Early Notes: Columbus, Hartman, Vermette
The Columbus Blue Jackets added Mark Letestu yesterday for their playoff run, but had checked in on several other options before making the deal. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Blue Jackets offered a third-round pick for Artem Anisimov, hoping the Blackhawks would also retain some salary.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also believes that the Blue Jackets asked about Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka of the St. Louis Blues, but obviously didn’t make a deal. Letestu ended up only costing Columbus a fourth-round pick, which certainly doesn’t take them out of the running today for an additional upgrade.
- Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are looking for a first-round pick plus another asset for Ryan Hartman, a big ask for a young player with just eight goals this season. Hartman, 23, is a versatile player that could draw interest from many teams, and is a restricted free agent this summer. That could be part of why the Blackhawks are considering moving the forward, as like most years they’ll have some tough decisions to make on their young free agents due to their ongoing cap crunch.
- Antoine Vermette was held out of the lineup last night for the Anaheim Ducks, and John Shannon of Sportsnet reports on his eight-team approved trade list. Shannon explains that only two of those teams are currently in playoff spots, which could drastically limit any return should the Ducks decide to move him. Vermette is affordable and playoff-tested, but ultimately holds a lot of power in deciding whether he’ll be traded today.
Jets Were Scouting Blackhawks On Friday
- The Jets had a pair of scouts watching the Blackhawks on Friday, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe. The scribe suggests that Winnipeg is looking to add a top-nine forward and some depth on the back end and that Chicago’s Ryan Hartman and Jan Rutta could have been the players being watched. He also believes Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov could be on their radar after failing to land both Derick Brassard and Tomas Plekanec.
Multiple Players Placed On Waivers
With today being the last day to place players on waivers, many teams have placed players on waivers in hopes of adding some roster flexibility for the remainder of the season. According to Bob McKenzie, many players have been placed on waivers, including defensemen Christopher Breen and Paul Postma of the Boston Bruins, forward Jussi Jokinen of the Columbus Blue Jackets, defenseman Cody Goloubef of the Calgary Flames, forward Lance Bouma of the Chicago Blackhawks, forward Chris Stewart of the Minnesota Wild, forwards Alexandre Burrows and Jim O’Brien and defenseman Johnny Oduya of the Ottawa Senators, defenseman Mark Alt and goaltender John Muse of the Philadelphia Flyers and forward Chris Thorburn of the St. Louis Blues.
McKenzie adds that New York Rangers forward cleared waivers today.
Of teams that are still in the playoff race, the New York Islanders will likely get the first shot on many of these players if the team is looking to add more depth after trading for defenseman Brandon Davidson Saturday.
While several of these players are AHL players who aren’t seeing time, there are several veteran players who are affected by the moves. Two of the most obvious are Burrows and Oduya. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that the team failed to find anyone interested in trading for either players, so the hope is a team might be willing to claim them without having to give anything up.
Burrows is one of those the team would like to close the book on. Acquired at the trade deadline a year ago for prized prospect Jonathan Dahlen, the team then made it worse by signing him to a two-year extension, worth $2.5MM per season. While he scored 15 goals between Vancouver and Ottawa last year, Burrows has struggled, having tallied just three goals in 51 games. Oduya was signed in the offseason and the veteran could be a solid candidate to be claimed by a team that needs some defensive depth.
Another player who is likely to be claimed is Stewart, who the Minnesota Wild placed on waivers as the team wants to make room for adding 2016 first-rounder Luke Kunin or if the team signs Boston University star Jordan Greenway. The veteran is an excellent locker room presence, has quite a bit of experience and can score as he has nine goals in 47 games this year. Jokinen who has already been on waivers this year returns to it and could be claimed if a team wants some depth to their forward line. Chicago’s Bouma is another who could be claimed as he has fallen out of the Blackhawks lineup, but provides forward depth that could be useful for a team making a playoff run. He’s played in 53 games this year, totaling three goals, six assists and +1 plus/minus ratio.
Other players like Alt and Postma are likely just heading to the AHL to join their playoff rosters. Alt has played just eight games in Philadelphia, spending most of his season in Lehigh Valley. Postma has been with the Bruins all year and might be heading to the Providence Bruins to help the team with their playoff push. He has appeared in just 12 games all season for Boston.
Both Breen, O’Brien, Muse and Goloubef each signed two-way contracts in the last 24 hours and had to be passed through waivers in order to assign them to their respective NHL teams. O’Brien signed a two-way contract today, while Goloubef signed yesterday. FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike reports that Muse signed a two-way deal today.
Quenneville No Longer Hopeful That Corey Crawford Will Return This Season
While Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville had been expecting goaltender Corey Crawford to return at some point this season, he acknowledged to reporters, including Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times, that he isn’t hopeful now that the netminder will play again in 2017-18. Crawford has been out of the lineup with a head injury since late December and the team has struggled considerably in his absence. With Chicago falling well out of the playoff race, Quenneville admitted that their placement in the Central Division may play a role in deciding if he returns, even if he gets the green light from team doctors.
Evening Snapshots: Holland, Blackhawks, Carlson
While Ken Holland is selling assets off following his deal of goaltender Petr Mrazek to the Philadelphia Flyers, he’s quick to caution that it’s not a full rebuild while adding that the Red Wings are “open for business.” NBC Sports’ Sean Leahy notes that Holland and the Red Wings are about to go through some “pain” in order to return to the higher echelon of the NHL, and even then, Holland may not be around to see the full plan in motion. Leahy writes that whether Holland ends up going to Seattle or if the Ilitch family decides that they will move on to a new general manager. Regardless, Holland will not do an entire teardown, preferring to retool the Wings in a gradual sense. Whether that works or not, it will take some time for Detroit to see the fruits of those labors.
- Elliotte Friedman offered his 31 thoughts as the deadline nears. One such thought was that the Chicago Blackhawks prefer to hold onto Artem Anisimov since centers don’t exactly drop into teams laps all that often. Because of the language in his contract, Anisimov has less choice as to where he can go starting July 1, so should interested teams call, he can be pickier now with a no-move clause than a partial no-trade this summer. Friedman adds that after the Michal Kempny deal, the Blackhawks are focused on getting what they can for impending UFAs which include Lance Bouma, Jan Rutta, Tommy Wingels, and Patrick Sharp.
- Friedman also pours some cold water on any hopes that John Carlson could reach free agency. Saying the Caps and Carlson seem “very comfortable” to discuss contract terms at the end of the season, teams hoping to snag the 28-year-old defenseman may be disheartened to read that. Freidman attributes the Steven Stamkos Sweepstakes (that never were) two seasons ago as a reason why teams are not nearly as “scared” when it comes to later negotiations. Stamkos, of course, seemed to be linked a new team every day until he inked an eight-year, $68MM extension.
Deadline Primer: Chicago Blackhawks
With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Chicago Blackhawks.
2018 looks like it will bring the end of a decade of playoff appearances for the Chicago Blackhawks, who came as close to a dynasty as you can in today’s NHL by winning three Stanley Cups in six seasons. The team sits last in the Central Division and started selling today by moving Michal Kempny for a third-round pick. That should be followed by several other moves, but more substantial changes may have to wait for the summer.
Record
25-26-8, seventh in Central Division
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$3.9MM full-season cap hit, 0/3 retained salary transactions, 46/50 contracts per CapFriendly
Draft Picks
2018: CHI 1st, CHI 3rd, WSH/TOR 3rd*, CHI 5th, CBJ 5th, CHI 6th, CHI 7th
2019: CHI 1st, CHI 2nd, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, CHI 5th, CHI 6th, CHI 7th, ANA 7th
*Chicago will receive the earlier of the two picks
Trade Chips
Despite some interest from Blackhawks fans in a rebuild, Chicago isn’t in a position to tear it all down. With Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith all still signed through at least the 2022-23 season it will be some time before a new leadership group comes to town.
That said, there have been interesting rumors surrounding several of the other top names on the club. Brandon Saad‘s name has surfaced after he hasn’t made the immediate impact expected, and Artem Anisimov has drawn interest despite his full no-movement clause (which drops to a 10-team no-trade list after this season). Both could bring back nice packages, but are tough trades to make in-season.
Beyond the top names, expiring contracts like Lance Bouma, Tommy Wingels and Cody Franson (who is currently in the minor leagues) could all be swapped for a draft pick before the deadline. Restricted free agents like Ryan Hartman and Tomas Jurco could also draw interest, as could Connor Murphy if a team is willing to take on his long-term deal.
Five Players To Watch For: F Ryan Hartman, F Tommy Wingels, D Cody Franson, D Connor Murphy, F Artem Anisimov
Team Needs
1) Draft Picks & Prospects: Despite it not being a full tear down in Chicago, the team still needs to keep restocking their system with young players. That’s the only way to compete when so much of your cap is committed to an aging quartet, and they’ve dealt away much of their future in previous seasons. If GM Stan Bowman believes the Blackhawks can still compete next season, prospects close to NHL-ready could be more valuable than draft picks, though tough to acquire with certainty.
2) Defensive Help: After watching players like Trevor van Riemsdyk and Niklas Hjalmarsson forced out of town over the past few seasons, the team hoped that Murphy could handle a large role and grow with the team. Instead, they’ve had to lean on a rapidly declining Seabrook and install Jordan Oesterle as one of their top options. While Oesterle has performed better than anyone could expect, the Blackhawks need to find the next group of defenders to take some of the strain off Keith as he heads into his mid-thirties.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Michal Kempny Traded To Washington Capitals
The trade market is heating up once again, with Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Kempny on his way to Washington to join the Capitals. The Blackhawks will receive a conditional 2018 third-round pick in return, the higher of the two Washington currently has (their own, and Toronto’s).
Kempny makes sense as a target for the Capitals, who don’t have much cap room for additions at the deadline. The 27-year old defenseman is earning just $900K this season, and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
For a team like the Capitals that is heading to the playoffs, defensive depth is a huge issue. Everyone around the league is trying to add pieces that could step into an NHL role should injuries arise, and Kempny fills that for Washington. Though he’s not really a top-4 option, he can provide a team with a stable option for a third pair that won’t be noticed much at either end. With 15 points in 81 games since coming over from the KHL in 2016, he won’t be asked to run a powerplay or contribute much offensively.
He’ll slide into the group on the left side for Washington, that also includes Brooks Orpik, Dmitry Orlov and Christian Djoos. Though he may not play every game for them down the stretch, it’s a much needed addition to a defense corps that has seen several pieces leave over the last year.
For the Blackhawks, a third-round pick is an excellent return for a player who was headed for free agency. Kempny had played just 31 games this season, and with Chicago sitting in last place in the Central Division, selling off expiring contracts is the only thing left to do. The third-rounder will help replace the two selections—second and fourth—that the Blackhawks are already missing for the upcoming draft.
Scott Powers of The Athletic was first to report the deal, after being told by Kempny himself. Bob McKenzie of TSN added the third-round pick return,
Ottawa Senators Acquire Ville Pokka From Chicago Blackhawks
After clearing waivers today, Chris DiDomenico is on his way to Chicago. The Ottawa Senators have traded the forward to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenseman Ville Pokka. Both players can immediately be sent to the minor leagues, since that was where they were assigned when the trade occurred.
DiDomenico was finally slipped through waivers after being claimed and then re-claimed by Tampa Bay and Ottawa earlier this season. With that came some flexibility, and Chicago has decided that was enough to pull the trigger to bring him into the Rockford picture. Whether he’ll get time at the NHL level is unclear, but he can now be moved up and down for the time being.
Pokka on the other hand has yet to make his NHL debut, and didn’t look likely to make it anytime soon for the Blackhawks. The 23-year old defenseman was selected 34th-overall by the New York Islanders in 2012, and has shown good offensive ability in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, that has come with a lot of struggles in the defensive end and a lack of any real consistency on the ice. That sort of wildcard is exactly the kind of risk Ottawa is willing to take as they try to build their club back up.
Interestingly, DiDomenico is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and won’t help the Blackhawks at the NHL level in any meaningful way unless they re-sign him (provided the team doesn’t go on an incredible hot streak and slip into the playoffs this season). Whatever value he’ll bring this season to Chicago or Rockford was apparently enough to give up on Pokka, who clearly had been passed over several times by other prospects in the organization. Pokka is a restricted free agent and could become a Group VI UFA in 2019 if he isn’t given an extended opportunity at the NHL level between now and then.
Jeff Glass, Chris DiDomenico Placed On Waivers
Thursday: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that both Glass and DiDomenico have cleared. Both players can now be assigned to the minor leagues. The Blackhawks have done so, recalling Berube to take his place in the Chicago crease. DiDomenico is on his way to the Belleville Senators, where he has 14 points in 25 games this season.
Wednesday: Goaltender Jeff Glass has been placed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks, likely signalling a return to the crease for Corey Crawford or Jean-Francois Berube. Chris DiDomenico has also been waived by the Ottawa Senators, after the team made a trade last night acquiring two forwards. Korbinian Holzer, on waivers yesterday, has cleared.
Glass, 32, was a wonderful story in Chicago this season, finally getting a chance at the NHL after more than a decade in the minor leagues. Selected in the third round in 2004, Glass made his NHL debut on December 29th and played in 14 games for the team while they dealt with injuries. After starting out quite strong, his play has slipped in his last few outings and doesn’t look quite good enough to be a full-time solution at this level. Crawford is travelling with the team, but if he’s not ready to return from his injury Berube could be called upon from the minor leagues.
DiDomenico must be getting used to the waiver process, as he was already claimed and re-claimed earlier this year, swapping between the Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. The team will try to sneak him through once again to give themselves some roster flexibility, but it’s not out of the question that he’ll be claimed. The 28-year old forward has 10 points in 24 games this season.
Blackhawks Notes: Bowman, Crawford
FanRag’s Craig Morgan takes aim at Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman as the reason for Chicago’s dizzying descent this season. After a 6-1 loss to lowly Arizona last night, the Blackhawks are not only staring down their first playoff-less season since 2007-08, but a crack at their first losing season since 2006-07. Morgan writes that after six straight losses, the Hawks are 10 points behind Minnesota for the final wild card spot. While there are whispers that head coach Joel Quenneville is in trouble, it’s Bowman, Morgan believes, who should face the brunt of the firing squad.
There are rumors swirling that Quenneville’s job could be in jeopardy if the Hawks don’t snap out of this funk soon. The timeworn clichés of “he’s lost the team” and “he isn’t using players properly” are the dullest forms of the shallow analysis littering social media.
If you go one level deeper you’ll find the real problems.”
What isn’t a secret is that Chicago has struggled to replenish the pipeline with talent following drafts that haven’t produced the players necessary to keep the Hawks at a top level (Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat are exceptions to this). Some of this is due to picks being traded for Cup runs, which is understandable. But mining the later rounds for NHL talent to supplant what is lost at the pro level is the only way a team can stay afloat. Many players the Hawks were counting on, namely Ryan Hartman, have struggled after showing promise last season.
Worse for the Hawks, captain Jonathan Toews‘ struggles continue and the move to get Brandon Saad, who is also struggling, was supposed to help Toews. The mismanagement of personnel, Morgan writes, has seen a flux of talent leave via trade, which is on Bowman. Though he’s been deft in walking the tightrope that is the cap, it seems that the luck may be running out.
All that remains to be seen is who pays for those struggles once the season is over.
- NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz believes the Blackhawks have hit “rock bottom” as he reports that the 6-1 loss against Arizona may have buried a team so many thought were due to rebound. Gretz points to the goaltending conundrum, where the loss of Corey Crawford has certainly hurt the team between the pipes. Backup goalie Anton Forsberg was yanked after the third goal and Jeff Glass, despite his inspiring ascent to the NHL, hasn’t been the answer either. Even if Crawford would return, Gretz doesn’t see much of a chance for Chicago to make up the ground necessary to make the playoffs. The Sun-Times Mark Lazerus believes that even if he’s better, Crawford shouldn’t be rushed back in what he dubbed a “lost season.”