What better way to start off the week then reading some trade rumors. Bellow are a few recent rumors that have surfaced regarding the Blackhawks in the last week or so.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun believes that Brian Campbell could be shopped at the end of the season in order to free up the cap-space need to sign the Big Three – Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith.
- Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet.ca noted that the ‘Hawks will have to move two or three bodies to make room for the Big Three. Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien are the names mentioned in this article.
Red Rising’s Take: The Blackhawks aren’t going to worry about creating the cap-space to lock up the Big Three until the end of the season. Campbell will remain a ‘Hawk after this season due to the size and length of his current contract. Sharp, Versteeg and Byfuglien are viable options, however.
It will be a tough decision to make when the time comes, but it will need to be made since the Blackhawks have about $42.5M tied up in twelve players next year. Of the players listed above, Byfuglien should be the first to go. There would be many teams around the league that would love you have the big assed forward, and the organization could replace him with the likes of Kyle Beach or Akim Aliu.
Sharp and Versteeg on the other hand offer more than just a body in the crease, yet both could still find themselves on another team in the summer of 2010. The Blackhawks could also look to the blue-line to free up some cap-space. Cam Barker would garner some interest, and if Brent Sopel can put together a solid season the ‘Hawks would have an easier time ridding themselves of his contract.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com reported that Pat Brisson, the agent of Kane and Toews, will sit down with Stan Bowman about extending their contracts.
Red Rising’s Take: This little bit of news is nice to hear, but I doubt that either will be sign an extension prior to the end of the season.
- There have already been a slew of opinions about Cristobal Huet, his slow start and what to do with him if he doesn’t snap out of this funk. Yesterday, Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald covered most of the options the organization can take with Huet. They can keep playing him, send him down to Rockford, play him on the road and Antti Niemi at home or trade him.
Red Rising’s Take: Trading Huet will be hard for the same reasons as Campbell, and sending him to Rockford will never happen. The only alteration made to the current goaltending situation will be an increase in starts for Niemi if Coach Quenneville grows tired of watching Huet single-handedly lose games.
Loading ...
