Follow JJ on Twitter @jaeckel!
The Blackhawks are 1-2 since the Olympic break, falling 4-2 tonight on home ice to the Avalanche. Cause for alarm? Probably not.
Still one has to wonder if GM Stan Bowman is truly ready to stand pat on a roster that just doesn't look quite as strong as the one that won the Stanley Cup last year.
The Hawks did make a minor splash today, sending a second round pick to Phoenix for defensemen David Rundblad and Mathieu Brisebois.
The key to this deal is 23 year-old Swede Rundblad, a recent former first round pick, and the kind of blue liner who thrives in the Hawks transition/puck possession system.
This leads to the next question: is this purely a depth/future move (most likely), or possibly presaging a trade sometime tonight or tomorrow involving Nick Leddy?
A source told me yesterday that Leddy, Mark McNeill and Bryan Bickell have been offered for Ryan Kesler, and it has been widely rumored today, that this, or some other offer from the Hawks is the best Vancouver has yet received for their star center.
My bet is Kesler is not coming to Chicago.
Canuck GM Mike Gillis virtually has to hold out for an overpay form the hawks in order to placate his fan base—and overpaying (in trades at least) is not something the Hawks typically do.
Aside from that, it's quiet right now. But no one saw the Phoenix deal coming, nor this past weekend's trade of Brandon Pirri to the Panthers.
Well, aside from the fat that it's been fairly evident that Pirri, despite his offensive skill and speed proven at the AHL level, didn't seem to have much of a future in Chicago.
I'll be back with any rumors as I hear them.
JJ