As rumors of a Blackhawk move for one Dany Heatley swirl, the Hawks have also announced their training camp roster.

As far as Heater, I presently have no idea where this rumor is originating or if there is anything to it. But I will say this: a deal with Ottawa could make sense if it fills a hole at #4 defenseman with the right player (Anton Volchenkov) and moves out some contract dollars (Barker, Sopel and a forward or two).

EDIT: The "forward or two" I mention above would need to be among the Hawks' higher end forwards: think Sharp, Versteeg, possibly Kane.

There is a deal to be made that could help both teams. Question is, is anyone really talking? Stay tuned.

Here are the players invited to the Hawks' training camp opening September 13 at Johnny's Ice House and the UC. In bold are the players I think have a legitimate (or semi-legit) shot of making the club. Comments follow each section.

Forwards
Akim Aliu, Kyle Beach, Dan Bertam, Brian Bickell, Danny Bois, Dave Bolland, Evan Brophey, Troy Brouwer, Adam Burish, Dustin Byfuglien, Mark Cullen, Nathan Davis, Jake Dowell, Ben Eager, Bryan Ewing, Colin Fraser, Byron Froese, David Gilbert, Adam Hobson, Justin Hodgman, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Bracken Kearns, Rob Klinkhammer, Tomas Kopecky, Andrew Ladd, Peter MacArthur, John Madden, Derek Nesbitt, Patrick Sharp, Jack Skille, Maxime Tanguay, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg.

16 forwards who could make the club. The team will only carry 13-14. I've been saying this going back to July: the Hawks are going to deal some forward depth at some point. Lots of good AHL talent in here, too. Rockford should field a good team this year.

Defensemen
Cam Barker, Daryl Boyle, Michael Brennan, Brian Campbell, Jonathan Carlsson, Joe Charlebois, Brian Connelly, Simon Danis-Pepin, Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Aaron Johnson, Duncan Keith, Shawn Lalonde, Richard Petiot, David Phillips, J.C. Sawyer, Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel and Teigan Zahn.

9 potential NHL defensemen. 7 slots. Petiot led an injury-depleted Tampa defense last year at +5.

Goaltenders
Corey Crawford, Joe Fallon, Cristobal Huet, Antti Niemi, Joe Palmer and Alec Richards.

Crawford and Niemi are probably the only real contenders for the backup job. Though Fallon and Richards are both big and have some skill. The Hawks are very high on Richards.



JJ

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