The Chicago Blackhawks are in a comfortable NHL playoff position at the moment, but with the news that potential Hart Trophy-winner and one of the best young players in the league, Patrick Kane, will miss the next six to 10 weeks after suffering an upper body injury, that could all be about to change.
The Blackhawks placed him on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, meaning he'll have to miss at least 24 calendar days and 10 regular-season games, though ESPN's Scott Powers reports that a source told him the team expects Kane to miss an amount of time closer to the "higher end" of the estimate.
With Kane and his league-leading 27 goals and 37 assists on the shelf for what is likely to be the duration of the regular season, does this push the Blackhawks and head coach Joel Quenneville and GM Stan Bowman into making a trade ahead of the NHL's March deadline?
"The Blackhawks have lots of time before Monday's deadline, but it's clear from what we're already hearing that they hope to make a trade or two," writes ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. "Arizona Coyotes center Antoine Vermette, the class of the rental forward market this season, is among the players who interest the Blackhawks, according to a source."
While defense was reportedly Bowman's focus thanks to the pre-season trade of Nick Leddy and the down season by Johnny Oduya - Craig Custance of ESPN mentioned the Hawks as among a group of NHL franchises already pursuing Carolina Hurricanes blueliner Andrej Sekera - with the Kane injury, it could now become forward.
Vermette, as LeBrun notes, would bring versatility - he can play both center and wing - and a strong presence on both the power play and penalty kill to Chicago, making him a fairly perfect fit - assuming the price is manageable.
Other options at forward include Buffalo's Chris Stewart - a power forward who's not often on his game and carries a reportedly hefty price tag - and Curtis Glencross of the Flames. Calgary is taking calls on Glencross, according to reports, but he also won't come cheap.
A player like Jaromir Jagr of the Devils is also a possibility, but he's a bigger, slower player who may hinder more than he helps at this point of his NHL career.
