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I heard this afternoon from a source close to the Hawk front office, who delivered a great deal of information.
Point by point:
The front office is torn on what to do with Patrick Kane, but a couple of things seem apparent. Assuming he is legally cleared to play, he likely will remain a Blackhawk for the time being. However, the team is also operating under the assumption that Kane will not be in uniform to start the season.
The team wants to do the right thing by Kane—assuming he wants to do the right thing for himself and his career going forward:
“A lot has been discussed by the Hawks’ front office about Kane, but they want to keep Patrick Kane, they do not want to ‘punish’ his actions by trading him, they want to give him the time needed to ‘get his act together’ and remain a Hawk.”
Those last lines might have some bearing on the other thing I heard attributed to the front office source. There is a “ZERO %” chance Kane starts the season playing for the Hawks.
Marcus Kruger will be re-signed and freeing up the cap space to do so will happen as a result of trading either Bryan Bickell or Kris Versteeg—not both. By the sound of it, there are potential deals out there for either player. And it seems the Hawks are getting ready to move.
For now, the plan is to go with a combination of Trevor van Riemsdyk, Erik Gustafsson and David Rundblad as defensemen 5-7. The team is very high on Gustafsson.
The Hawks remain high on Ville Pokka (“he’s the real deal”), but would like him in Rockford for most of the season to work on his conditioning—he tired down the stretch and in the playoffs last season.
Ditto Ryan Hartman, but the Hawks want him in Rockford as well, working especially on plays coming off the boards and going to the net. Hartman and Pokka are in the Hawks plans within the next year or two.
Garrett Ross is also seen as a contender for NHL playing time, as was Philip Danault, prior to his “unfortunate” and “frustrating” hip surgery. Danault, especially, was a candidate for some extended NHL PT.
That's all I have for now.
JJ
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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