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Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Anders Bjork

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The Chicago Blackhawks have made another deadline move, acquiring Anders Bjork from the Buffalo Sabres. Bjork has been buried in the minor leagues for almost the entire season but carries a $1.6MM cap hit.

Darren Dreger of TSN reports Buffalo promised Bjork they would find him a new home.

It never did work out in Buffalo, where he was supposed to come and flourish after some up-and-down years with the Boston Bruins. Bjork was part of the trade that sent Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar to Boston in 2021, but he’ll leave Buffalo with just eight goals and 14 points to show for his 64 games in a Sabres sweater.

At 26, it’s hard to believe Bjork will ever really become an impact player at the NHL level, though Chicago will have plenty of offensive opportunities to hand him as they try to shine another asset.

The only issue with this one is that Bjork would need a $1.8MM qualifying offer for the Blackhawks to retain his rights as an RFA, which seems unlikely. Perhaps the two sides will work out a cheaper extension over the next few months; otherwise, Bjork could hit the open market this summer looking for another fresh start.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet broke news of the deal on Twitter. 

Chicago Blackhawks Waive David Gust

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March 1: After scoring in his debut and appearing in three NHL contests for the Blackhawks, Gust has been placed on waivers. This is required if Chicago intends to send him back to the minor leagues.

Feb 23: The Chicago Blackhawks have made the dream of a hometown kid come true. David Gust, playing with the Rockford IceHogs on an AHL contract, signed a new two-year, two-way NHL contract with the Blackhawks. The deal will carry an average annual value of $762.5K, and allows the team to recall him immediately.

Gust, 29, is an Orland Park native that played the last two years with the Chicago Wolves, despite them being the affiliate of a different organization. This year he has broken out offensively, scoring 50 points in 51 games with Rockford, earning himself this look at the NHL.

Undrafted, the undersized winger has never appeared at the NHL level and has played nearly his whole career on minor league contracts. He’ll now not only get a chance to make some extra money, but do it with his hometown team.

Hurricanes Could Be Interested In Max Domi

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  • A year ago, the Hurricanes acquired Max Domi as a rental player just before the trade deadline. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that Domi is once again on Carolina’s radar heading into this week’s deadline.  The 27-year-old had seven points in 19 games with the Hurricanes last season and has been quite productive with the Blackhawks this year, notching 49 points in 59 games.  Accordingly, the price that it will take to get him this time around should be considerably higher than the mid-round prospect and a minor leaguer that it cost them in 2022.

New York Rangers Acquire Patrick Kane

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Though it has been evident for a while that Chicago Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane would be joining the New York Rangers, what wasn’t so clear is the price they would be forced to pay for him.  That price is now known as the trade has been finalized with Kane and defenseman Cooper Zech heading to the Rangers as part of a three-team trade that also involves Arizona.  Chicago receives a 2023 conditional second-round pick and a fourth-round pick along with defenseman Andy Welinski from New York along with the rights to blueliner Vili Saarijarvi from Arizona while the Coyotes receive a 2025 third-round pick from the Rangers for brokering the deal by retaining 25% of Kane’s contract after Chicago held back the maximum 50% of his $10.5MM AAV.

The 2023 second-rounder can become a first-round selection if the Rangers make it to the Conference Finals. It would then be conveyed in either 2024 (top-10 protected) or 2025.  The third-rounder going to Arizona will either be the Rangers’ own pick or the better of theirs and Dallas’ if defenseman Nils Lundkvist has 55 points combined this season and next which would transfer the Stars’ 2025 selection to New York.

Just as it played out with Claude Giroux last season, a franchise icon with full no-movement protection essentially dictated his destination, resulting in an underwhelming return. The Blackhawks were not able to land a guaranteed first-round pick in the deal, but will send Kane to his preferred team and still recoup some value.

When it became clear that the Blackhawks were tearing it down to rebuild through the draft, it made little sense for them to re-sign Kane in the offseason. If he was going to leave anyway, getting a second (or first) before he walked out the door only helps the efforts of general manager Kyle Davidson. Kane wasn’t forced out the door, but will now get another chance at the Stanley Cup this season with a loaded Rangers club.

After New York acquired Vladimir Tarasenko earlier this month, it appeared they were out of the running for Kane. They had a tight cap situation and had made their significant acquisition. Even Kane seemed to know he wouldn’t be headed to New York, telling reporters that it seemed like they had “filled their void” with the deal.

But now, with the help of some creative cap gymnastics, the Rangers have made enough room to land both star wingers, giving them a forward group that looks like an All-Star roster.

He also leaves Chicago with a legacy that will be hard to beat. While Kane sits second on the all-time Blackhawks scoring list, many will remember him as the most talented player in franchise history. His 1,225 regular season points came in just 1,161 games, numbers that will have him in the Hall of Fame one day.

Now 34, Kane will be an unrestricted free agent this summer unless he signs an extension with the Rangers. That certainly seems possible, though it will be difficult for New York to fit everyone in, giving some raises they own to some other players. For now, the focus will be on winning the Stanley Cup after loading up as much as they can.

Should they reach the third round, and fork over a first-rounder to Chicago, the Blackhawks would then own seven first-round selections over the next three years. After picking three players at the top of the 2022 draft, their system will quickly be loaded with talent that can mature together. Perhaps they’ll find the next star in that bunch, but simple probability suggests they won’t find another Kane.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the draft picks while ESPN’s Emily Kaplan was the first to report the conditional element on the second-rounder.  PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan was the first with the return for Arizona’s involvement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are loading up. After their big move earlier this month, they’ve pulled off another significant trade, acquiring Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty from the Chicago Blackhawks. In return, the Maple Leafs will send a top-ten protected 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, Joey Anderson, and prospect Pavel Gogolev.

Chicago is retaining 50% of McCabe’s contract, and sending two conditional fifth-round selections to Toronto. If the 2025 first-round selection is in the top ten, Chicago will get Toronto’s 2026 first-round pick instead. CapFriendly reports that the 2024 fifth-round pick that is going to Toronto will be the lowest pick in that round the Blackhawks own at the time of the draft.

The biggest part of this deal for Toronto is the salary retention, as McCabe is not a typical rental. With two more years on his contract, the Maple Leafs will get a discounted defenseman for several playoff runs. His deal carries a cap hit of $4MM, meaning McCabe will cost Toronto just $2MM per season through 2024-25, the same amount as Justin Holl, who is currently scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer.

McCabe, 29, has been rather productive for the Blackhawks this season, registering 20 points in 55 games—a pace that has him on track to blow past his previous career-high of 22 points. It’s not his offensive ability the Maple Leafs were targeting, though. McCabe instantly becomes the team’s most physical defender, and should help the penalty kill with his long reach, strength in front of the net, and willingness to block shots.

Lafferty is not just a throw-in, either. The 27-year-old forward is having a career year with Chicago, scoring ten goals and 21 points in 51 games. He too, is a physical upgrade for the Maple Leafs, giving them a pretty significant depth chart for the bottom six. With Lafferty and Noel Acciari now in place, the team has added two right-handed faceoff options that can be used on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone to go with their stable of left-shot centers.

It’s a pretty impressive haul for Toronto over the last few weeks, especially when considering they didn’t give up a single roster player. But there is real risk in moving so many draft picks when your group has zero playoff success to show for it to this point. Even McCabe, who seems like he would excel in the postseason, has never actually played in a playoff game nearly a decade into his NHL career.

If the Maple Leafs are bounced again, some painful years could be ahead. But for now, general manager Kyle Dubas is willing to put it on the line and give this group the best chance possible.

One thing to note is that with the addition of McCabe and Lafferty, the Maple Leafs no longer have the cap space to activate goaltender Matt Murray from long-term injured reserve. That was expected to happen in the next few days, meaning either another player will be shipped out, or some other transaction will be made to clear cap.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Jack Johnson

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The Colorado Avalanche are bringing back a piece of their Stanley Cup roster, re-acquiring Jack Johnson from the Chicago Blackhawks. Andreas Englund will be the player going back to Chicago.

Johnson, 36, certainly isn’t the player that went third overall in 2005, or even the one that scored 40 points in 2014-15 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. But given his familiarity with the Avalanche organization and success last year, it is a nice reunion for the veteran defenseman.

Colorado is missing Erik Johnson and Cale Makar, considerably limiting their defensive depth. Jack Johnson will slide into the depth chart in a similar role as he did last year, playing limited minutes whenever needed but not making much of an impact one way or another.

Giving up Englund means almost nothing for the Avalanche, and shows there wasn’t really a market for Johnson around the league. The 27-year-old has played 36 NHL games this year and 69 in his career, but is still looking for his first goal. As a pending unrestricted free agent, Englund doesn’t represent much of anything for the Blackhawks moving forward.

This effectively boils down to doing Johnson a favor, sending him back to a great team that he is comfortable with after logging some difficult minutes this year. The veteran defender was playing nearly 20 minutes a night for Chicago, more than he has since 2017. He won’t get anywhere near that much playing time in Colorado, but now has the chance to go for another long playoff run before his career winds down.

Kevin Weekes of ESPN broke the deal on Twitter.

Alex Stalock Activated; Jaxson Stauber Reassigned

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  • The Chicago Blackhawks have activated Alex Stalock from injured reserve, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. That is encouraging news after he was ruled out with ocular dysfunction from multiple head injuries for a while. His return means Jaxson Stauber is being sent back to the AHL, despite a pretty impressive performance from the rookie netminder. Stauber went 5-1 in six games with a .911 save percentage.

Kane, Lafferty Ruled Out For Trade-Related Reasons

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  • The Blackhawks announced (Twitter link) that winger Patrick Kane and forward Sam Lafferty will sit for trade-related reasons. Kane’s agent Pat Brisson relayed a statement to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link) that it was mutually agreed that Kane would sit during this “period of reflection”.  Kane is mulling over whether to leave the only NHL organization he has ever known with the Rangers expected to be the likely destination, provided that they can make the money work as Kane carries a $10.5MM AAV.  They’ll need double-retention for a deal to happen.

Latest On Patrick Kane

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The Patrick Kane trade saga may be nearing its end, according to NHL insider Chris Johnston. In a tweet Friday afternoon, Johnston reported that a resolution to Kane’s situation is expected “in the next 24 hours or so,” well before the trade deadline on March 3.

As of now, Kane has reportedly not waived his no-movement clause to facilitate a deal, per Johnston.

Kane, who has spent his entire 16-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks, has been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks as the lottery-bound team continues to rebuild. Yesterday, rumors re-emerged about the possibility of Kane ending up with the New York Rangers, even after the team already bolstered their top-six with the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko. Kane, 34, has recorded seven goals and 10 points in his last five games, quieting many doubts about his scoring ability in spite of a bad hip.

However, Kane’s no-movement clause gives him the power to control his destiny, and it’s still entirely possible all the speculation is for not.

Adding to the rumor mill today, NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reported that Kane was not practicing with the team, taking a maintenance day. Such a vague term is bound to increase speculation about whether Kane is being held out for trade-related reasons, health reasons related to his publicized hip issues, or neither.

Another Blackhawks trade target, defenseman Jake McCabe, also did not practice with a non-COVID illness.

Latest On Patrick Kane

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Rumors are flying surrounding Patrick Kane and whether he’ll be traded before the March 3rd deadline, with many speculating that the New York Rangers could be his preferred destination. Such speculation may need to hold off for a little while, though, as it still seems as though Kane hasn’t yet made a decision on his future. Kane’s agent, Pat Brisson, confirmed as much to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, stating that “Patrick hasn’t made any decision at this point.”

Tonight has already featured a significant trade, with the Boston Bruins acquiring two key veterans from the Washington Capitals. Kane could end up the star of this trade deadline season, but seeing as he is in full control of his playing future, any developments will come on a timeline he prefers. We still have a little bit of time before the trade deadline fully hits, although it is definitely possible that the longer he waits, the more likely it is that potentially interested contending teams decide they need to play things safe and explore backup plans.

  • On TSN’s Insider Trading program, LeBrun reported that Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog’s true timeline in his return from injury remains “unclear.” The Avalanche do not yet have a firm sense of when he’ll be ready to return to the lineup, and that uncertainty has major trade deadline implications. As long as there remains the possibility of Landeskog returning in this regular season, the Avalanche cannot use Landeskog’s salary on long-term injured reserve to add to their roster, since they would not have the cap space to activate Landeskog once healthy. If nothing else, the Avalanche will be hoping for some more clarity on Landeskog’s timeline in these next few days so they can really shore up their deadline plans.
  • Vegas Golden Knights netminder Logan Thompson has been placed on injured reserve, as reported by the Las Vegas Sun’s Danny Webster. Thompson has been out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, so this news should come as no surprise. What it does do is make Thompson’s injury absence official from a roster perspective, clearing a spot on the 23-man unit for the team to work with.

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