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Defencemen deals and trade chatter

February 19, 2020, 2:12 PM ET [599 Comments]
Tyler Cameron
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


Tuesday was the day to deal a defenceman apparently.

Marco Scandella netted MTL a 2nd and a 4th rounder.

Brendan Dillon brought back a 2nd and 3rd to SJ.

Dylan DeMelo got OTT a 3rd rounder in return.

It's not confirmed as of Wednesday early afternoon but reports are that Alec Martinez is heading to VGK for a pair 2nd round picks.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Stan Bowman sits idly. Well, on the surface at least. I have heard that there has been a lot of chatter behind the scenes.

What am I hearing and what am I reading between the lines?

Unfortunately, the latest rumours have Robin Lehner looking more and more like he will be traded – if there is a suitor.

Jeff Osbourne from The-Rink mentioned this week that he heard that talks had recently gone south with CHI/Lehner.

I broke down the goalies that were traded over the last few years at the deadline and there weren't any massive deals that happened, most were depth moves and – in some cases – trades were made due to injury.

Well, COL looks like they have some injury issues between the pipes right now and Elliotte Friedman has reported this week in his 31 Thoughts that the Avalanche have checked in on Corey Crawford.

I'm sure Robin Lehner would be of interest as well to them.

It has been reported for a while now that CAR is interested in Lehner. So there are a couple of options.

I, for one, would not like to see Robin Lehner moved. He should be the goalie of the "now" in Chicago for the next 4-5 years.

However, as per Friedman, it sounds like term could be the biggest hurdle for the Blackhawks management. Unless Lehner is looking for 6-8 years (which is possible), I would say lock this guy up to a 5-year x $7-8M AAV deal.

It sounds like talks are continuing this week as far as I've heard as both sides try to iron out a deal. If the Hawks and Lehner's camp are too far off with these talks, the Hawks would be wise to trade him.

If that was the case, you can then expect the Hawks to re-up Corey Crawford eventually in the offseason with possibly Collin Delia or Kevin Lankinen backing him up.

Personally, I think that would be a disaster but it's a real possibility.

Circling back to the defenceman market, Bowman would be silly not to move Erik Gustafsson.

Based on those D above, Gustafsson should have higher perceived value for the following reasons:

* $1.2M AAV – this is HUGE as his cap hit is so low
* LD/RD – he has the versatility to play both sides
* PP capabilities – #56 has proven he can run a PP and use his mobility to generate offence
* TOI – whether it's in a top 4 minute-munching role or a lower pairing role, he has proven he can handle either.
* UFA – he has an expiring contract and for that coupled with the reasons above, would be a low-risk / potential high-reward acquisition.

Now, we all know there's some downside to Erik Gustafsson as a player – mostly on the defensive side of the game. However, I think he is a valuable asset to another team if used correctly.

If Stan can get a 2nd rounder + another pick/prospect for him, then he should do that NOW.

These trades for specific positions is usually a chain reaction within inter-divisions/inter-conference, as they try to keep up with the Joneses.

With the Blackhawks, trading Gus to an Eastern Conference team makes sense. Possibly to someone in the Metro Division after WSH added Dillon.

While we're on defenceman, another name and many don't think has any value is Olli Maata. I believe there would be a market for him considering his playoff experience (which includes 2 Cups) and age.

His $4.1M AAV for the next few years isn't ideal but if someone was desperate enough for a 25-year old, #4-6 defender with that experience, and could swallow that term, it's unlikely but not out of the question.

Also - while I don't think he's in play – Connor Murphy would bring back a good haul in this market. It sounds like the Hawks' preference would be to keep him in the fold.

We can all see that selling - within reason - at this point is the smartest move with the Hawks sitting 8 points and 4 teams away from the WC2 spot.

However, the overarching struggle with that is how you manage the remaining games with the team you're left with after Monday.

Selling off pieces when "technically" they are still within striking distance won't be the greatest message to send to the team, but to that I say, maybe you guys shouldn't have blown it on that 5 game road trip.

All of those teams (WIN, CAL, EDM, VAN) are teams ahead of you in the standings and you needed a better showing in a make or break road trip.
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I will have another blog tomorrow AM with the ever-popular "fake trades" article leading into Monday's TDL.

So, if you have any you want me to include, please DM me and I'll look to include your proposals as well.


See ya out there!

TC
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