The biggest deal of the 2015-16 NHL trade deadline may have already come, as the Chicago Blackhawks acquired Andrew Ladd from the Winnipeg Jets Thursday night, the team announced. It wasn't an easy deal - Hawks GM Stan Bowman had to give up prized prospect Marko Dano, a 2016 first-round pick and a conditional pick in 2018 in order to pull it off - but it could certainly prove worth it.
The Blackhawks also got Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison as part of the trade, per TSN.
But there's no mistaking Bowman's, or the Blackhawks' intentions with this trade - tt's Stanley Cup-or-bust. And really, that's how it should be. Bowman has, through shrewd maneuvering and a number of impressive trade deadline deals and offseason sales pitches, managed to keep the Chicago cupboard stocked with talent at nearly every level of the organization. But he can't keep the elite core of the roster, which includes players like captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook together forever. Pushing the current team from already very, very good to great with the addition of Ladd, who is now in his second stint with the Blackhawks, all but ensures another deep playoff run.
There's every chance that the Hawks will make it four Stanley Cup championships in seven NHL seasons, leaving no question that Bowman and Joel Quenneville's team is one of the league's few true dynasties.
The asking price for Ladd though, reported earlier in the day, was hefty. The Florida Panthers, one of the teams said to be pursuing a Ladd trade with the Jets, backed off due to Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff's steep asking price, which was said to include a first-round pick and a "top prospect." It was hard to envision anyone paying that price, even for a player of Ladd's ilk, considering the lowered price of rental players around the league.
But Bowman wasn't deterred and though it will hurt the team to lose Dano, one of the franchise's best prospects, and the chance at another elite prospect in 2016, it may prove to be well worth it if it lands the Cup in Chicago yet again.
