With the Blackhawks playoff-bound, it could be a good idea for general manager Stan Bowman to fill in some gaps on his team. The trade deadline is approaching, so now is the time to act. The problem for Bowman is that with so many teams in position to make the playoffs this season, it is harder for teams to gauge whether they have a chance and to become sellers.
"The biggest thing is, you're not quite sure what's available around the league," Bowman said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Lazerus. "At this point, there's a lot of clustering in the standings. And in order for trades to happen you have to have teams that are willing to look toward next year."
The Hawks do not have the same depth they had in previous seasons with the departures of Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg. Bowman could be looking for a top-six left winger to complete the Marion Hossa-and- Jonathan Toews line. With Hossa's recent injury, their offense might stagnate even further. They need to add pieces to the defense as well, especially with blueliner Erik Gustafsson's lack of effort recently (he was a healthy scratch Saturday), but with their just-over $2 million in cap space, it is unlikely Bowman can get both a winger and defenseman.
"Seemingly half the league is in the market for a defenseman, and the price could be too high for the Hawks to compete for the likes of Vancouver's Dan Hamhuis, Edmonton's Justin Schultz, or Calgary's Kris Russell," according to Lazerus.
A winger would seem to be the better option, but most, such as Jonathan Drouin, Mikkel Boedker and Jiri Hudler, would command too high a price. Andrew Ladd would have been a good addition, as he was once a Hawk, but he has a $4.4 million cap hit.
Gauging from Bowman's past actions, he is more likely to add a Versteeg or P.A. Parenteau from the Maple Leafs, as they are much cheaper.
Bowman might also be keeping an eye on the Oilers' Teddy Purcell, according to the Fourth Period. The 30-year-old is in the last year of his contract and a pending unrestricted free agent. It is also likely Bowman could go for Bruins' winger Loui Eriksson, another pending unrestricted free agent.
Both would be a good addition in left wing, but Bowman needs to keep his cap space under consideration.