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The real villain in the release of three veterans from PTO contracts, including a couple (Danny Paille and Lubomir Visnovsky) who were playing well, could be the contract of one Bryan Bickell.
The same source, who had previously tipped me on conversations with the Coyotes and Islanders, told me Bickell is—as of this moment—"almost completely untradeable."
Now, could the Hawks turn around and deal Bickell by noon today? Sure, anything's possible, especially because it appears the Hawks have been trying hard to move Bickell. A player can go from "untradeable" to "traded," if a factor or factors change. But the bottom line here, the big obstacles to a Bickell deal, seem to be Bickell's contract and health.
That's the information I have—and certainly the dots seem to connect.
More as I hear it,
JJ