from Tracey Myers of NHL.com,

The Chicago Blackhawks had a busy offseason, adding key veterans at every position after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive season.

"The bigger difference now is we have a full roster of players who have proven they can play in the League," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said. "In the past, sometimes situations are different, and you're relying on some younger players to take that step forward and hope they can prove they're ready to be NHLers. If you look at our group now, sort of top to bottom, we have players who have proven they can play in the NHL. Now it's a matter of finding the right role for them on our team, but we've got a lot more experience."

The Blackhawks' biggest splash came July 1, when goalie Robin Lehner agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract. Lehner was 25-13-5 with a 2.13 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and six shutouts in 46 games (43 starts) for the New York Islanders and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the top NHL goalie. He provides security for No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford, who has missed 80 games over the past two seasons because of concussions.

"Corey Crawford, in my book, he's still one of the top goalies in the League, and Robin Lehner's a Vezina finalist," Chicago goalie coach Jimmy Waite said. "It's going to be a great year and it's a big year for us. That's why we made that move. We needed to have 82 good starts on the goalies this year, because it's a big year for us."

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Below, watch Chicago's season preview...