Tag Archives: NHL

Blackhawks gearing up for a trade?

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174Tuesday afternoon, the Blackhawks placed aging defenseman Rob Scuderi on waivers with the intention of sending him down to Rockford of the AHL. The move cleared roughly $950,000 from the Blackhawks’ salary cap, which is quite important as we near the NHL’s trade deadline.

Many view this move as a precursor to another move that Stan Bowman may have in the works, and by that I mean a trade. As we’ve discussed on here a couple of times already, the Blackhawks would really like to add a left winger who can play on the team’s first line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. They would also like to, if possible, add a top four defenseman to the roster. None of that can happen without first opening up some cap space.

Byan Bickell and his $4 million cap hit were demoted to Rockford a while back, saving the Hawks $950,000 in cap space. Add in Scuderi, and that’s over $1.5 million that has already been cleared from the team’s salary cap. According to capfriendly.com, the Hawks should have about $3.4 million in cap space on February 29th, the day of the trade deadline.

Something else to watch out for is the possibility of the Blackhawks placing Marcus Kruger on long term injured reserve (LTIR). Kruger inured his wrist back in early December and had to have surgery to repair the injury. He was expected to miss four months at the time of the surgery, and it looks like he is still looking at the same timeline.

If the Hawks feel Kruger will be out until April, which is possible, they may elect to place him on LTIR. This would essentially remove his cap hit from the team’s salary cap (just like they did with Kane last year around this time), opening up another $1.5 million. If that happens, the Hawks would then have approximately $4.9 million in cap space that they could then turn around and use on a player, or players, in a trade.

While no one wants to see Kruger remain out of the lineup, this is probably the smartest thing that the Hawks could do right now assuming Kruger is back and healthy for the playoffs. Placing him on LTIR would greatly improve the team’s ability to land a top left winger and/or defenseman at the trade deadline.

I won’t get into too much detail again about specific names the Blackhawks may/should target (you can read that [here]), but guys like Andrew Ladd, Mikkel Boedker, and a couple others are likely going to be shopped by their current teams, and the Hawks would be wise to inquire about them.

We’re just twelve days away from February 29th, but that doesn’t mean nothing will happen between now and then. All eyes are on Stan Bowman.

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Andrew Ladd back to the Blackhawks?

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130107_gq_trout_aThe NHL’s trade deadline is fast approaching (February 29), and with that inevitably comes an endless amount of trade rumors. Some are legitimate while most others are not. With regards to the Blackhawks, their name has begun surfacing more and more in recent days as their need for another defenseman and left winger grows.

Before we get to talking about the Blackhawks, here is a bit of a better understanding of what is taking place around the league right now.

With Dustin Byfuglien having signed a five-year contract extension on Monday with the Winnipeg Jets, he is officially off the trade market after having been discussed as one of the top candidates to get dealt at or before this year’s trading deadline. Because the Jets have chosen to heavily invest in their top d-man, it likely means that more dominos will begin to fall around the league. Most teams were holding out on making any deals until it became clear whether or not the Jets would be willing to deal away Byfuglien or their captain, Andrew Ladd. With Byfuglien set for a nice pay raise next year, odds are that we’re looking at an Andrew Ladd trade somewhere between now and February 29th. Ladd is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, making him a perfect “rental” piece for a contending team.

Possibly as a result of Byfuglien’s new deal, the Maple Leafs and Senators completed a trade Tuesday morning that most notably will send Toronto defenseman, and captain, Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa. So there goes another possible defenseman off the market.

Now back to the Hawks.

I’ve said it on here multiple times, and it’s really no secret at all, but the Blackhawks would love to add a true left winger who can play on the team’s top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. The team could also really use one more solid defenseman to avoid having to rely on the likes of Michal Rozsival and/or Rob Scuderi on the third d-pairing come playoff time.

I had personally been wondering about the possibility of this move happening, but Monday it was brought up by Jay Zawaski of 670 The Score in Chicago: Andrew Ladd to the Hawks.

Ladd played about two and a half seasons with the Hawks from 2008-2010 before becoming a salary cap casualty after winning the 2010 Stanley Cup. He is familiar with the Hawks’ system and Joel Quenneville, and would have virtually zero trouble fitting in with the team. He’d also be a near perfect fit on the Blackhawks’ top line with 19 and 81.

Ladd can score, he’s relatively quick, he brings size, and he can play a very physical game. His ability to combine size, speed, skill, and physicality is rare and would tremendously improve the Blackhawks’ forward depth from top to bottom.

The big question is how exactly could the Hawks pull this off?

Well for starters, it may not be as hard as it seems from a cap perspective. See Jay Zawaski’s article for more details on that here. According to Zawaski and capfriendly.com, Ladd’s remaining salary for this season would come out to a salary cap hit of about $956,000. This means the Hawks would have to shed about $100,000 in cap space to accommodate Ladd, which wouldn’t be hard to do at all.

The bigger problem is coming up with a return that would satisfy the Jets. Ideally, Winnipeg might end up being intrigued by the possibility of Bryan Bickell simply needing a new home to find his game again. If so, the Hawks could send Bickell and maybe half of his remaining contract to the Jets along with a high draft pick. If you recall, it was Klas Dahlbeck and the Hawks’ 2015 first-round pick that got them Antoine Vermette at last year’s trade deadline.

If Bickell is a no-go for the Jets, the next best scenario would be Winnipeg asking for a top prospect like Mark McNeill, Ryan Hartman, etc., along with a first round draft pick. However, I still wouldn’t count out the possibility of the Jets wanting someone like Andrew Shaw and a draft pick instead. Personally, I wouldn’t include Shaw in a deal if I was Bowman. Doing so would help the Hawks’ first line, but it wouldn’t add any depth to the bottom six.

The other area of need for the Blackhawks is defense, and some would argue that they should target a d-man before another forward.

Edmonton Oilers v Vancouver CanucksGoing off the logic used by Jay Zawaski while discussing a Ladd trade to the Hawks, a guy like Dan Hamhuis of the Vancouver Canucks could be a great fit on the Blackhawks’ blue line. Like Ladd, Hamhuis is an unrestricted free agent after this season, which is about all the Hawks can trade for, and his remaining salary for this season is nearly identical to that of Ladd’s. If the Hawks were to pursue a trade like this prior to one for Ladd, hypothetically, they would again only need to shed a little over $100,000 from their salary cap.

Could both trades take place? Theoretically yes, but it would be difficult and I’ll leave Stan Bowman up to figuring out how to make that all work.

I will reiterate that this is all speculation. None of this has been reported by any NHL analysts. I’m simply trying to figure out a trade or two that would really help the Hawks.

Other names to keep an eye on as possible targets of the Hawks should be Mikkel Boedker (AZ), Kris Versteeg (CAR), and reliable defensemen with expiring or inexpensive contracts.

Keep in mind that Stan Bowman has had a habit of dealing with other teams/GM’s that he is familiar with or has dealt with before. He has completed multiple trades with Florida and Toronto in recent years, and has dealt with Vancouver (enter Dan Hamhuis…) and Arizona (Boedker) within the last couple of seasons. Also, Kevin Cheveldayoff, the current GM of the Winnipeg Jets, used to be the Assistant General Manager under Stan Bowman with the Blackhawks. There is great familiarity between both parties there, which may or may not make an Andrew Ladd trade easier to execute.

Keep an eye on the Blackhawks from now until February 29th. It should be an exciting few weeks.

Another Blackhawks Stanley Cup will require a trade

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NHL: JAN 03 Senators at BlackhawksTuesday night’s game between the Blackhawks and Hurricanes in Raleigh will be the last game that the Hawks play in advance of this upcoming weekend’s All Star Game. With a win, the Blackhawks would head into the break with a record of 34-15-4 (72 points), which is a lot better than I would have predicted back in October. While their record and recent 12-game winning streak indicate this is one of the NHL’s top teams, I’m here to dampen the mood just a bit.

To better understand where I am coming from, here is a look at the current line combinations for the Blackhawks:

Shaw-Toews-Hossa

Panarin-Anisimov-Kane

Desjardins-Dannault-Teravainen

Panik-Rasmussen-Sekac/Mashinter/McNeill

As things stand right now, the top two lines are good, with the second line being arguably the best in the NHL. The problem lies within the third and fourth lines.

Depth is one of the single biggest keys to winning a Stanley Cup. Look at any team in recent years who has hoisted the Cup at season’s end and you will notice that they all got quality production from all four lines. When it gets to be mid-May and the playoff matchups get tougher and tougher, teams need their bottom two lines to contribute. Relying on your top six forwards to do all or most of the scoring simply will not work. Look no further than the 2014 Blackhawks who saw their season end in overtime of Game 7 in the Western Conference Final at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup champion L.A. Kings. That team had three quality lines, and that was it. Had they had a fourth line, they would have defeated L.A.

Getting back to this year’s Blackhawks, they are getting sporadic and limited production from their bottom six forwards. They traded for Richard Panik and, more recently, Jiri Sekac to try and help with this problem, but that won’t be enough.

If the Blackhawks really want to become a serious Stanley Cup contender this season, it would be in their best interest to trade for a left winger that can play on the top line with Toews and Hossa.

Andrew Shaw has done a nice job since being promoted to the “Lottery Line,” but he’s not your long-term solution. Acquiring a more skilled left winger who compliments the games of Toews and Hossa would allow Quenneville to move Shaw down to the third line with Dannault (who will likely stick as the third line center from here on out) and Teravainen, creating a much more threatening line in terms of offense.

Shifting Shaw to the third line would then move Desjardins down to the fourth line, where he belongs, alongside Panik and Marcus Kruger. Kruger should be back for the playoffs assuming he does not suffer any setbacks. Getting Kruger back under these circumstances would give the Hawks four lines that possess the potential to do damage to their opponents. Again, that is crucial come playoff time.

As for who exactly Stan Bowman should target to play with Toews and Hossa, I am not really sure due to the fact that I don’t have inside information that lets me know which players are being dangled as trade bait by which teams. But, I can say with certainty that this hypothetical player must be skilled offensively, yet responsible and trustworthy defensively. If he is not the latter two, Quenneville will not play him.

Keep in mind that any trade that takes place would require some salary cap maneuvering by Stan Bowman, which may or may not include trading away someone from the NHL roster.

So while the Blackhawks are definitely a good team, they are simply too top-heavy at the moment. Adding a left wing who can play on the top line would instantly give the Blackhawks some much needed scoring depth. And heck, while Bowman’s at it he may as well try and upgrade the defense as well. That’s a whole other conversation, however.

First half surprises in the NHL

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Columbus Blue Jackets v Florida PanthersBelieve it or not, we are already over halfway through the NHL season. The standings are starting to take shape, but there is still way too much hockey left to come to any solid conclusions as to how they will for sure look in April. There have definitely been some surprises thus far, both good and bad, as well as some not so surprising occurrences. Today we will take a look around the league at some of those surprises, as well as offer up some predictions as to how the rest of the season will unfold.

Let’s get to it.

SURPRISES

The Good

  • How about the Florida Panthers? They just had a 12-game winning streak snapped in Vancouver, and through 43 games Florida sits atop the Atlantic division with 57 points (tied for fourth league-wide). This is due in large part to their defense and starting goaltender, Roberto Luongo. Only one team in the NHL has allowed fewer goals than the Panthers, which is a key statistic. Over the last six seasons, each team to have won the Stanley Cup ranked in the top five in the NHL in fewest goals against. So despite Jaromir Jagr continuing to defy his age, the biggest story coming out of Sunrise, Florida should be the Panthers’ ability to keep the puck out of their own net.
  • This may or may not be a surprise to some people, but the Washington Capitals are a NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitalsvery good team. They currently rank second in the league in goals-scored per game, and are tied for first in fewest goals-against per game. Oh, and they lead the NHL in points with 67. Needless to say, the Caps seem to have everything clicking at the moment. Throw in the fact that Alex Ovechkin just notched goals number 500 and 501, and yeah, it’s been a pretty good half-season in the nation’s capital.
  • The Dallas Stars. Most people had them pegged as a playoff team, but not everyone thought they would be this good this fast. They own the league’s top offense and arguably the NHL’s best line. As of this moment, they lead the Central division with 62 points. They have hit a bit of a rough patch over the last week or so, but every team is entitled to one or two of those over the course of a long season. The biggest question with Dallas is whether or not their defense and goaltending will be strong enough come playoff time.
  • Again, some might not see this as surprising, others may. The Chicago Blackhawks are rolling right now and are winners of seven straight games. Despite another offseason that saw a major roster overhaul, this team has picked up right where they left off a year ago and own the third highest point total in the NHL. Rookie sensation Artemi Panarin, who leads all rookies in goals, assists, and points, has become a huge part of the team and is a huge reason why Patrick Kane is having a career year. The trio of Panarin, Anisimov, and Kane is as good as any league-wide and has carried the Hawks at times this season. Also, Corey Crawford is having his best season in the NHL and leads the league with 6 shutouts. While the Hawks may still be an addition or two away from being a Cup-favorite, they’re still a scary team to play against.

The Bad

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets are an absolute mess. This was a team that many people had making the playoffs, but that looks to be impossible at this point. To recap their season so far, they have fired their head coach, hired John Tortorella out of desperation, and recently traded their top player, Ryan Johansen, to the Nashville Predators. The Jackets sit dead last in hockey with 34 points and are showing no signs of turning things around. Yes, they did acquire Seth Jones in exchange for Johansen, but that move won’t help them this year. Even with a history of losing in Columbus, this year’s losing ways were not anticipated.
  • Who predicted the Penguins would be having this much trouble, especially after the addition of Phil Kessel? We have come to know the Penguins as a perennial playoff team over the last eight years or so, but this year does not look as promising. Pittsburgh struggled out of the gate, following their captain’s lead, but have somewhat turned things around in recent weeks, as has Sidney Crosby. Still, they cannot seem to put any consistent, successful play together and are stuck winning a game then losing a game, and so on. Could this be the year they miss the postseason?
  • A lot like Pittsburgh, the Tampa Bay Lightning got off to a slow start to the season 130107_gq_trout_aand have since found it difficult to find any consistency in their play. This was last season’s best offensive team, but now they rank 17th in goals per game. Their captain, Steven Stamkos, has been surrounded by trade rumors all season. Whether or not his contract situation is affecting his play, there is no denying that he is having an “off year” by his standards. Yes, the Lightning have dealt with some injuries, but now is the time for them to start turning their season around if they want to make another deep playoff push.
  • Ready for another underperforming team? You got it. The Ducks might just be the most surprising team in the league so far, and not in a good way. Their 41 points are good for fifth in the Pacific division, and their 78 goals scored are dead last in the league by quite a bit. Much like the two previous teams we discussed, Anaheim has been unable to consistently play “their” game. However, they do have some things going for them. They are the league’s ninth best team in fewest goals-against per game. If they can keep that up, the law of averages suggests that they’ll find their offense and start to pile up the W’s.

Alright, so there are this year’s biggest surprises to this point as seen through these eyes. Now, here are some quick predictions.

PREDICTIONS

  1. The Ducks will make the playoffs as one of the top three teams in the Pacific division. If they miss the playoffs, Bruce Boudreau will get fired at season’s end.
  2. The Penguins will also make the playoffs, but as a wild card team. There’s too much talent in that locker room for them to not make it.
  3. Steven Stamkos will not get traded this year, but he also will not sign an extension with the Lightning.
  4. Going off those lines, a big name in Winnipeg will get dealt. Whether that’s Byfuglien, Ladd, or Trouba is tough to say. One will go though, that’s for sure.
  5. And lastly, we’ll see the Panthers drop in the standings. They’re a good team, and probably a playoff team, but they won’t win that division.

Thanks for reading.

Trade possibility for the Blackhawks?

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Mikkel BoedkerThe Blackhawks are a good team. They are not great and nor are they bad, but just good. Unfortunately for them being good is not enough to accomplish much in today’s NHL. To do something like win the conference or win the Stanley Cup, you need to be an elite team, which is nothing the Blackhawks are unfamiliar with. The tough part for them is that they are so tight against the salary cap due to big contracts for players like Kane and Toews that it is nearly impossible to be elite year after year. The cap will not allow it.

Without question one of the single biggest reasons why the Blackhawks have won three of the last six Stanley Cups is because of the depth that they had on those three rosters. Look no further than last year’s team.

Their third line for much of the postseason, including the Stanley Cup Final, was Sharp-Vermette-Teravainen. That would be a lot of teams’ first or second line. The Hawks’ fourth line for last year’s Cup run was Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins, and while that may not seem great on paper, those three created incredible chemistry and played a huge role in winning the Cup. My point being, if you cannot role four effective lines in today’s NHL, you will not win much.

Today’s Blackhawks cannot effectively role four lines, or at least not consistently, thanks to the league salary cap. And truthfully, this is nothing we should not have expected after the roster changes that needed to be made over the summer. However, there may be a sliver of hope developing that the Hawks can upgrade their roster between now and the trade deadline in late February.

Marcus Kruger was recently placed in Injured Reserve for a wrist injury. David Rundblad was just placed on waivers and is off the NHL roster. That gives the Hawks about $1 million in cap space as of right now. If they were to hypothetically send someone like Rob Scuderi down to Rockford in the future, they would then have right around $3 million in salary cap space. That kind leeway with the salary cap can be extremely valuable come the trade deadline, much like we saw last year when the Hawks acquired Vermette, Timonen, and Desjardins after Kane went on LTIR.

Now I’m not saying that Stan Bowman and the front office will for sure make a trade, but it is definitely possible. If the Hawks were to put Kruger on LTIR, making him done for the regular season, they could replicate what they did last year with the Kane injury situation and trade for a player or two, maximize their cap, and have Kruger return for the playoffs without his cap hit having an affect on the team cap heading into the postseason. It worked perfectly last year with Vermette and company, and if they Hawks can pull it off again this year, it may put them back into Cup contention.

So let’s say that everything I said regarding Kruger going on LTIR, Scuderi being sent to Rockford, and so on does happen. Who might the Hawks target via trades?

One name that I am seeing tossed around on Twitter and various other locations is Mikkel Boedker of the Coyotes. Boedker’s cap hit is $3.75 million this year, and he becomes a free agent in the summer. The sniper leads the Coyotes with 29 points so far this season, is fast, and plays left wing. What is one of the Blackhawks’ biggest problems right now? Finding a first line left winger to play alongside Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.

As it stands at the moment, Andrew Shaw is the one filling that role on the top line with Toews and Hossa. Shaw is by no means a first line player and instead belongs on the fourth line like he was during last year’s playoffs. Acquiring Boedker would create an absolutely lethal top line, and it would allow Quenneville to place Shaw on the correct line, whether that is the third or fourth. That right there adds some valuable depth to the Hawks’ group of forwards.

Getting Boedker would require a valuable asset going the other way, and maybe even a player from the NHL roster, but it would be worth it. You also have to consider that Arizona currently sits second in the Pacific division, and they may be unwilling to trade away their top point producer while occupying a playoff position.

Acquiring Boedker alone would not solve the Hawks, however. They could still use another defenseman and maybe even another third line center or wing. Actually being able to pull that off will not be easy and likely would not happen, but it is something I am sure Bowman will look into.

Keep in mind this is all an idea at the moment based off of some rumors and conversations I have read online. At the same time though, it is realistic to think a deal like the one for Boedker could take place due to the Hawks’ ability to open up cap space with roster moves.

Seeing as how Kruger was placed on IR and Rundblad was waived all within the past 24 hours, we may (or may not) see a trade take place sooner than later.

Blackhawks send Daley to Pittsburgh, acquire Scuderi

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130107_gq_trout_aMonday night the Blackhawks traded Trevor Daley to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for fellow defenseman Rob Scuderi. Daley was acquired by the Hawks over the summer in the Patrick Sharp trade that sent him and Stephen Johns to Dallas. The hope was that Daley, an offensive defenseman, would be able to adapt to the Hawks’ defense-first style, but still be effective in the puck moving, fast-paced game that the Blackhawks like to play. Unfortunately for both sides, this was never a good fit.

Keep in mind that prior to joining the Blackhawks, Daley had spent his entire ten year career with the Stars and in a system that never put much emphasis on being a defensive d-man. He was used to being offensive-minded, and asking him to change his ways on a dime after years of playing one specific style proved to be too big of a challenge.

As anyone knows who follows the Blackhawks closely, Joel Quenneville does not tolerate players who are a liability on the defensive end. Hence the reason why he has been relatively reluctant to play rookies big minutes over the years. In the case of Trevor Daley, he was one of the weaker defensemen on the roster and simply was not gelling well with the Blackhawks’ style of play. In other words, a nightmare scenario for Daley, thus the reason for his trade.

What is confusing about all of this, however, is the fact that the Blackhawks knew what they were getting when they traded for Daley. They knew he was an offense-first kind of player who had never played in a system like the one Quenneville runs here in Chicago, yet they still brought him in via the Sharp trade. Maybe the hope was that he could learn the Blackhawks’ style while still incorporating his offensive instincts when appropriate. Whatever the case was, it did not work out as planned.

In return for Daley, Stan Bowman got Rob Scuderi from the Penguins. Scuderi is almost 37 years old and has spent most of his career with the Penguins. He won the 2009 Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh and the 2012 Cup with Los Angeles before returning to the Penguins for the 2013-14 season.

To make this simple, we will just say that Scuderi is not good. He seemed almost like an untradeable player until Monday night because of the fact that no one would seemingly want him. He is slow, he’s not a puck-moving defenseman, and he is one of the worst defensemen in the league in terms of puck possession. He has always been more of a defense-first player, which is good for the Hawks, but that only means something if you can actually execute that style of play in an effective manner.

So why then did the Hawks get him in return for Daley? Well, likely because the Penguins agreed to hang onto one-third of Scuderi’s salary. Because of that, the Blackhawks are opening up about $1 million in cap space, which may not seem like a lot, but actually can be when needing to make a transaction later in the season.

Scuderi still has one year left on his contract, and it would be flat out wrong for the Hawks keep him in their plans for a whole new season after this one. What they choose to do with him both now and next year remains to be seen. In terms of the right here and now, they may plug him into the third d-pairing with Michal Rozsival and let him play there until they feel one of the young guns like Gustafsson, Pokka, or Svedberg can handle a full-time defensive role at the NHL level. If a guy like Gustafsson can develop a bit more in Rockford and proceed to return to the NHL during the second half of the season, in time for the playoffs, that would be the ideal scenario for the Hawks. They could then waive Scuderi and place him in the AHL.

It is also not out of the question that Bowman could take advantage of the extra cap space cleared in this trade and try to acquire another defenseman at the trade deadline.

One thing is for certain here, and that’s that no one should expect much of anything from Rob Scuderi other than a good locker room and veteran presence. The Hawks actually got a bit worse on Monday, and hopefully it won’t last too long.

Personnel changes aside,the Blackhawks remain the same

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20131211_151215We all know that the Blackhawks are an incredible team with as much elite talent as any franchise in hockey. We have seen them win three Stanley Cups, all in rather remarkable fashion, and yet some things they do still never cease to amaze us. Friday afternoon’s comeback win in Anaheim is just the latest example.

Down 2-0 in the game with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Hawks struck twice in just over a minute to tie the game and send it to overtime. Once in OT, it took only one minute and fifty-three seconds to score again and earn that second point. With the win, their record on this Circus Trip improved to 3-1-1, with the sixth and last game slated for later tonight against the Kings.

Regardless of the amount of personnel changes on a year-to-year basis, the Blackhawks’ attitude and character remains unchanged. With guys such as Toews, Seabrook, Keith, Hossa, Kane, and Hjalmarsson leading the way, that winning mentality, visible confidence, and natural competitiveness will always be present throughout the team.

It means nothing to this group if they are trailing by a couple of goals in a game, regardless of the amount of time left on the clock. They have overcome that a countless number of times. It does not faze them if they are behind a game or two in a playoff series. We have seen them come back and win a number of series after trailing at one point or another.

The leaders of the Blackhawks have been through just about every imaginable situation under the sun, and they know better than any other group how to use that to their advantage and teach any “new guys” along the way.

This year’s Hawks may not be as deep or formidable as any of the three teams they had that won the Cup, but the overall team mentality and character remains the same. That is why with the right additions via call-ups, signings, and/or trades, the Blackhawks have and will continue to find themselves as serious Stanley Cup contenders.

As of this moment, the Blackhawks sit at 13-8-2 on the year and hold a three point lead for the top Wild Card spot in the West (yes, it is still very early in the season). This current six game road trip was bound to either put them in a very unfavorable spot in the standings, or give them a shot of adrenaline and some momentum as they enter the winter months of the season. With a win in L.A. tonight, they could come home with a 4-1-1 record on the trip looking like their old selves again. And even if they lose, it’s been a rather successful six games given how they started the season on the road.

The bottom line in all of this is that the Blackhawks we have come to know will remain unchanged in terms of character, drive, and competitiveness as long as their current core remains intact. All it takes is some correct tinkering of the roster here and there where the salary cap allows to turn them back into a serious Cup contender.

Blackhawks lack the forward depth to be a legitimate threat

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20131211_151215The Blackhawks are showing us that their top two lines have the potential to be absolutely deadly this year, and possibly for years to come. That second line of Panarin, Anisimov, and Kane has been shredding opposing defenses as of late, while the top line of Toews, Hossa, and whoever occupies the “lottery” spot on the left wing always possesses the ability to do the same. It’s the bottom two forward lines that need some help.

Sunday night’s game against the Flames saw Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger, and Teuvo Teravainen as the Hawks’ so-called “third line,” while Brandon Mashinter, Tanner Kero, and Ryan Garbutt made up the fourth line. Here’s the problem with that, if you couldn’t already figure it out on your own.

That fourth line is not good. None of those three players own any true play-making skills, with the exception of Kero who has only played in a handful of NHL games. In reality, Shaw and Kruger belong on the fourth line like they were during last year’s Stanley Cup run. Guys like Mashinter don’t really offer much in today’s NHL where skill has become far more important than physicality. And the Blackhawks know this, but can’t do much about it at the moment due to the salary cap.

Ideally, the Hawks would like Teuvo Teravainen to be the team’s third line center. They’ve tried him out there on occasion, but continue moving him back out of that role. Part of the reason for that is the fact that this roster does not have enough skilled forward depth to allow Teravainen to be successful as a bottom six center. As proven during last year’s playoffs and while he was in the top six this year, Teravainen is a guy who, whether at center or wing, needs to be on a line with skilled, play-making linemates in order to be successful. While the line of Shaw, Kruger, and Teuvo has actually been good the last two games, it’s not a permanent thing.

If you look at the three Blackhawks teams that have won the Cup over the past six years, each one has had four lines that present a legitimate threat to score. The only reason the 2014 team didn’t advance to the Cup Final is because they only had three lines that could produce. That is where this current team is headed. Until they can add a skilled guy to their bottom six, this Blackhawks team cannot win another championship. Unfortunately, the only thing preventing that from happening is the salary cap. Once that hypothetically happens, it will allow Quenneville to put his guys at their correct spots in the lineup.

There’s no question that this Hawks team has elite talent as usual. With Keith and Rozsival now back and healthy, their defense is slowly looking less and less concerning, and the goaltending doesn’t figure to be a problem either. It’s the forward depth that is holding the Hawks back from being a true Stanley Cup threat at the moment. Maybe Bowman works his magic this season and pulls off a trade to fix this problem. Maybe he doesn’t. Until he does find an upgrade for the bottom six though, expect this team to remain top-heavy.

Blackhawks’ young guns helping team ease through some early setbacks

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10-171460575-smallThe Blackhawks have been dealt a tough hand early on here in the 2015-16 season. After being forced to dump a lot of salary over the offseason, resulting in multiple new faces in the lineup on opening night, the Hawks are now having to deal with injuries to some key players. It was already going to take a while for the new guys and the mainstays to gel together, but throw in the injuries to Keith and Hossa, and that whole gelling process gets even tougher.

Duncan Keith is expected to be out of the lineup until at least early December after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Marian Hossa recently suffered an undisclosed injury that held him out of the lineup Monday night against the Kings. Michal Rozsival has been sidelined ever since Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals last May, and is still at least a week or two away from returning. In their spots, the Hawks’ youngsters have had to step up.

Monday night’s lineup against the Kings saw Ryan Hartman, Tanner Kero, and Marko Dano make up the Hawks’ so-called third line. Three rookies with very little previous NHL experience.

On the blue line, rookie Victor Svedberg has been asked to play a large role in Keith’s absence, as has Trevor van Riemsdyk, who including this season has 20 games of regular season NHL experience. The Hawks also recently recalled Erik Gustafsson to add depth to their defensive unit. All three d-men played in the Blackhawks’ last two games, with those being the first two career games for Gustafsson.

Add in that Artemi Panarin, another rookie, has been a regular in the Hawks’ lineup this year, and you start to realize just how challenging a first twelve games of the season this has been for the Blackhawks.

When you take a step back and look at how the team has performed so far though, you can’t really help but be pleasantly surprised given the circumstances. Monday night’s 4-2 win over L.A. was a perfect example.

The Blackhawks were going up against one of the NHL’s best teams, who oh by the way was on a 7-game win streak, and managed to mount a three-goal third period to come back and win the game by a pair. Granted, that late charge was led by Patrick Kane, but the rookies, specifically the ones on the blue line, hung in there quite nicely and played a big role in the win.

Guys like TVR and Svedberg have transitioned very nicely to their increased roles and more minutes of playing time, which has been huge for Quenneville and the rest of the Hawks. While Hartman, Kero, and Dano didn’t have much of an impact against the Kings, they held their own for the most part.

This is something we’ll likely continue seeing this year as the Hawks try and find the right pieces to fit in on their ever-changing third line. As for the defense, Gustafsson likely won’t stick around once Rozsival returns, and when Keith gets back, some minutes will be cut from Svedberg and TVR.

All in all, despite a record of 7-5-0, there have been some encouraging signs shown by the Hawks through the first twelve games. This may not be a team playing in June for the Stanley Cup right away next summer, but the youngsters are showing signs of promise for the long run.

Blackhawks Lose Keith for 4-6 Weeks

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2015 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game SixThe Blackhawks have announced that Duncan Keith will miss 4-6 weeks following surgery to repair “a right knee meniscal tear.” It is unknown when or how the injury occurred, as Keith didn’t miss a shift in the Hawks’ last game against Columbus. Keith is the one player this team could not afford to lose for any lengthy time.

Defense has been the Blackhawks’ biggest problem early on this season as expected. Their blue line was already thin with Keith in the lineup. Now with him gone, they’ll have to play van Riemskyk, Svedberg, AND Rundblad. They may choose to recall Ville Pokka in addition.

It had been reported that Stan Bowman was on the hunt for a defenseman to acquire via a trade over the last couple weeks. With news of Keith’s injury, one would have to believe that Bowman is now pursuing a trade much more aggressively.

With Keith likely headed to LTIR (Long Term Injured Reserve), that will open up over $5.5 million in cap space for the Hawks while he’s out. That’s more than enough space for them to add a contract to the roster in the form of a defenseman. The problem is that when Keith comes back, his contract will go back to counting towards the Hawks’ cap hit, which would make trading for someone now a future problem. They aren’t going to trade for a player who has any kind of hefty salary, as that would force them to dump salary yet again in another six weeks.

So, given that information and the situation the Hawks are now faced with, I’d be surprised if they pulled off any significant trade. I think it’s much more likely for them to go ahead and sign a free agent veteran defenseman, like Lubomir Visnovsky who was cut by the Hawks before the season began. He didn’t look bad at all in camp and would be a cheap addition.

All in all here, this is horrible news for the Hawks. Keith is the one guy they couldn’t lose, and now he’s gone for 4-6 weeks. Playing in the Western Conference was already going to be tough enough, and now the Hawks will have to do it without their top d-man.