The Florida Panthers have stated publicly that they're looking to make a big splash in the off-season. This is the third part of a league-wide search for great potential trading partners for the Panthers. Today we will look at the Chicago Blackhawks.
If you missed some of the previous teams you can find them here...
Vancouver Canucks
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadiens
Arizona Coyotes
Ottawa Senators
Chicago Blackhawks: (33-39-10 76 points)
Draft picks owned: 1st round (#8 & #27), 2nd round (#37), 3rd round (#69 & #87), 4th round (#120), 5th round (#142), 6th round (#162), 7th round (#193)
UFA's: Patrick Sharp (C/LW), Michal Rozsival (D), Cody Franson (D), Lance Bouma (F), Jordin Tootoo (RW)
RFA's:Anthony Duclair (W), Tomas Jurco (W), Vinnie Hinostroza (C)
When taking a look at the contracts on the Chicago Blackhawks roster the first inclination is to run far from this team in terms of making a deal. Alex Debrincat is probably the most desirable player on the team in terms of skill and contract but isn't available for any reasonable trade. Patrick Kane is obviously a very desirable piece but his albatross contract and no-movement clause eliminate any reasonable talking points.
Jonathan Toews' name has been floated but it doesn't seem reasonable that Chicago would sell him at possibly the lowest point he's been in his career. Toews should be able to have a resurgence for a few more years.
The Blackhawks would love to be able to unload defenseman Brent Seabrook. The 33-year-old still has six years remaining on his deal that takes him through the 2023-24 season with a $6.875 million dollar cap hit. The common consensus has been that Seabrook is falling off his game quickly. After a 14 goal, 49 point 2015-16 season, he fell to three goals and 39 points the following season and in 2017-18 he had 7 goals and just 26 points.
Is
Brent Seabrook really falling off the map, or is it possible that factors around him have changed and therefore explaining his drop-off? How much has Seabrook really dropped off?
Brent Seabrook's numbers actually improved this season in both Corsi and Fenwick to his best numbers since 2014-15. His PDO (which combines the goaltender's save percentage and the team's on-ice shooting percentage while a player is on the ice) was the lowest it's been since the 2010-11 season. This eludes to the fact that the players around Seabrook were playing at a lower level than what he was akin to.
Seabrook's ice-time fell to the lowest it's been since his rookie season in 2005-06, playing just over 20 minutes per game. It's interesting that as his ice-time fell, his possession numbers increased. It's possible that at this point in his career that he's a better player playing only 20 minutes per game instead of his usual 22-23. Also, his drop in points is most likely due to playing almost one minute less on the power play than he was two seasons ago.
Is Seabrook worth taking a chance on? With six years left on his deal at such an exorbitant rate, it's hard to say yes to that question. If Chicago was willing to eat half the salary so that his cap hit became $3.4375, would his desirability improve?
For a trade with the Florida Panthers, a 50% salary retention (or something close to it) is the first step for Chicago to be able to shed
Seabrook's albatross contract.
If Florida is willing to relieve Chicago of Brent Seabrook, what would the Blackhawks need in return? They can't very well give up Seabrook for nothing, but it's difficult to imagine that Panthers GM Dale Tallon would be willing to give up more than a second-round pick to take on such a chance on an aging player with six years left on his deal.
The salary retained is negotiable. Perhaps Chicago only wants to retain 30% (about $2 million). The draft choice given up by the Panthers becomes later the less salary retained by the Blackhawks.
To Florida
Brent Seabrook
To Chicago
Second Round Pick 2019
Chicago Retains 50% of Seabrook's salary
OR
To Florida
Brent Seabrook
To Chicago
Third Round Pick 2019
Chicago Retains 30% of Seabrook's salary
Florida should take a chance on Seabrook and utilize him in ways that he'll succeed. Seabrook would be an upgrade and fit nicely into their top four and wouldn't cost them anything but cap space and a pick.
New York Rangers.
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