Hawks Re-Sign Drew Stafford 2009-06-27 Just after announcing the dealing of winger Erik Cole, the Chicago Blackawks have announced the signing of restricted free agent winger Drew Stafford. Stafford who took great strides towards becoming a legitimate top-6 forward last season will be expected to take on a much bigger role with the departure of Erik Cole. He is expected to skate next season on the 3rd line with center Jeff Carter and winger Rene Bourque. "Drew is a very important piece of our team and we expect him to play an even bigger role as we go forward." said the Hawks GM. This leaves the Hawks with only one RFA to sign in Milan Michalek prompting speculation the team may move the talented winger. "We fully intend to sign Milan, however we added Rene Bourque late last season to insulate ourselves in case things don't pan out".