In the last three weeks, the Blackhawks have made a couple very subtle moves that certainly look like the team is loading up the blueline in Rockford for a bigger move.
Nick Boynton was acquired from Anaheim on Tuesday afternoon for future considerations. Boynton, 31, has played in 42 games this year and has seven points (one goal, six assists) and 59 penalty minutes while skating just 16:45 per night.
In a minor league deal, the Blackhawks acquired a familiar face, Danny Richmond, as well as young goalie Hannu Toivonen from St. Louis for goalie Joe Fallon. Richmond had played in Chicago between 2005-08.
Jassen Cullimore was added before the roster freeze as well.
Why all the defensemen?
A name to watch as the trade deadline approaches is Simon Danis-Pepin. Danis-Pepin, who will turn 22 in early April, was the top defensive prospect in the Hawks organization until the arrivals of Dylan Olsen and Nick Leddy, and the development of Shawn LaLonde. Danis-Pepin is a large human being (6′7, 205), which might make him attractive to Eastern Conference teams.
The trade deadline is at 2:00 pm CST on Wednesday.
For a lot of Blackhawks fans, Jack Skille is a four-letter word. He’s a guy who’s been the next-best-thing for long enough that many feel his time has past, and yet his time might still be coming. Why do we seem to hate Skille so much, and what should the Hawks do with him? Let’s get to know Skille a little better.
First, the case for why Blackhawks fans don’t like Skille.
The Blackhawks draft Skille with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 draft, a class that was headlined by the top pick, Sidney Crosby. There was a lot of good talent off the board by the time the Hawks got to pick (Crosby, Bobby Ryan, Jack Johnson, Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price and Gilbert Brule were the top six), but the problem the Hawks have is the classic Chicago “What If” game with names that followed Skille’s selection at seven.
And that’s just the names from the first round. Mac-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Abdelkader, Paul Stastny, Guillaume Latendresse and Mason Raymond all went in the second round. Kris Letang, Kris Russell, Evan Brophey, Jonathan Quick, Jared Boll, Keith Yandle, Darren Helm, Matt D’Agostini, Sergei Kostitsyn and Patric Hornqvist were all selected after the second round in that class. Heck, the Blackhawks drafted my favorite young player on the current roster, Niklas Hjalmarsson, in the fourth round that year.
Because so many quality players were picked after Skille in 2005, the fact that we’ve only seen limited action with moderate productivity from Skille, the knee-jerk reaction to his “career” has been that he’s a bust. And there’s still a good chance that Skille is exactly that.
But let’s pause for a moment and consider what the Hawks have in Skille, and why we haven’t seen much from the young winger.
Look at some of the guys that have broken into the NHL roster in the last four years. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg and Dave Bolland have all broken into the lineup as puck-moving, scoring, skating forwards on the top two lines.
These guys have been complimented by additions through trades or free agency by Marian Hossa, Andrew Ladd and John Madden to fill out a lot of the top three lines. When you add home-grown Dustin Byfuglien’s transition from defense to the front lines, where is the room for Skille to fit with the NHL roster?
He isn’t a center, so somehow he would need to crack the top-six wings on the roster to break in. Skille isn’t going to be a glove-dropping wing, either, so taking the spot of Ben Eager, Adam Burish or Colin Fraser hasn’t happened, either.
Skille’s been solid for a few years in the minors. This year, Skille’s having agruably his best season as a professional in Rockford, too. In 42 games, he has 35 points (16 G, 19 A) and was an AHL All Star. Last year, Skille had 45 points (20 G, 25 A) in just 58 games. He’s been a productive forward in Rockford who just happens to have a concrete ceiling over his head because of the talented roster in Chicago.
Oh, and he’s still only 22 (he’ll turn 23 in May).
And yet because he hasn’t produced instant offense when he’s had the chance in Chicago (eight points, -5 in 30 career NHL games), the jury appears to have pushed him into the “Bust” category for good.
As the 2009-10 season progresses, the options for Skille will likely remain in Rockford. Because of where he was drafted, he has a cap number of over $1 million, which is higher than some of the names that have been in Chicago more often this year. But Bryan Bickell and Jake Dowell haven’t put up nearly the same production in Rockford that Skille has, and likely wouldn’t be expected to at the next level. A lot of the reason that those two were called up earlier this year over Skille was because the Hawks needed more size on the fourth line when Eager was out, too. Skille’s listed at 6′1 and 205 pounds, so while he has decent size (a giant next to Kane and Versteeg), he isn’t big enough and doesn’t play a rough enough game to replace Eager in the lineup.
Most talent evaluators have moved on past Skille as well. Hockey’s Future, one of the top prospect rating sites, ranks Skille as the Blackhawks #6 prospect behind Kyle Beach, Akim Aliu, Dylan Olsen, Shawn LaLonde and Billy Sweatt. However, this evaluation is on long-term potential, not on more immediate production capability. Skille is the most NHL-ready player in the Hawks system.
Let’s jump to the here and now. Despite that concrete ceiling, Skille still has value to the Blackhawks. Because of his production in Rockford and age, and his restricted free agent status after this year, Skille will be a popular trade chip between now and the deadline. He could step into the lineup for a lot of NHL teams on their third line and be a productive player right now.
However, between now and the trade deadline, the Blackhawks’ tinkering and likely look toward bolstering the blue line will likely involve moving salary off next year’s payroll, though. Versteeg, Byfuglien and Patrick Sharp are NHL players that have a track record that makes them attractive to other teams while their price tage (all over $3 million) mean their likely to be moved to create the necessary cap flexibility for next year.
This is where Skille fits in.
As the Hawks look to make next year’s team affordable under the cap, Skille could become a player Chicago fans get to watch more. There’s a very good chance that next year, the then-23-year old Skille could be a contributing member of the Hawks’ third line, and could be around for a few years to come. Given his success in Rockford, and the Hawks need to move salary, it certainly isn’t time to write off Skille as an NHL player.
The Blackhawks had one prospect make the final cut for the WJC, and Marcus Krüger ended the tournament with a bronze medal as part of Team Sweden.
Krüger, a 19-year old center the Blackhawks drafted in the fifth round (149th overall) in the 2009 Draft, finished the tournament with six assists. Sweden defeated Switzerland 11-4 in the Bronze Medal game before a classic championship game in which the United States defeat Canada 6-5 in overtime.
Krüger has been described as a skilled playmaker with elite hockey sense and a good long passer. He works well in all three zones and his leadership has been commended. Though he’s listed at 6′0 and 180 pounds and has put on muscle in the last year, Krüger’s scouting report says he needs to get a bit stronger to compete at the NHL level.
On Thursday morning the Blackhawks announced that they had signed 19-year old defenseman Shawn LaLonde to a new three-year contract extension that is reportedly worth arond $600,000 per season.
LaLonde, one of the organization’s top prospects, is currently second on the Belleville Bulls in scoring with 26 (8 G, 18 A) points in 27 games. In 217 regular season games in the Ontario Hockey League, LaLonde has scored 137 points (42 G, 95 A) and served 256 penalty minutes. The 6-1 195 pound Ottawa native was the Blackhawks second pick (68th overall) in the 2008 draft, and was one of the last players cut from Canada’s Junior World Championships roster.
Could this be the tea leaves beginning to align?
The Blackhawks will obviously be cutting payroll this coming summer, and this commitment to LaLonde appears to be an obvious move to secure the blue line if/when changes occur. LaLonde is not ready to debut with the Blackhawks during this season, but this contract likely points to a coming end to someone’s Chicago career among the current Hawks defensemen.
Given LaLonde’s offensive abilities, the player he would most logically replace would be Cam Barker and his $3 million cap number. There have been rumors that a number of teams have already expressed interest in Barker, and he could be a popular player on the trade market later this season and into the summer.
Hawks GM Stan Bowman has been very public in saying he does not need to take salary off the books during this season, and that the Hawks can play “as-is” through the playoffs. But next summer, the team will certainly need to move between $9-15 million of existing payroll off the books. Barker could be a valuable chip in that cost-cutting. The $2.4 million difference between LaLonde and Barker might make Barker expendable.
Dylan Olsen is one of the Hawks' top prospects.
On the day that the Blackhawks lock up more of their core with contract extensions, fans can look forward to the team’s future with great anticipation.
But with the news that Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toewsand Duncan Keith are getting big raises, there is also concern over which players on the current roster might have to leave to make room for the financial considerations being made to keep this great group together.
The position that’s drawn the most interest, intrigue and rumors has been the Hawks’ blue line, where Brent Sopel and Cam Barker have seen their names headed to nearly every corner of North America in the last few weeks. Sopel has been rumored to be headed to Toronto, Carolina, and even Rockford, while Barker’s been rumored to be a popular name in Ottawa, Carolina and New York to say the least.
Barker, who was selected with the third overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft following Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin (and, coincidentally before Andrew Ladd, the fourth overall pick), is a player that carries a lot of unsettled emotion with Hawks fans. He’s still just 23 years old, so many fans still hold out hope for him to develop into a premier defender. Meanwhile, many fans still associate Barker with the two elite superstars he followed to the podium in 2004, which leaves many fans disappointed.
No matter how Barker, or Sopel, is viewed, the concern when you hear trade rumors swirling around a first place team is not only the value received for the players dealt, but the long term implications of the move.
Blackhawks fans can rest assured that any move taking a player off the blue line is done with the future in mind. Stan Bowman can have every confidence that he has players coming through the pipeline that could be ready in the next couple seasons to become premier defensemen.
On Wednesday morning, Hockey Canada invited 36 players to Canada’s National Junior selection camp from December 12-16, 2009 in Regina, Sask. The camp is for Canada’s top top junior-aged hockey players (born in 1990 or later), and players from this elite group will make up Canada’s team in the IIHF World Junior Championships. Canada has won five consecutive gold medals in the Championships.
Two Blackhawks’ prospects, Dylan Olsen and Shawn LaLonde, have been invited to be a part of the camp for Team Canada.
Olsen, 18, was selected 28th overall in the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He is currently playing at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and has eight assists in their first 12 contests. Olsen is listed at 6-2, 206 pounds.
LaLonde, 19, was selected 59th overall in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He is currently playing with the Belleville Bulls, and ranks second on the team with 22 points (7 G, 15 A) in 21 games so far this season. LaLonde is listed at 6-1, 192 pounds.
Another Blackhawks’ prospect being recognized internationally is center Marcus Kruger. Kruger, 19, is one of four finalists for 2009-10 Rookie of the Year honors in the Swedish Elite League. He was also selected to be a member of Sweden’s World Junior Championship Team at the 2010 IIHF World U20 Championship. Kruger was selected by the Blackhawks in the 5th round (149th overall) in the 2009 draft.
