Blackhawks looking to move a defenseman?
Scott Powers of The Athletic: The Chicago Blackhawks will be getting defenseman Connor Murphy soon, putting them up to eight defensemen. GM Stan Bowman said they will let things play out and has added that it’s not ideal to carry too many defensemen.
“What that means for the other guys, we’ll sort that out. If there’s a surplus and everyone’s healthy, then there’s always needs around the league for defensemen. We can maybe make a move at that point.”
A source said yesterday that they are shopping Brandon Manning ($2.25 million and one year left) and Jan Rutta (pending UFA at $2.25 million).
Source added they would take anything to clear salary cap space and the roster spot. The source continued that he doesn’t know if they’ll find any interest in Manning with the extra year on his deal. They could retain some salary.
Mark Lazerus: Had heard that the Blackhawks sent an email out to teams over the past couple days about available defensemen.
Should the Blackhawks consider trading Duncan Keith?
Jimmy Greenfield of the Chicago Tribune: (mailbag) Asked about the possibility of trading defenseman Duncan Keith. They would need to be well out of the playoff race and Keith would need to agree to waive his no-trade. If he decides that the Blackhawks won’t be competitive for a while, he might consider moving on.
Keith has four years left on his deal at a $5.538 million salary cap hit. A team would have to pay up with they wanted him.
James O’Brien of NBC Sports: The Chicago Blackhawks should be preparing for their future and it may be time to start moving some of their core.
It’s hard to see them trading Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, but they should look at their blue line and would need to:
“a) convince Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook to waive no-movement clauses.
b) finding trade partners for one or both of those defensemen.”
Keith carries a $5.538 million cap hit with a salary dropping to $1.5 million in his final year. They should get a good return for him now but the longer they wait the less it would likely be.
Seabrook carries a salary cap hit of $6.875 million through 2023-24 and teams won’t be lining up. Seabrook’s salary does start dropping next season – $7.5 million next year and continues to drop.
Currently, the Blackhawks have 15 players under contract next season at a $62.21 million cap hit. Moving out Keith or Seabrook or some others could get that number down to around $56 million.
Could they take a run at Artemi Panarin or Erik Karlsson if they go to free agency? They could look at other mid-level free agents or look at contracts other teams are looking to move – “help out” the Maple Leafs?
