Is it already time to throw in the towel for the defending Stanley Cup champions? What was an up-and-down season now seems to be more on the negative side. Everyone expected the Hawks to take a hit when their secondary scoring essentially disappeared in their post-Cup dismantle, but their weaknesses have certainly been exposed.
Chicago Blackhawks At The 2011 NHL Trade Deadline: Rumors, Needs And Expectations
GM Stan Bowman recently added Michael Frolik to try and punch up the offense while the Hawks are publicly trying to extend Brent Seabrook before he hits restricted free agency. And while Chicago’s power play may be clicking at a high percentage, their penalty kill is one of the worst in the league.
Status: On the bubble. Chicago is part of the messy logjam between 3rd and 12th in the Western Conference. If they have a bad week, the Hawks may just cut their losses and attempt to create cap flexibility with an eye on the Brent Seabrook contract.
Need: A time machine to bring back Duncan Keith and Dave Bolland from last year. Barring that, penalty kill help for both forward and defense
Players On The Block: Nick Boynton ($0.5 million), Tomas Kopecky ($1.2 million), Marty Turco ($1.3 million).
Prediction: Stan Bowman tries to make a deal with Satan to make Marian Hossa and Brian Campbell disappear ($13 million in cap space for a combined 50-or-so points this season). Satan declines, and the Hawks trade away draft picks for depth players.
Further Reading From Second City Hockey
- Feb. 19: Toast
This story was written by Mike Chen.
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