicago Tribune reports of possible trouble that’s brewing in Chi-town, between the GM and head coach of the Blackhawks.

GM Dale Tallon and head coach Trent Yawney seem to be on opposite sides, when it comes to how certain players are being used on the team.

Take Tony Salmelainen, for example.

The highly touted Finnish rookie was “billed as the perfect player for the new NHL—fast and skilled.” Tallon was so confident in him, that was willing to part with arguably the Hawks number one defenseman defenseman for him, Jaroslav Spacek. However, in 10 games with he Hawks, Salmelainen has 1 point — an assist.

So what’s the problem? Is Salmelainen a bust?

Well, depends on who you ask.

Tallon believes that for a skilled player like Salmelainen, he need the “quality ice time” and quality linemates. A clear shot at Yawney’s deployment of Salmelainen. For most of the season, Yawney has played the Finnish forward with “third and fourth-liners.”

On the other hand, Yawney says that players have to “earn the ice time,” and “start producing.”

And so the merry go-round spins. But it will stop at some point. If the GM and coach don’t come to some sort of compromise, this whole thing could end up with a player trade, or the coach getting fired.

We shall see.