The Blackhawks roster could look different by game time this evening against the Blue Jackets as the NHL trade deadline elapses at 2:00pm CST.
Who will be shipped out and who is still around? More interestingly, though, what comes back in any deadline deals? Or does nothing happen?
Here again are a few quick predictions on transactions that the Hawks could make by the deadline or perhaps later during the offseason:
By the TDL
* Mattias Janmark for a 3rd or 4th round pick.
* Carl Soderberg also for a 3rd or 4th round pick.
* Nikita Zadorov for a prospect.
During the Offseason
* Brett Connolly or Ryan Carpenter for a 5th round pick.
* Collin Delia for a 5th round pick.
Next Season
* Calvin de Haan is dealt for a 4th round pick by the 2022 TDL.
* Alex Nylander also becomes trade bait if he shows no improvement after returning from knee surgery and getting re-signed.
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Game Day
Game 43, April 12:
Blackhawks @ Blue Jackets
6:00pm CST
Records:
Blackhawks, 19-18-5, 43 Pts (5th)
Blue Jackets, 15-20-8, 38 Pts (7th)
Season Series:
5-2-0
Goals For/Game:
Blackhawks, 2.76 (17th)
Blue Jackets, 2.49 (27th)
Goals Against/Game:
Blackhawks, 3.10 (22nd)
Blue Jackets, 3.21 (25th)
Power Play:
Blackhawks, 32-131, 24.4% (7th)
Blue Jackets, 14-100, 14.0% (28th)
Penalty Kill:
Blackhawks, 85-116, 73.3% (30th)
Blue Jackets, 82-105, 78.1% (19th)
A lineup question mark for the Blackhawks is de Haan as he suffered a hip pointer in the last game. If he's out, will Riley Stillman make his Hawks debut?
Or will one of rookies Ian Mitchell or Nicolas Beaudin return to the lineup? The team could also go back to 11F/7D to have Stillman, Mitchell, and Beaudin play.
Keith - Boqvist
Zadorov - Mitchell
Beaudin - Murphy
Stillman
That would mean making Wyatt Kalynuk a healthy scratch which may not be a wise choice as he has been quite steady on the blueline along with fellow youngster Adam Boqvist.
At forward, Brett Connolly could make his debut in a Blackhawks sweater this evening. Getting him into the lineup could be easy if Janmark and/or Soderberg are traded today.
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Net Depth
Last Tuesday I took an early gander at what the center situation could be for next year. I did the same in
Saturday's blog looking at the wingers. Today's blog will have a brief preview of the goalies.
As an early projection of netminders for the 2021-22 season, this one is relatively more straightforward given what has transpired this season and what is in the system at present.
Unless a shakeup is on the horizon this summer, Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban are likely to be the duo between the pipes again next season. That leaves the 3rd string Collin Delia in limbo.
Does Delia continue to develop within the organization as at least an eventual backup? Or is it best for the franchise and the player to cut ties now, let him find a job elsewhere, and focus on other goalies?
Delia could be traded in the summer to give him a fresh start somewhere else. That leaves Matt Tomkins as the other tender in the system under an NHL contract. Delia has a year left while Tomkins is a UFA.
If Delia is gone, the likelihood is high that Tomkins is re-signed to at least another year. There isn't much left after him as Cale Morris and Tom Aubrun are on AHL contracts and Ivan Nalimov is on a PTO.
Morris has been reliable in net (2.11, .914) but his sample size is tiny at 4 games. Aubrun has been on a regular shuttle between Rockford and Indianapolis playing more games for the Fuel than the IceHogs.
Assuming Tomkins is in the fold again next season as the Hogs starter, Morris and Aubrun should be maintained on AHL contracts as the depth netminders. Nalimov should be cut as his debut was uninspiring.
Lastly, it's simply too early to have NCAA goalies Drew Commesso and Dominic Basse in the pros. Commesso could potentially sign an ELC a year from now while Basse is likely to play out his college career.
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See you on the boards!
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