There's not terribly much new to report as of this writing. That could change quickly—as it often does at this time of year.
But I wanted to take an opportunity to kind of circle back on the Duchene story, as well as relate some thinking on the recall of Gustav Forsling and a few trickles of information out of Rockford.
MORE ON DUCHENE
I heard this weekend the likelihood of the Blackhawks completing a deal for the Colorado forward might have slipped a bit (reflected in the chart below).
What I was told specifically is that Av GM Joe Sakic "loves" a specific piece that the Hawks are rumored to have discussed with Colorado. But that Sakic, as one might expect, will play the process out, and no deal for Duchene with any team is likely soon—but much more possible close to the trade deadline.
FORSLING RECALLED
If you're wondering if there's any connection between this recall, and Michal Rozsival being placed on IR retroactive to 1/25, my information is: yes, there is.
And if you think about it, setting rumors aside, there very well could be.
It's not like Rozsival has been integral to the Hawks' success this year—he's a seventh defenseman who has looked pretty bad on the few occasions he's played.
Is Forsling being brought up to take Rozsival's seat in the press box? I don't think so. I think he's been brought up to play, and one of Trevor van Riemsdyk, Michal Kempny or even Brian Campbell will sit so he can.
Which leads to another question: have any of those three played poorly enough, or Forsling good enough while in Rockford, to support the above?
I did a little digging this weekend with a Rockford source on Forsling, and what I heard back is he's been OK, pretty good at times, with a few failures at times too.
But a couple of things are indisputable: Forsling has raw talent, and a lot of rough edges. And as such, he's one of few "shiny" trade chips Stan Bowman can offer in a potential trade to upgrade the roster for the playoffs.
Connect the dots.
OTHER DEALS?
I heard another rumor out of Rockford this weekend about the possibility of a veteran Ice Hog player being packaged with a Chicago NHL asset (or assets) in some kind of trade (no team or target mentioned) . I don't think this is part of an offer for Duchene, nor how valid this rumor even is.
All that said, I am hearing from multiple sources that the Hawks are talking to a lot of teams, specifically including Toronto, Detroit, Arizona and Colorado. See chart below.
I will update with more as I have it.
TRAD DEADLINE POSSIBILITIES: (player, position, grade of "reliability/quality" of information, % likelihood of a deal emerging)
Matt Duchene (C/W) A 30% Tomas Vanek (LW) B+ 30% Tomas Tatar (C/W) B- 20% James van Riemsdyk B 20% Luke Schenn (D) B 20% Kevin Connauton (D) B 15% Jarome Iginla (RW) A 15% Fedor Tyutin (D) A 15% Gustav Nyquist (C/W) B- 10% Patrick Sharp (W) C- 10%
All for now,
JJ