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Before I get accused of a bait and switch, let me be clear that these are all Hawk rumors. And yes, some of them I have either alluded to previously or mentioned on the message board thread. But this is the first time I have put them all together in a blog or provided this much detail.
Here goes.
I AM HEARING . . .
The Hawks are talking—and have been talking—with a lot of teams.
Last year around this time, the Hawks had interest in Nate Thompson from the Lightning and Matt Martin from the Islanders. They do again this year.
Obviously, in these two players, they are looking to add toughness, penalty killing and enough skill to mesh with the talent level of the Blackhawks.
Neither player’s team is willing to part with them easily, however, so a few backup options are Washington’s Matt Hendricks and Jay McClement or Tyler Bozak of the Maple Leafs.
What would the Hawks give up? Well, Dan Carcillo’s 3 shifts Wednesday night in Anaheim should tell you all you need to know about his potential availability. The Maple Leafs have apparently shown some interest in Michal Frolik and prospect Brandon Pirri.
I’m also told Bowman knows, due to the market and his teams’ needs, he might need to overpay to get the guys he needs. While some Hawk fans might turn their “cultured” noses up at meat and potatoes players like Martin, McClement, and Thompson, these are the kinds of tough role players GMs love—and ask about at this time of year.
A couple of other hot and juicies from the grapevine—and let me be clear that these are higher stakes (and therefore less likely) deals.
The Buffalo Sabres are apparently keenly interested in one Nick Leddy. What they’ve offered the Hawks is unclear. And let me defuse the inevitable clamor for Steve Ott. I don’t know if Buffalo has offered Ott, or would offer him (or not). I also don’t necessarily think he’d be enough (by himself) in return for Leddy.
But young Leddy is also on the radar of another team further to the North and East of Buffalo—the Montreal Canadiens. There have been lengthy and wide-ranging talks between the Hawks and the Canadiens, going back to when former Hawk Assistant GM Marc Bergevin took the top hockey role in La Belle Ville. These talks have involved a lot of players. Names I have heard in the last 48 hours are Leddy, a top Hawk forward, Max Pacioretty, Lars Eller, Raphael Diaz, and Alexei Emelin.
What is interesting about this is you can see the makings of a value for value deal that truly helps both clubs. Just take Leddy and Emelin for instance. Leddy is a human highlight film at times. And he will get better. But Emelin is the kind of blueliner who truly frightens opposing forwards coming across your blueline, and he is no slouch as a skater and has some untapped offensive upside.
Regardless, the potential deal(s) I have heard about with Montreal are larger and would likely take place in the offseason.
Another player the Hawks had interest in last year—and now do so again this year—is New Jersey forward David Clarkson. Like Thompson and Martin, and maybe more so, Clarkson is highly valued by the Devils.
As far as earlier rumors surrounding the Blue Jackets and Sens, I wouldn’t completely discount them either. So often trade information, especially a couple of weeks ahead of the deadline, can only give you a sense of what a team is trying to do—the nature and style of players they’re looking at—not the actual teams or names they end up dealing with (or not).
There have been some rumors floating out there about the Hawks and Calgary, specifically separate rumors surrounding Jarome Iginla and Mikk Kiprusoff.
Well, I am fairly sure the Hawks have told Calgary GM Jay Feaster that they’d be interested in Iginla. But that is all that I’ve heard—and most signs point to Iginla going to LA or Boston.
I personally have not heard any Kiprusoff rumors from my sources. Further, I think the Hawks are quite content with their goalie situation, especially after the hot starts of both Corey Crawford and Ray Emery.
All for now, but it's just heating up,
JJ
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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