I was settling in to bed around 10 o'clock last night, after 4 grueling days on the road, when my phone started to blow up with rumors, mostly about a possible trade involving Brent Seabrook.
This past Sunday, June 4, I got a tip, which I mentioned on my message board thread that day—without naming Seabrook (as I had been asked not to)—that the Hawks were looking at packaging a "core veteran" (#7) along with a prospect (Gustav Forsling) to acquire a younger, more cost-controlled player (Chris Tanev) and a prospect or pick (from Vancouver).
Last night, the Seabrook rumors exploded. Two separate independent contacts of mine, one in Toronto, and the other in Chicago, have added to that buzz with what they had heard.
The two teams I have specifically heard from sources I trust are: Vancouver (as mentioned above) and Toronto. And that the Hawks, in spite of Seabrook's so-called "albatross" contract and alleged (but highly debatable) "declining skills," were getting a lot of interest on Seabrook.
As of 10:30 Central last night, I heard that Seabrook had not yet been asked to waive for any deal.
As I reported on Twitter a few days ago, the Marcus Kruger to Las Vegas deal, I am hearing from multiple sources now, is all but done. I suspect that will be announced as soon as today. Rumored return is a third round draft pick.
Corollary to this deal, I have heard that Vegas taking on Kruger's contract (and the signing of Jan Rutta) could mean the Hawks will expose Trevor van Riemsdyk for the Golden Knights. And I have also heard that any Chicago deals with Vegas could involve poaching one of their selections from expansion. Backup goalie anyone?
Another player whose name has constantly been bubbling up in my inbox is Artem Anisimov, linked also to Las Vegas by my sources.
There are other rumors being reported out there on Twitter this morning, a couple surrounding Corey Crawford (which I don't see happening at this point), and Marian Hossa.
A few days ago, I also mentioned on the thread, without naming Hossa, that I had heard a potential rumor involving a core player that would be "surprising, but not totally surprising."
That rumor, originating in the Chicago Slovak community was that Hossa would soon retire and return to Slovakia. I dug on it and heard from other sources: no, Hoss intends to play this year. And Hossa's own statements to North American and Slovak hockey media seem to support that.
However, I have also heard that a deal like that worked out with Arizona for Chris Pronger, Hossa going to a floor team and/or on LTIR at some point, is a possibility.
At some point.
But I am not hearing, from my sources, any scuttlebutt this summer about Hossa getting traded.
Finally, I heard the other day that the Hawks were also quietly exploring how to land defenseman Josh Manson. Not surprising, but probably unlikely due to demand for the young blueliner's services right now.
Regardless, as I have been saying for several weeks, this is going to be a busy summer for the Hawks, perhaps busier than any summer in Stan Bowman's tenure as GM. There are, I continue to hear, multiple conversations going on with multiple teams, many involving core players.
The only players I have heard are "untouchable" on the Hawks end are Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith. Another source has also added Niklas Hjalmarsson into that grouping due to the cap-friendly nature of his deal.
As I have said many times in the past, typically 20 scenarios get discussed between GMS for every deal that actually gets announced. And many discussions typically happen, and the parameters of deals are agreed on, often, before a player is even approached about waiving a no-movement clause.
So although there was a flurry of rumors and buzz around Seabrook last night (and quietly the last few days) and Anisimov last week, that does not mean either is definitely on the move, or even that the broad strokes of a deal have been worked out between two teams. it means teams are talking and batting scenarios back and forth.
Kruger, on the other hand, looks like a done deal. But even then, nothing has been announced. And until then . . .
I will keep you posted as best I can.
JJ
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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