Earlier this evening, the New Jersey Devils won the biggest trade prize of the season. Atlanta's electric scorer, Ilya Kovalchuk, along with defenseman Anssi Salmela went to the Devils for defenseman Johnny Oduya, forwards Niclas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier, and a first round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Ever since rumors of a potential trade
broke in early January, I have been hoping the Hawks would acquire
Kovalchuk. As the weeks went on, I said if the Hawks wanted him, they
could have acquired him.
I stand by that belief. While New
Jersey gave up a lot to get him, I still think any honest GM would have
preferred a combo of Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien,
and Cam Barker.
What this trade tells me is that the
Blackhawks are focused on improving elsewhere. Obviously, the biggest
need on everyone's mind is a goaltender, but I think that's highly
unlikely. Cristobal Huet is untradeable, His contract and
inconsistent play make him toxic to any potentially interested team. The Hawks aren't going to carry $8-$10 million of salary in net.
Acquiring
a goalie like, oh say, Marty Turco would take too big of a package of
forwards if Huet isn't involved. While losing two forwards for
Kovalchuk can be justified (because the offense would be replaced) you
can't lose that scoring depth with no offensive return.
A more
likely trade deadline scenario would be a veteran stay at home
defenseman. Rumors of the Hawks trading for Pittsburgh defenseman Jay
McKee surfaced the other day. While it may not be McKee, that is the
exact KIND of defenseman the Hawks would be seeking. If the money
works, a guy on that level could be had for a 2nd or 3rd round pick.
If not, look for an Andrew Ladd type player to go the other way to make
a deal cap friendly. The Hawks have a ton of forward depth, and could
afford to lose one of it's top 9 and/or a prospect.
Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer may be available. For what it's worth, hockey blogger Eklund says the Hawks are going hard after
the future Hall of Fame defenseman. In fact, he says the Hawks pulled
OUT of the Kovalchuk sweepstakes to focus on acquiring Niedermayer.
Getting him would be an absolutely huge acquisition, but it may take a
package similar to what it took to get Kovalchuk. Is it worth it? I
think so. Having a top 5 of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Scott
Niedermayer, Brian Campbell, and Niklas Hjalmarsson could be just the
remedy for questionable goaltending.
The March 3rd trading deadline is right
around the corner, and it looks like teams are trying to get deals done
before the Olympic break. If the Hawks want to make a move, they may
want to jump in before other teams have their chance.
Filed under: Blackhawks, brent seabrook, Chicago Sports, Cristobal Huet, danny mac show, duncan keith, dustin byfuglien, goaltending, hockey, Ilya Kovalchuk, kris versteeg, NHL, patrick sharp, Scott Niedermayer, sports, wscr
Tags: blackhawks, brent seabrook, chicago sports, cristobal huet, danny mac show, duncan keith, dustin byfuglien, goaltending, hockey, ilya kovalchuk, kris versteeg, NHL, patrick sharp, scott niedermayer, Sports, wscr
I'd love Neidermeyer, but with Anaheim playing as well as they've been, and teams that lost out on Kovy potentially turning towards Neidermeyer, it was a risk to drop out on Ilya to focus on Neids (which itself is still only a rumor.)
That said, I think Neidermeyer helps this team more than Kovalchuk would've. The Hawks biggest need was on defense and IMO a right-handed shot on the PP. Neidermeyer fills both, and in the process gives one of the team the best defensive corps in the NHL.