- Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times: With so many teams still in the playoff race, GMs are not having an easy time on figuring out who might be available at the trade deadline. Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman.
“The biggest thing is, you’re not quite sure what’s available around the league,” Bowman said. “At this point, there’s a lot of clustering in the standings. And in order for trades to happen you have to have teams that are willing to look toward next year.”
Are the Hurricanes willing to move Eric Staal or Kris Versteeg? Will the Coyotes move Mikkel Boedker? Do the Jets have no choice but to trade Andrew Ladd?
The Blackhawks don’t have the depth up front and on the blueline like they’ve had in past years. The Blackhawks need a top-six left winger to play with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa (suffered a left leg injury on Saturday night) and a veteran No. 4 defenseman (Erik Gustafsson has been inconsistent of late and was scratched over the weekend). They have just over $2 million in cap space.
With so many teams looking for defensemen, the cost may be too high for the Blackhawks. Would GM Bowman be willing to trade Andrew Shaw in a deal for Andrew Ladd? Would Bowman (foolishly) trade Teuvo Teravainen to the Jets if they would take on Bryan Bickell’s contract?
Players like Versteeg and P.A. Parenteau would be cheaper to acquire than a Jonathan Drouin or Boedker.
- The Fourth Period: According to a report in the Le Journal de Montreal, one player that Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman is watching is Oilers pending UFA left winger, Teddy Purcell. The Oilers may be considering re-signing Purcell, but the general thought is he’ll be moved by the deadline. The Blackhawks are also paying attention to the Bruins and Loui Eriksson.