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I think a deal is close for the Hawks, and could go down within 24-48 hours. The Hawks, I'm told by sources in the U.S. and now in Canada are close on a deal with a Western Canadian team for a defenseman. And yes, you can rule out tonight's opponents.

A lot of people are wondering this morning why Bryan Bickell would be in the lineup tonight for a big game over the usually more noticeable and more effective Michal Frolik. Well, because the other team in this deal is perhaps interested in closely scouting Bickell. Who knows? That team might have been allowed to scout yesterday's practice in Vancouver.

Bickell and Frolik, I'm told, have been offered in trade talks with separate teams in the last few weeks. Also, it's my understanding one of those teams was told to scout certain prospects and decide which of them they might want.

That approach would perhaps support my theory that the Hawks are auditioning certain players and prospects on their NHL roster right now.

I believe Kevin and Jimmy Hayes, Dylan Olsen, Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger, Brandon Saad, Mark McNeill and Philip Danault are essentially untouchable.

I do not know about Jeremy Morin, Shawn Lalonde, Philippe Paradis and some others.

I believe, in addition to Bickell and Frolik, Brandon Pirri and Ben Smith are available. And the Hawks might be willing to part with later round draft picks.

And that last fact, coupled with some pretty strong signals that the Hawks do not want to add any cap commitment for next year, tells me you should not expect any huge deals for the Hawks. Right or wrong, they do not feel their roster needs significant adjustment, rather minor tweaks with veterans on expiring contracts.

Finally, and this is where I really take a stand on some shifting sands, these are the teams I think the Hawks are most likely to deal with over the next four weeks:

1) Tampa
2) Edmonton
3) Calgary
4) Montreal
5) Winnipeg
6) Toronto

If the Hawks deal with either Winnipeg or Toronto, those could be larger deals for players with longer term contracts, and so are therefore more problematic and less likely in light of the Hawks' desire for cost certainty, and low cost certainty at that.

Thanks for reading,


JJ

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