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Nick Schmaltz Out, Strome and Perlini In |
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About 3 weeks ago, I had a Nick Schmaltz article I was working on which broke down his time in Chicago to date and where he might fit into the future.
I parked it because the Joel Quenneville news came down.
Then, I thought it would be a good time this week to re-look at that blog and release it this week. Then, last night's trade happened.
Nick Schmaltz has been sent to Arizona for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini.
I had heard and commented in my last article that management wasn't sure where Nick fit moving forward based on his play this year. This is what I wrote:
November 23rd: "I have my Nick Schmaltz specific blog coming up, but there are some whispers that management is reconsidering where he fits on this team."
He was once touted as the future #1 centre of this team but now finds himself with the slew of other ex-Blackhawks (Hjalmarsson, Hinostroza, Panik, Oesterle) in the desert.
What I was going to write about Schmaltz in that original piece was that he was headed for a bridge contract due to his 2 goals and 11 assists in 23 games was not what the Hawks had in mind for him after coming off a 52-point campaign last year.
This was supposed to be Nick's coming out party and he had a great opportunity to continue to play alongside one of the game's elite in Patrick Kane.
However, his lack of ability to hold down a spot at centre due to his inconsistencies in all areas of the rink forces Coach Q and Colliton to bounce him around the lineup. Heck, he was even benched for a game by Quenneville right before Q's dismissal.
My personal thoughts were that Nick Schmaltz was not a guy you win with long-term. He may very well turn out to be a great regular season point producer, however, his resistance to shoot the point and go to the tough areas will leave him on the perimeter in the playoffs.
He needs to add strength, which sure, may come, but I'm not sure just adding more muscle would elevate him to an elite winger in his career as he tends to lack some hockey IQ at times.
I didn't hear anything specific, but my thoughts are the guy just didn't look like he was having fun out there. Not sure if there is anything to it but his demeanour
The final rumour is that the Schmaltz camp was asking for too much money for his next contract – before the season began some were predicting a $6M per for 6 years (ish) would make sense. Well, if that's anywhere near the truth, I'm sure Stan Bowman is happy he held off.
Recently, Stan Bowman was interviewed by Scott Powers of The Athletic, and I won't go into the entire line of questioning (go read it if you haven't yet), but Bowman did mention that he was "looking" to make moves.
Bowman was also recently spotted at the Avalanche and Coyotes game. So, all of this put together and we have 2 new Blackhawks in Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini and Hawks will see Schmaltz next on March 11th when the ‘Yotes come into town.
What are the Hawks getting back in these 2 former 1st round picks?
In Dylan Strome, they are getting Alex DeBrincat's old linemate from the Erie Otters. So there could be some instant chemistry there. Both players racked up an insane amount of points in the OHL and I believe the thought process is to play those two together.
Dylan, 1 of 3 hockey brothers (Ryan in NYR and Matthew drafted by PHI) is the former 3rd overall pick (2015) who just hasn't been able to put it together.
He's a big body at 6'3 / 200 lbs who has been knocked for his skating. That is something that may stand out to Blackhawks fans.
He is a natural centre and is actually 58% at the dot so far this year. This is a nice skill set to insert as a number 2 pivot behind Jonathan Toews.
To me, it would make a ton of sense to play him with DeBrincat and Kane.
I haven't been overly impressed with Strome when I've seen him play to be completely honest, so he'll have to win me over.
On the other hand, I really like Brendan Perlini.
He's another high draft pick (12th overall in 2014) that has seen some success with 33 goals (57 points) in 153 NHL games in the last 3 seasons.
He's big (6'3 / 212 lbs) and fast and has a solid shot.
He would look really good on a line with Saad and Toews.
I will have more of a breakdown after today's practice and what Colliton's thinking is with these new players. The fact that Colliton is so good with younger players makes this trade that much more exciting as the Hawks do a 2-for-1 swap.
Overall, I like this move by Stan as I was become frustrated with Nick Schmaltz and seeing tendencies in his game that I wasn't impressed with.
Looking forward to seeing these new Hawks in action tomorrow night vs. Vegas.
See ya out there,
JL
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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