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Trade Winds Blowing In Chicago

November 3, 2009, 8:51 PM ET [ Comments]
John Jaeckel
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
This is what I am hearing from a reliable source:

The Hawks have been talking to at least two teams: Carolina and Toronto.

Per Ek's report, Carolina has been shopping Ray Whitney, but I am hearing that Jim Rutherford has decided to give his roster a major shake-up, Paul Maurice is not going to be fired, and Rutherford could be wiling to make some seismic moves to bring in (according to my source): "a puck-rushing PP quarterback defenseman."

Interestingly, while the Hawks have been talking to Carolina, they have also supposedly been talking to Toronto about Tomas Kaberle (again). I am hearing that there is sort of an "agreement" in place, though the exact return from the Hawks has not been determined yet, and this could play out all the way up to the trade deadline. Apparently, Brian Burke covets any of a number of the Hawks' young forwards.

Now, what does all this mean?

I am hearing that the Hawks are not in a huge hurry to make a move. They are not in anything like a desperate position, but they have a desire, if not an imperative, to move some salary before the trading deadline. I am told they want to see how the forwards and the overall lineup looks once Marian Hossa is in action.

And once Hossa is back, not to mention Jonathan Toews, some forward— Kris Versteeg, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Ladd— is going to become the odd man out.

That said, there are shades of both rumors that would indicate that either Cam Barker or possibly even Brian Campbell are on their way out of Chicago.

I don't see why the Hawks would be interested in Whitney, or even another rumored chip from the Hurricanes, Chad LaRose. I also doubt the Hawks are interested in either Tuomo Ruutu or Sergei Samsonov.

However, Chicago native, and right-handed defenseman, Joe Corvo might be of interest to the Hawks, as might Rod Brindamour.

Bear in mind, while Brindamour's best days are no doubt behind him, he probably has some tread left on the tires and is the kind of veteran presence that could help a team that wants to win the Cup this year. And he's a center, a position so thin for the Hawks right now, Hossa has been playing there in practice this week.

I will continue to monitor this. And remember, this is not the first time Kaberle has come up in conjunction with the Hawks and Jim Rutherford has been a frequent dance partner of the Blackhawks.
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