Last year, the Chicago Blackhawks loaded up for their run up to and into the NHL playoffs by acquiring a couple of big pieces in defenseman Kimmo Timonen and center Antoine Vermette. And while the Blackhawks wound up reaching the Stanley Cup Finals and emerging victorious for the third time in the last six NHL seasons, neither Timonen nor Vermette played starring roles. But if you think that's going to keep Hawks GM Stan Bowman from making the same kind of moves this time around, you're apparently very, very wrong. According to Farhan Lalji of TSN, the Blackhawks have "serious interest" in Vancouver Canucks players and pending unrestricted free agents, Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata.
Vrbata, who not all that long ago was logging big minutes alongside the Sedins, has long been considered a potential Canucks trade piece. The 34-year-old is the kind of versatile, big-bodied forward able to play up and down a roster while maintaining steady production. He's not flashy, he won't make any "wow" plays and he has struggled for stretches this season, but he could be the perfect kind of depth forward addition that allows the Blackhawks to bump the good, not great, Andrew Shaw or Richard Panik down the lineup.
As for Hamhuis, the 33-year-old defender is in the final year of a six-year, $27 million deal that does carry a no-trade clause. He'd have to approve the move to Chicago, but it's likely he'd be willing to make the leap as it would immediately slot him in for a major role on a Cup contender, though the British Columbia native did initially sign with the Canucks in order to be closer to home. The Blackhawks and Bowman have been trying to upgrade the backend of their defensive corps all season after the failed Trevor Daley experiment. Hamhuis could bring a steady veteran presence to a Hawks blueline that's already got two of the best players in the league in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.
If the Hawks are serious about adding Hamhuis though, they won't be alone in their pursuit, as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that there are about four teams with high interest.
The trick, as it always is for the close-to-the-cap Blackhawks, will be to find a way to make the money work. The team has about $4.3 million in cap space, per General Fanager, but that's with Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa on LTIR.
The Hawks and Bowman will almost assuredly add sometime ahead of Monday, but it may take some cagey maneuvering - and getting ride of Bryan Bickell's contract - to get it done.
