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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.

Anaheim Ducks Acquire Josiah Slavin

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The Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks have completed a minor trade, swapping Josiah Slavin and Hunter Drew today. According to Scott Powers of The Athletic, the Blackhawks wanted to give Slavin an NHL opportunity with another organization, something he wouldn’t receive in Chicago.

Despite that, Slavin will report to the San Diego Gulls at first, meaning his NHL dreams will have to wait for the time being. The 24-year-old forward has just 15 NHL appearances, all with Chicago last season, and is still looking for his first goal at te highest level.

Even in AHL Rockford his production had dried up, with just three goals and 11 points in 51 games this year, following his 32-point effort in 2021-22. The seventh-round pick (and younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes star defenseman Jaccob Slavin) is on the second season of a two-year entry-level contract he signed out of college and will be a restricted free agent this summer.

On the other hand, Drew has just two appearances in the NHL, coming last season with the Ducks. The sixth-round pick transitioned from defense to forward last season and managed to score 17 goals and 38 points in 64 games for the San Diego Gulls, while racking up 134 penalty minutes as one of the toughest players in the league. Things haven’t gone so well this year, with just five goals and 11 points, but those penalty totals are still high as Drew brings physicality every night.

He too is on an expiring contract, and will be a restricted free agent this summer. The deal comes down to swapping some minor league depth, and perhaps giving two players a better path to NHL playing time.

Latest On Jake McCabe

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The Chicago Blackhawks acquired a defenseman today via the Nikita Zaitsev trade, and it seems they could soon match that deal by sending a blueliner out. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that trade talks surrounding Blackhawks blueliner Jake McCabe have “heated up” and that it’s a “when not if he’s moved” scenario. We recently covered how multiple contenders have expressed interest in the 29-year-old, and how the asking price is said to be as much as a first-round pick.

Aiding the Blackhawks’ likelihood of receiving a first-round pick for McCabe is his contract, as well as their apparent willingness to sacrifice short-term cap space to add draft picks. McCabe is under contract through 2024-25 at a $4MM cap hit, but the Blackhawks could cut that hit in half and offer McCabe at $2MM to teams, should they elect to retain the maximum portion of his salary.

Adding McCabe at $2MM against the cap for this season and two more is an extremely attractive prospect for many defense-needy teams.

He’d be able to play reliable top-four minutes at a bargain price, and in today’s environment where cap space is at an absolute premium, that sort of surplus value will likely be highly coveted.

One of the main reasons the Tampa Bay Lightning paid first-round picks for players such as Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman was because those players were under cheap contracts with some term attached. If one uses the additional value those players were assigned due to their contracts to guide the appraisal of McCabe’s trade value, it seems clear that a first-round pick at the minimum would be a reasonable ask for the player with some retention.

David Savard and Ben Chiarot both net their club a first-round pick (and more) via a trade, so when one considers how well McCabe has been playing despite difficult circumstances and the surplus value he would offer at a $2MM cap hit for another two years, paying a first-rounder should be a no-brainer for a few interested teams.

While McCabe’s offensive production doesn’t jump off the page, he’s improved his numbers compared to last season. He’s averaging nearly 20 minutes a night and is a contributor to the Blackhawks’ penalty kill. He’ll be able to handle a similar role on a contending team, and he should be a name to monitor for both Blackhawks fans and fans of teams rumored to be interested in acquiring a defenseman.

Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Nikita Zaitsev

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The Ottawa Senators have traded defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to the Chicago Blackhawks, in a move that concludes the Senators’ widely-reported efforts to find a taker for Zaitsev before the March 3rd trade deadline.

The Senators have dealt Zaitsev, a 2023 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-rounder to Chicago for future considerations, effectively paying the Blackhawks two draft choices to take on Zaitsev’s $4.5MM AAV contract, one that runs through the end of next season. Of note is the fact that the Senators will save nearly $6MM in real cash through this deal.

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion issued the following statement regarding the trade:

We’re pleased to afford Nikita a fresh start. He’s a pro’s pro who showcased himself to be a caring teammate and quiet leader throughout his Sens tenure. We’re thankful for his time in Ottawa and wish he and his family the best in his next chapter.

Twelve days ago, we covered how the Senators were reportedly “actively trying to move” Zaitsev and his hefty cap hit. It’s a deal that should not come as a surprise, as the Blackhawks don’t have any plans to compete for the next few seasons, so they get to add to their stockpile of draft picks by taking on a cap hit that is of little consequence to their overall plans.

While $4.5MM for this season and next is no small number in today’s flat-cap environment, the prize of this deal for the Blackhawks is Ottawa’s second-rounder this season, which could very well be a pick in the first half of the second round. The quality of this summer’s draft is widely considered to be deeper than in past years, so the Blackhawks are adding a pick that they likely believe can possibly land them an impact player down the line.

This season, Zaitsev has played in just 28 NHL games, averaging the fewest minutes per game of any season in his NHL career.

The 31-year-old cleared waivers earlier this year, and will now join Petr Mrazek and Jason Dickinson, two other cap-related castoffs on Chicago’s roster.

It’s unclear what Chicago’s plans for Zaitsev are at this current moment, as the right side of their defense seems set with Seth Jones, Connor Murphy, and Caleb Jones.

Perhaps they’ll move the younger Jones brother, a left-shot, back to the left side and move Isaak Phillips back to the AHL, placing Zaitsev on their bottom pairing.

Of note is a report from NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, who says that it “sounds like there might be some immigration hurdles” when it comes to getting Zaitsev in the fold in Chicago, although the team does plan for him to join them soon. We saw immigration issues hold back Artturi Lehkonen’s debut with the Colorado Avalanche last year, so this will be a situation to monitor moving forward.

For Ottawa, this deal is about ending what turned out to be a pricey mistake from a few years ago. The Senators acquired Zaitsev, contract and all, from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019 in a move that would be a major help to their division rival’s ability to navigate a tight salary cap situation. Zaitsev’s tenure in Ottawa was disappointing, as although he averaged over 22 minutes a night in his first two seasons, his play was often inconsistent and he eventually saw his role and importance in coach D.J. Smith’s defensive plans decline.

While it comes at the cost of a valuable draft pick, the Senators now have quite a bit more cap space to work with before this trade deadline. Per PuckPedia, they can fit $18MM in annual cap hits at this moment, and nearly $22MM at the deadline. Ottawa has long been rumored to be scouring the trade market in search of defensive help, so it’s possible that this trade was made with the hope of using Zaitsev’s vacated cap space to accommodate a pricey blueline reinforcement.

In any case, while it’s not an ideal trade for any team to have to make, it’s a reasonable cost for the Senators in this current cap environment. It’ll hurt to lose the draft picks, absolutely, but this is a team that has disappointed this season and is eager to finally emerge from their rebuild and make the playoffs. With that as the team’s overarching goal, it makes sense that Dorion would view clearing $4.5MM off his books for this season and next to be more valuable than a second-round pick this year and a fourth-rounder for the 2026 draft.

While many scramble to pick winners and losers for any trade made in the NHL today, this looks like the kind of deal where both teams can come out on top. The Senators clear valuable cap space to acquire more useful players, while the Blackhawks add a valuable draft pick to assist them in their rebuilding process. It’s a natural fit for each team and a deal that will likely leave both teams’ fanbases satisfied.

The trade was first reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. His destination, Chicago, was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. PostMedia’s Bruce Garrioch was first on the details of the trade. 

Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jake McCabe Reportedly Has Edmonton Oilers On No-Trade List

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  • Sportsnet senior columnist Mark Spector reports that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe has listed the Edmonton Oilers on the latest no-trade list he’s submitted. McCabe is one of the top defense targets available at the deadline, save for Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov, and he has a seven-team no-trade list as part of his four-year, $16MM contract with Chicago. One of the better defensive blueliners in the league, McCabe’s value is increased by his cost certainty — he’s only in year two of his contract, meaning he’s set at a $4MM cap hit through 2025. The 29-year-old veteran of nearly 500 NHL games has two goals and 17 assists in 53 games with Chicago this year.

Latest On Patrick Kane

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  • As relayed by NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis, Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson gave an update on the team’s situation with top trade candidate Patrick Kane. Davidson said that he is in “constant contact” with Kane’s representatives, but hasn’t yet heard a decision on whether Kane wants to be dealt and is willing to waive his trade protection. While Kane has had some health issues and scored less than he’d likely have hoped he would, his decision on a trade is still one of massive importance, as Kane is likely at or near the top of quite a few contending teams’ trade deadline wishlists.

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