As of writing time we are just 3 days away from the 2023 Trade Deadline and things are getting interesting not just here in Chicago but across the entire league. The Eastern Conference is gearing up for an all out war as every team in the playoff hunt seems to be making big moves. Looking at how strong of a conference the East is currently, all non wild card teams have more points then the West leading Golden Knights, who have 76 points. If you are out on watching the Hawks this season now that the yard sale is almost complete, I highly suggest taking the time to watch some of the East teams play because its going to be a hell of a ride to the playoffs and then an absolute blood bath once the playoffs start.
While its fun to get excited about playoff hockey, there is still some news to talk about with our Chicago Blackhawks. Where we last left off was a Kaner to the Rangers was all but close and was mere hours away from becoming official on Saturday. Well, here we are Monday night and Kaner is still technically a Blackhawk. He flew back to Chicago from San Jose Saturday morning to reflect on his decision, and with that it looks like we have seen the last of 88 in the Hawks sweater for at least the rest of this season. The latest on this trade is that due to cap reasoning, if/when this trade goes through, the earliest it could be is Wednesday. There is a small chance that it could wait all the way until the deadline, but feeling across the league is the Rangers want this done as soon as possible.
The tough thing about the reports on this deal is that we really haven’t gotten a clear cut idea on what the return is going to be. There have been lots of names thrown out there such as Zach Jones and Jake Leschyshyn. There have also been many reports saying that this is not going to be a return haul that will make Hawks fans happy. There have been reports that there will be no 1st round pick included in this deal and that this will be more of a do right by Kane trade. I am not sure how you all feel, but this is leaving me very torn. On one hand yeah Kane has earned the right to dictate where he gets dealt to and because of this its going to handicap KD a little bit on what he can get in a return since all the power is in Chris Drury’s corner. If Kane truly wants to go, for everything he has given to this franchise, there is zero reason to not do the right thing for him. However, on the other hand, this is still a business. Does it really make sense to trade him, just to trade him and not get the full value of what he is worth? At that point I would much rather hold on to him and really sell him on the idea of doing the rare thing of playing his entire career as a Blackhawk and remind him what it would mean to pass Mikita as the all time leading point getting in franchise history. I think there is a part of him who still really wants that. What I am really going to dread is when the trade announcement happens, all the comments on social media mocking at how the Hawks got fleeced and how big of a joke this team has become.
In the meantime, while we wait for the final outcome of the Kane saga. Kyle Davidson has been keeping himself busy making a few moves yesterday and today. The first one being the smaller of the two, Jack Johnson goes back to Colorado in exchange for defenseman Andreas Englund. Johnson has been a good minute eater for the Hawks this year and going back to the team he helped when a cup last year is a great reward for him. Colorado is starting to get healthy and bringing in this extra depth piece in the form of a player who knows the team already is going to be important come playoff time. Englund is a 27 year old left handed defenseman, who has split the season so far in the AHL and NHL. In 36 games with the Avalanche he has 3 points and is a +1. I don’t think there’s much to look into this move other than the fact you can’t just take draft picks when you need bodies to finish out this season. This is the final year on his current contract and will become a UFA at the end of the season.
The other trade KD made was a bit bigger. He sent Sam Lafferty, Jake McCabe, and two conditional 5th round picks to the Maple Leafs for Joey Anderson, Pavel Gogolev, 2025 conditional first round pick, and 2026 second round pick. The Hawks will also be retaining 50% of McCabe’s contract, making his cap hit just 2 million. This was a great move by Toronto as they build up their back end after losing Muzzin for the year and add Lafferty who as we all know is an absolute spark plug that can play through out the entire line up and situation. Its a real bummer to see those two go as they were two of the few bright spots this season but really happy that they now have a chance to make a difference for a playoff bound team.
Now that those moves are made, and we are assuming Kane will be figured out here soon, where does that leave the Hawks heading into Friday? I think to answer that question you have to ask the question of how are playoff teams feeling now that the big names are off the board? Are teams who missed out on guys like Meier, Barbashev, Niederreiter, and so on comfortable with their roster, or could they want to make a move for a guy like Domi or Athanasiou? Also have to wonder what the market is like after Tampa just blew it for every other team by giving up 5 draft picks for Tanner Jeannot. I think unless there is a deal that really blows KD away, I think Domi will be sticking around and even signs an extension, Athanasiou don’t think really has played his way on to the radars of teams in the hunt, and anyone else that might have some value just doesn’t make sense to move given teams cap situations. But, at the end of the day, who knows what could happen and what KD might have up his sleeve heading into the 2pm Central time deadline, and that’s what makes deadline season so much fun.
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