The impending return of defenseman Duncan Keith and Michal Rozsival to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup reportedly won't quell whatever fears have crept into the minds of Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville. A Tuesday report from The Chicago Tribune indicates that Bowman and Quenneville are "pushing hard" for a defenseman trade, even as the team surges - they've now win six of their last ten games.
As Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News notes, this isn't the first time there's been word this season that the Blackhawks would like to bolster their blueline. It was reported in early Oct. that the Blackhawks actually had a deal in place to acquire defenseman Nikita Nikitin from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Bryan Bickell, but the trade fell through. Nikitin still remains available and recent reports have suggested that there are a number of teams interested in acquiring his services, but Nikitin is a mediocre player who would do little to upgrade the overall talent on the Hawks' back end.
Fortunately, there are a number of other options potentially available to Bowman and Quenneville. Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Matt Carle has expressed frustration at his recently healthy scratch designation and rumors have begun to swirl that he could be a potential trade piece. Carle is 31 and carries a modified no-trade clause. His preference is also said to be to remain with the Lightning.
St. Louis Blue defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is reportedly drawing quite a bit of trade interest. With Kevin Shattenkirk back to the Blues lineup, Gunnarsson seems a prime candidate to be shipped elsewhere. And the Philadelphia Flyers are probably willing to eat just about all of Luke Schenn's salary at this point just to see the lead-footed blueliner make his way to another NHL destination for a pick and/or player.
But in the end, what will determine the direction the Hawks wind up going is money. The Blackhawks have, at present, just about $4.94 million in cap space, according to General Fanager. Carle's cap hit is $5.5 million, Gunnarsson's is $3.125 million and Schenn's is $3.6 million.
In short, whatever deal they make - assuming they pull the trigger, of course - will put Chicago right up against the cap unless, of course, they're able to move money out as part of the deal.
