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Some of you may recall some scuttlebutt I shared back in March about the Florida Panthers having some interest in top Hawk prospect Teuvo Teravainen.

I was told about ten days ago, by a very good source with contacts in Florida, that interest persists and that there could yet be a significant deal between the two clubs right before the draft.

Basically, the story goes like this.

The two clubs chose to bookmark their conversation until after the draft lottery—and perhaps even after those teams picking before Florida made their selections on draft night.

Apparently, there is a player at or near the top of this draft that the Hawks highly covet—about as much as Florida GM Dale Tallon covets the crafty Teravainen—and thus a deal could be swung.

That’s assuming that the likely #1 pick, Portland Winterhawk defenseman Seth Jones, was not the player the Hawks were after.

Some might then argue, ‘Teravainen is not the prospect that Nathan McKinnon or Jonathan Drouin are.’ I would counter and say they are all very, very good prospects and for some—if you are looking for a guy who could be a player somewhere in the Patrick Kane/Pavel Datsyuk mold—that is what Teravainen could be.

So this is a story that could bear watching as the draft nears. Or again, if the Hawks were simply hoping for a shot at Jones, then it is likely moot.

PLAYOFFS

How those beards coming, boys?

OK, the puck drops tonight at the UC and everyone has the Hawks beating the Wild in anywhere from 4-6 games.

But let’s look at the what ifs.

There is a ‘theory’ out there that the Wild were vastly improved with the trade deadline acquisition of Jason Pominville—and Pominville is set to return from a concussion.

OK.

I’m not sure I’m buying in to the legend of Jason Pominville—but the Wild will give the Hawks competitive games very night. And any night the Hawks show up and just throw their sticks on the ice and/or get a couple of bad bounces, they could lose a game.

All that said, there is almost no reason to expect the Hawks to come out flat. They closed the season strong. Outside of what are reported to be “day-to-day’ injuries to Ray Emery and Dave Bolland, they are healthy and deep.

Deeper than deep.

Joel Quenneville has identified five forward lines for the playoffs. So have the league rules changed or will the Hawks ice just 4 defensemen? No. What that means is Quenneville can mix and match his roster depending on who’s hot, who’s injured, matchups, etc. And two players on the “fifth,” reserve line, Jamal Mayers and Dan Carcillo, have extensive playoff experience.

The point is, if a player isn’t producing, he can be replaced. If a series gets really physical, there are guys like Mayers, Carcillo and Brandon Bollig. In years past, you might have looked at the Bolland injury at playoff time as a harbinger of bad things. But this year, Marcus Kruger and Andrew Shaw have grown at the center position—and the deadline acquisition of Michal Handzus looks to maybe be a bit of lightning in a bottle—the ageless Slovak pivot has had some nice chemistry with Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp on the second line.

The icing on the cake? Stan Bowman didn’t have to go out and acquire another top 6 forward at the deadline. He plugged one in the second game of the season—20 year old rookie Brandon Saad, who has quietly (looking in from outside Chicago at least), become a legitimate force.

As I said on the HockeyBuzzCast last night, if there are weaknesses for the Hawks, it will be if goalie Corey Crawford gets hurt or falters and Emery isn’t physically ready. And if the Hawks find themselves in a very physical series and can’t or won’t respond.

Otherwise, the Hawks looked primed and ready for a long playoff run.

And personally, I can’t wait.

All for now,


JJ

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