West Notes: Blackhawks, Domi, Nilsson, Vanek

After years of being active buyers at the trade deadline, it looks like the Blackhawks won’t be doing so this season.  They currently sit in last place in the Central Division and are eight points out of a playoff spot.  Despite that, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times cautions that Chicago isn’t likely to be overly active on the seller front either.

In terms of their pending free agents, there aren’t prominent ones that would draw considerable interest though blueliners like Jan Rutta and Michal Kempny could be of interest to teams looking for depth.  One defender that they would likely want to move is Brent Seabrook who has struggled this season and still has six years left on his contract at $6.875MM.  However, even if the Blackhawks could find a trade match, Lazerus reports that there is no way Seabrook would consider waiving his no-move clause to facilitate a deal.

More from the Western Conference:

• Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports spoke with Coyotes GM John Chayka regarding a report from last week that center Max Domi is available. Chayka clarified that they are not shopping the 22-year-old but that he would “listen on anything”.  Domi is in the midst of his worst season with just three goals in 54 games but it’s hard to imagine that Arizona would be willing to sell low on him at this point.
• Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province notes that the Canucks have been looking to move goaltender Anders Nilsson. However, he has had quite the rough season, posting a 3.50 GAA and a .903 SV% in 17 appearances this season and has another year left on his deal with a $2.5MM cap hit.  Even though there were four other teams that had interest in him during the summer, it’s hard to imagine those teams will still want him now with the season he is having.
• Botchford also adds that the Predators might be a team to watch for when it comes to winger Thomas Vanek. He reports that Nashville showed interest in him during the summer and that Vanek’s decision may very well have come between them and the Canucks.  It’s widely expected that Vancouver will be moving the 34-year-old and he would fit in nicely in a bottom-six role with the Predators if they can reach an agreement on a move.