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By now, Chicago Blackhawk fans and the entirety of the NHL have a pretty good idea of what’s going on with the Stanley Cup Champions.

And I guess this is a good time to make a couple of things really clear.

First, the Blackhawk organization is quite committed to continuing to win. Win playoff series, conference championships, and Stanley Cups. And they know, perhaps better than some fans, that a “rebuild through youth/play the kids” movement could be a long and/or permanent detour on that journey.

Second, the rest of the NHL isn’t enjoying the Blackhawk Dynasty quite as much as the Hawks and their fans.

Point being, with the possible exception of former employees Dale Tallon, Marc Bergevin and Kevin Cheveldayoff, there are pretty much zero NHL GMs with any sympathy toward the plight Stan Bowman finds himself in today. And let’s be clear on one last thing, all of the three aforementioned former Hawk employees/current NHL GMs are in titanic struggles to improve their own clubs themselves. Any favors they do Bowman will have to benefit them.

Back to the Hawks, the broad strokes are these.

They have UFA defenseman Johnny Oduya and RFA center Marcus Kruger on hold—with essentially agreed upon new deals—while the Hawks try to clear cap space. Neither will wait forever. The Hawks have way more control over Kruger’s situation than Oduya’s. Both players by all accounts would prefer to stay in Chicago.

I have heard that the “critical” date as far as keeping these players is some point this week.

The finer points. The Hawks need to move somewhere between $6 and $12 million (or more), depending on salaries they need to take in return) in salary cap space. The candidates are LW Patrick Sharp, LW Bryan Bickell and LW/RW Kris Versteeg.

Goalie Corey Crawford has also been rumored to be a possible candidate.

Before I dive into this, let me caveat. Typically these rumors reflect a conversation that may have happened between two teams. Not surprisingly, the names involved are subject to change—and may come as a big surprise to some. But in either event, they don’t reflect the totality of the team’s conversations, plans and contingencies.

If I had reported to you 2 weeks ago that the Hawks were talking to the Blue Jackets about dealing Brandon Saad, many would have gone apoplectic. But, then what happened?

Each needs to be evaluated—not just in terms of whether it seems plausible, which is smart—but also as a snapshot pulled from within a wide range of conversations and context.

There appears to be some market for Sharp and Crawford. Again, this is all anecdotal, but I will assure you that I have heard of multiple offers for each—and some of those specific offers have been confirmed by independent sources. Smoke, fire.

One team mentioned regarding Crawford has been Winnipeg. Another has been New Jersey. In either case, it was rumored a goalie would be coming back. I have heard of interest on the part of New Jersey in Crawford going back 2-3 years. Yes, New Jersey has a lot of money and term tied up in Cory Schneider, and I suspect this might be a nonstarter for the Hawks.

But place a bookmark in the Crawford discussion for now. I have also heard the likelihood of his being dealt is low. More on that to come.

A number of teams have been linked to Sharp, including: Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, the Islanders, Dallas, Washington and Florida.

Of those, the persistent names have been Montreal, Florida and the Islanders. Bowman is believed to have a couple of offers on the table for Sharp.

And I just heard this afternoon that Detroit has contacted the Hawks about Sharp in the last day or so, and have "more than a passing interest."

One thing is certain, everyone from Sharp’s agent to other NHL GMs sounds certain Sharp will be moved. And my guess would be sooner, as in the next 48-72 hours, rather than later.

There has been some conversation around Versteeg. One place he could end up is in Winnipeg, with a younger, lesser paid winger coming back. San Jose has also been rumored as a possible destination.

The market for Bickell is much more cloudy. I have heard that, if healthy, Bickell would be desirable at his current salary to at least a couple of teams, two in Canada. Another team I heard linked to Bickell (strongly) last week was Washington, but this was before the Oshie/Brouwer trade.

Which leads back to Crawford. Depending on the return, moving just Sharp, or even Versteeg and Sharp (much less not moving either) puts the Hawks in a position, I’m told, where they need to look at moving Crawford.

I was told yesterday afternoon that Crawford and his agent have been advised by the Hawks that they do not wish to trade him this summer, but that Bowman is having to investigate a wide range of options—all driven by the cap.

I was also told that Bowman has two hard offers for Crawford, one that he “likes” as an option.

This is all I have for now. Hold on tight. I have a feeling we will be hearing some news soon enough, and I’ll be back with more if I hear it.


JJ



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