Elliott Friedman of CBC has an intriguing couple bullet points in his latest blog. He says:

“… Strongly believe there was one, possibly two teams who were willing to take Cristobal Huet from Chicago. (Should clarify: I’m more certain about one than the other.) But the Blackhawks decided to stand pat, much to the surprise of other GMs. Unloading Huet’s contract (two years remaining, $5.625 million cap hit) would have cost at least a first-rounder and an established player. (I know you’re going to ask, but I’d be guessing on whom. The source wouldn’t tell me.)…

Why did Chicago decline? Scotty Bowman believes strongly in the Detroit model: If you don’t have a top-three goalie, you protect him with great team defence and puck possession. The Blackhawks – disciplined and talented – have a shot. But, to duplicate the Red Wings’ success, they will have to show two things: their forwards are as committed to back pressure as Detroit’s and their defensive corps is as good. As great as the Blackhawks look, we’re talking Lidstrom/Rafalski/Kronwall/Stuart here. What a tough, tough call to make.”

This will raise red flags all over Chicago. “You mean to tell me the Hawks could have dumped that piece of garbage at the deadline and didn’t?” Let’s hold that emotional response for a moment…

Note that Friedman says the Hawks would have to part ways with “at least a first-rounder and an established player” to make the deal happen. The gamble of GM Stan Bowman is not only dealing with Huet’s contract moving forward, but those two other crucial pieces to the deal.

The reality for Blackhawks fans is that there are players on the NHL roster right now that won’t be in Chicago next year. We’ve discussed it; Kris Versteeg, Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien and others might be wearing a different sweater on Opening Night next year. If the Hawks are going to be in a tight financial situation next year and in the future, the replacement for players like Versteeg, Sharp and Byfuglien are going to need to come from within the organization. But players like these don’t magically show up in August with a gym bag looking for a contract; draft picks, especially high ones, are critical to the Hawks sustaining any success.

The second piece of this gamble is the on-ice cost of dumping Huet. Friedman doesn’t speculate what the Hawks would have received in return for Huet, but what if they weren’t receiving an NHL player in return? If the Hawks’ current playoff outlook is questionable with Huet and Antti Niemi, how much more/less comfortable would you be with Niemi and Corey Crawford as the only netminders ont he roster?

Furthermore, what if the roster player had to be Sharp? Versteeg has struggled with consistency this year, and Byfuglien as hot/cold as anyone on the roster. While Byfuglien’s presence in front of the net was a big part of last year’s success, it’s clear that the player of these three that the Hawks could least afford to be without moving forward is Sharp. Whether it’s his ability to be an effective center or quality play at the point on the power play, Sharp has a big role in the Hawks’ rotation.

Moving Sharp and Huet would have actually hurt the Hawks’ depth.

The other consideration to make is that, if a team was willing to take Huet’s contract now, what are the odds that there will be an available partner to move his contract this summer? As the draft draws near, the Hawks will have to make decisions about current NHL players that will be restricted free agents (Andrew Ladd) and will also have a better grasp of the value of their first round pick. There is still potential for a move to happen that clears the cap space.

This is an interesting piece of information from Friedman, but needs to be digested with a grain of salt.

On Wednesday morning, Scotty Bowman appeared on 590Fanand talked about the trade deadline. He shared a few things about the Blackhawks that were fairly surprising, and contradict the popular rumors of the past few weeks.

First, Bowman indicated that the Blackhawks only have about $500,000 in cap space for the rest of the year. He notes that cap space is an issue for the Hawks.

Secondly, Bowman says the Hawks are possibly looking for a center, and speaks to the number of wings on the market.

Third, when pressed about the Hawks situation in goal, Bowman confidently says the Blackhawks are not looking for a goalie, says the team has their two netminders in place, and goes as far as to say the Hawks’ management is “laughing at” the rumors.

Bowman could be lying to keep options open for the Blackhawks, or he could be shattering many of the rumors that had been flying about the Hawks looking for a new goaltender, a power forward or defensive depth.

Bowman, of course, is the Hall of Fame former coach of, most recently, the Detroit Red Wings who is presently an advisor for the Blackhawks. He is considered by many to be one of, if not thegreatest hockey mind of the last 30 years. His son, Stan, is currently the General Manager of the Blackhawks.

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.

The hottest trade rumor surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday morning is that there are discussions taking place a trade between the Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs that would send goalie Cristobal Huet and some other pieces, likely prospects or draft picks, to the Leafs for defenseman Jeff Finger. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers is indicating that this deal would like be a precursor to another deal, likely for Florida’s Tomas Vokoun.

So who is Jeff Finger?

Finger, 30, has only played in 30 games this year for Toronto. He has scored two goals and has seven assists, while rating  just -2 in 14:49 on the ice per game. He has blocked 72 shots in those 30 games, though. In parts of four seasons in the NHL (190 games), Fingers has just 56 points (17 goals, 39 assists) in his career.

He is, essentially, another Brent Sopel.

Why would Toronto unload him? Because of his contract. Finger is set to make $3.5 million through the 2011-12 season. He would be $2.165 million cheaper than Huet over the next two seasons, but would still be a dead weight contract.

According to @OnFrozenPond on twitter, Tomas Vokoun has indicated that he’s been advised of a possible trade, and that he is keeping his options open with the Panthers. Vokoun has a full no-trade clause on this contract that would have to be waived for him to be dealt to the Blackhawks.

On this post we’ll keep you updated on all the latest player movement around the NHL as the trade deadline approaches. With only two-plus days to make deals before the mid-afternoon deadline on Wednesday, March 3, teams could be burning out their phone’s batteries in the coming days.

Here’s what’s officially gone down:

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold from the Florida Panthers for a 2010 2nd round draft pick. Leopold, 29, has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists), is -7 and is averaging 22:26 on the ice  in 61 games this year. His name had been linked to a number of trade scenarios, including a trade that would send goalie Tomas Vokoun to the Blackhawks. He is, however, headed to Pittsburgh.

Center Matt Stajan has agreed to terms with Calgary Flames on four-year extension worth about $3.5 million per year. He is going to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Stajan was acquired before the Olympics in the trade sending Dion Phaneuf to Toronto.

The St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate traded goaltender Hannu Toivonen and defenseman Danny Richmond to the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Rockford affiliate for goaltender Joe Fallon. All players will remain in the AHL. Fallon was recently recalled by the Blackhawks when Antti Niemi had the flu, but did not appear in any game action. Richmond, 25, has 15 assists, 16 points and 135 penalty minutes in 54 games in Peoria. He is a Buffalo Grove, IL native who was part of the Hawks’ organization between 2005-08.

The Dallas Stars signed forward Steve Ott to a four-year extension with $2.95 million per season. Ott, 27, has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) and is -13 with 100 PIM in 51 games this season. Of the 23 players in the NHL with 100+ PIM, Ott is only one of three who have scored more than 10 goals.

The Edmonton Oilers traded defenseman Denis Grebeshkov, 26, to the Nashville Predators for a 2010 2nd round draft pick. Grebeshkov has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) and is -16 in 47 games this season. The Preds have been rumored to be shopping D Dan Hamhuis; Grebeshkov might be his replacement.

The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Evgeny Artyukhin from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for minor league defenseman Nathan Oystrick and a conditional draft pick in 2011. Artyukhin, 26, is a UFA after this season and adds size at forward that Atlanta GM Don Waddell has openly coveted.

On Tuesday morning, the Atlanta Thrashers agreed to an NHL contract with defenseman Chris Chelios. The Atlanta Thrashers were founded in 1999; Chelios was a rookie in the NHL in 1983-84. At 48-years-old, Chelios brings… experience… to Atlanta.

The Minnesota Wild are expected to announce a contract extension with defenseman Marek Zidlicky that’s good for three years at $4 million per season. Zidlicky, 33, has 36 points (five goals, 31 assists) and is -2 in 60 games this season.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired a 4th-round pick in either 2010/2011 from the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenseman Steven Kampfer, who is currently playing at the University of Michigan. Again, not a major deal for either team, but it moves another defenseman to Boston’s organizational depth that could make another deal (or two) possible.

The New York Islanders traded defenseman Andy Sutton to the Ottawa Senators for a 2nd round pick (that was acquired from the San Jose Sharks). Sutton was scratched from the Islanders’ game on Tuesday night against Chicago.

The Pittsburgh Penguins made the first major deal at the deadline, adding left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky from Toronto for prospect Luca Caputi and veteran Martin Skoula. Skoula was included in the deal to create enough cap space in Pittsburgh for Ponikarovsky to clear. Caputi, also a left wing, was the third-ranked prospect in the Pittsburgh system.

The St. Louis Blues have acquired right wing Matt D’Agostini from Montreal for forward prospect Aaron Palushaj. D’Agostini, 23, has two goals, two assists and is -12 in 40 games for the Canadians this year. Palushaj, 20, was the third-ranked prospect in the St. Louis organization.

The Boston Bruins have sent defenseman Derek Morris to the Phoenix Coyotes for a 4th round pick in the 2011 draft. Morris, 31, has three goals and 22 assists, is averaging exactly 22 minutes per game, and is -2 this season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will never see Martin Skoula in uniform. Skoula, who was acquired as part of the Ponikarovski trade on Tuesday night, is headed to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday morning. Toronto will receive a 5th round pick in the 2010 draft.

The Boston Bruins acquired defenseman Denis Seidenberg and defenseman prospect Matt Bartkowski from Florida for forwards Craig Weller and Byron Bitz and a 2nd round pick. Seidenberg will likely replace Derek Morris in Boston’s rotation.

The Anaheim Ducks have acquired defenseman Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes for goalie Justin Pogge and a 4th round pick. The Ducks send Nick Boynton to Chicago on Tuesday, but Ward figures to factor into Anaheim’s top-four.

The Edmonton Oilers claimed forward Ryan Jones off waivers from the Nashville Predators. Jones, 25, has seven goals and four assists in 41 games this season for Nashville.

The Washington Capitals acquired forward Scott Walker from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 7th round pick. The Capitals have been trying to add depth to their blue line for some time, and the veteran Walker accomplishes that goal at a relatively small price.

The St. Louis Blues have dealt center Jan Stastny to the Vancouver Canucks for Cedric Labrie. Stastny, 27, has one goal in just four games for the Blues this season. How, and where, he’ll fit with Vancouver is to be determined.

The Colorado Avalanche have dealt Wojtek Wolski to the Phoenix Coyotes for Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter. Wolski, 24, has 17 goals and 30 assists and is +15 in 61 games this season. Mueller, 21, has four goals and 13 assists in 54 games this season, and will be a restricted free agent after the season.

The Vancouer Canucks have traded defenseman Mathieu Schneider to the Phoenix Coyotes for Sean Zimmerman and a 6th round pick. Schneider, 40, has five points in 17 games for the Canucks this season and is likely a rental to fill their defense.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have dealt center Jeff Halpern to the Los Angeles Kings for Teddy Purcell and a 3rd round pick. Halpern, 33, has nine goals and eight assists in 51 games for the Lightning this year and, more importantly, is an unrestricted free agent after the season. Purcell, 24, has three goals and three assists in 41 games this year.

The Washington Capitals have acquired center Eric Belanger from the Minnesota Wild for a 2nd round pick. Belanger, 32, has 13 goals and 22 assists in 60 games in Minnesota this season. How he impacts the lines in Washington will be an evolving situation.

The Anaheim Ducks have added backup netminder Curtis McElhinney from the Calgary Flames for Vesa Toskala. Before the Olympics, the Ducks signed Jonas Hiller to an extension and dealt Jean-Sebastian Giguere to Toronto. Toskala has already taken away Miika Kiprusoff’s job once in his career…

The Buffalo Sabres have added forward Raffi Torres to play in front of Ryan Miller down the stretch. Torres, 28, has 19 goals and 12 assists in 60 games this season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus will receive Nathan Paetcsh and 2nd round pick.

The Sabres, after adding Torres, have traded Clarke MacArthur to the Atlanta Thrashers. MacArthur, 24, has 13 goals and 13 assists and is -14 in 60 games so far this season. His spot in Buffalo will be filled by Torres, and he’ll try to fill the void left by Ilya Kovalchuck in Atlanta.

The Washington Capitals added more defense, trading for Milan Jurcina. Jurcina, 26, has one goal and six assists this season in 44 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Caps have added both Jurcina and Walker now before the deadline.

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the deadline, sending forward Lee Stempniak to the Phoenix Coyotes. Stempniak, 27, had 14 goals and 16 assists, and was -10 in 60 games for Toronto this year. Toronto acquired 4th and 7th round picks.

Carolina traded Joe Corvo to the Washington Capitals for a 2nd round pick, prospect and Brian Pothier. Corvo is the second defenseman added to the mix for the Caps in one day. He had four goals and eight assists in 34 games for Carolina.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired defenseman Andrew Alberts. Alberts, 28, has two goals and eight assists in 62 games this season in Carolina. He will replace Mathieu Schneider in the Canucks’ blue line rotation. Carolina received a 3rd round pick for Alberts.

Los Angeles acquired Fredrik Modin from Columbus. Modin, 35, had two goals and four assists and was -3 in 24 games for the Blue Jackets this season. This was the second deal for the Kings at the deadline, while Columbus unloaded a number of players.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 7th round pick. MacDonald, 30, was a reserve in Toronto who only played in six games for the Leafs this season. The Ducks added a number of netminders around the deadlines, both before and now after the Olympics, this year.

The Florida Panthers acquired defenseman Mathieu Roy for prospect Matt Rust. Roy, 26, had ten assists in 31 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, and will likely replace Denis Seidenberg in the Panthers’ rotation.

The Anaheim Ducks sent Ryan Whitney to Edmonton for Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky, 33, had 1o goals and 22 assists in 57 games for the Oilers this year. Whitney, 27, had four goals and 24 assists in 62 games in Anaheim this season.

The Nashville Predators acquired center Dustin Boyd from the Calgary Flames for a 4th round pick. Boyd, 24, had eight goals and 11 assists in 61 games for the Flames this season.

Mats Zuccarello Aasen played for Norway in the Olympics.

A report out of Norway is that the Blackhawks are among a number of teams interested in forward Mats Zuccarello Aasen, who was part of the Norwegian team eliminated from the Olympic tournament by Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky and Slovakia on Tuesday.

Zuccarello Aasen, 22, will be remembered as the tiny player on the Norwegian team from these Olympic Games; listed at 5′7 and 161 pounds, there are concerns that Zuccarello Aasen would be able to play at the NHL level. His performance in the Olympics was good enough to draw interest, however, and the Blackhawks have been confirmed as having an eye on him.

In the four games the Norwegians played, Zuccarello Aasen ranked second among their forwards in ice time (21:07 per game), was third on the team in scoring (one goal, two assists, three points) and was the only player on the Norwegian roster to have a positive plus/minus for the tournament (+1). He scored one of Norway’s three goals on Tuesday.

The addition of Zuccarello Aasen does not appear to be something that would come during the 2009-10 regular season.

Alex Auld is now on waivers in Dallas.

When the Dallas Stars traded for Kari Lehtonen, the rumor mill began swirling around their net. With aging Marty Turco unhappy with his playing time, he instantly became the center of most of the whispers coming from Texas.

On Wednesday, though, it appears the Stars have taken steps to clear out their crowded crease. Alex Auld has been placed on waivers.

Auld, 28, has just a $1 million cap number and, like Turco, is in the final year of his contract. In 21 games this year, Auld is 9-6-0 with a 3.00 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.

Coupled with the news of an extension to Pekka Rinne in Nashville, Auld’s availability at low cost is another option for NHL teams looking to bolster their depth in net.

Pekka Rinne appears to be the Predators goalie of the future.

The Nashville Predators will reportedly announce late Wednesday afternoon that they have agreed to an extension with goalie Pekka Rinne. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. UPDATE: TSN is reporting Rinne’s extension is for two years and $6.8 million ($3.4 million each).

Nashville, like Montreal, was one of the teams that could become active in the trade market before the March 3 deadine because they had two netminders facing free agency this summer. The Preds were reportedly going to make a choice, based on both the on-ice performances of Rinne and Dan Ellis and the progress of contract negotiations, and then open up trade talks regarding the one they didn’t extend.

Which means Ellis is now trade bait.

The Blackhawks have been rumored to be close to a deal with Florida, upgrading their situation between the pipes to include Tomas Vokoun. If Vokoun is indeed available in a trade, however, there would be many potential suitors. The Philadelphia Flyers were one team that was allegedly looking for a new face to put at the top of their depth chart in goal, and they would likely have interest in Vokoun.

Nashville had also reportedly received offers for 26-year old defenseman Dan Hamuis, who will also become a free agent this summer.

The likelihood that a trade would go down inside the Central Division, either between the Blackhawks and Blues or Predators, is doubtful. But the potential of Ellis and Hamhuis being packaged could impact the trade market competing with the Blackhawks for Vokoun, if the Hawks aren’t interested in making an offer to Nashville along the lines that they had discussed with Florida.

The Predators are currently in second place in the Central, 16 points behind the Blackhawks, and are sitting in seventh place in the Western Conference.

We’ll see where the trade winds blow as the Olympic tournament continues, but Nashville might become a major player in both rumors and player movement in the coming weeks.

All six Chicago Blackhawks will again be in action on Wednesday, but this time they’ll be headed back to Chicago if they lose.

The day begins with Patrick Kane and the USA playing Jonas Hiller and Switzerland at 2:00 pm. FINALLY, the game will be on NBC.

Canada, featuring Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, plays Alex Ovechkin and Russia in the marquee matchup of the playoffs at 6:30. This game, however, will air on CNBC.

The final game of the night (again) will feature Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky and Slovakia as they challenge Sweden at 10:55. This game is also scheduled to air on CNBC.

If Slovakia and Canada both win their games, Hossa and Kopecky would face Toews, Keith and Seabrook for the first time in the tournament, with the winner playing in the gold medal game. Kane and the United States won’t see Slovakia or Canada until the gold medal round.

JR wants Halak, but would it work?

Over the weekend, current NBC talking head and former Blackhawks All Star Jeremy Roenick decided it was his turn to spice up the trade rumors swirling around his former employer.

Before the Olympics, Roenick told the media that he didn’t think the current Blackhawks’ goalie duo of Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi was good enough to win the Stanley Cup. Hopefully NBC wrote “the obvious” on the memo line of his next paycheck, because not many fans, observers, analysts or even management with the Hawks have been overwhelmingly confident in Huet this season.

The issue most people have with Niemi is his lack of experience; of course, Roenick should know better than to question a goaltender’s experience as a factor in the playoffs. After all, Roenick was a member of a Blackhawks team that put a kid in net six times in the playoffs that hadn’t stepped on the ice during the regular season. Ed Belfour went 4-2 in the 1990 playoffs before eventually winning the Calder Trophy the following season.

But Roenick decided to add his opinion to the trade rumors, and said Montreal’s Jaroslav Halák, currently playing for Slovakia in Vancouver, would be a better fit for the Hawks than Florida’s Tomas Vokoun. There are a lot of holes in Roenick’s trade proposal, many of which are simply a matter of being current.

The central issue in Montreal, and the reason they are involved in as many rumors as they are, is that both Halák and Carey Price are free agents after this season. Because both are considered above-average goalies, the assumption is that they will choose one to sign to a new deal and the other will be traded before the March 3 deadline to add on-ice quality and depth.

Roenick claimed that Halák “wants out” of Montreal because of the “Price situation.” If Roenick had done his homework, he would have realized that when Halák would have wanted out of Montreal was closer to Thanksgiving than today. Halák did reportedly tell Montreal brass that he wanted to be dealt if his long-term future was not with the Habs, but has since won the starting job from Price. Given the recent change of General Managers in Montreal, the organization is no longer as tied to Price as they once were, meaning either netminder could be dealt.

Price, in my opinion, is no better than Huet. He also would not add the desired “better” experience to the Blackhawks’ roster that would, in theory, be one of the central keys to making a deal. Yes, the Blackhawks need to save money against next year’s cap. But Stan Bowman isn’t going to sacrifice this year’s chances for a Stanley Cup just to save money next year. Moving Huet for Price would not improve the situation in net for the Hawks, and his career playoff numbers (5-10, 3.11 GAA, .896 save pct) wouldn’t make anyone sleep easier at night.

Halák, who will be 25 in mid-May, would also not bring much playoff experience to the table. He has only seen action in three playoff games in his career, but has performed well (0-1, 1.86 GAA) in those opportunities. Ironically, it was the development of Price that forced Huet out of Montreal in February of 2008. Once Huet was dealt to Washington, Halák was promoted to the NHL roster.

Another issue that Roenick fails to deal with is the payroll situation in Montreal. Currently, there are 14 players under contract for 2010-11 in Montreal with a cap number of $45.732 million. Because both Halák and Price are restricted free agents, adding Huet’s $5.625 million cap number would be a complete net addition to their bottom line; if the Hawks are in a tough financial situation right now, trading Halak for Huet would put the Habs in an equally bad situation. In Roenick’s proposed world, either the Hawks would be forced to take salary back, or Montreal would have $51.357 million committed to only 15 players. This would give them only between $4-5 million to fill their roster, meaning they wouldn’t quite be able to average $1 million per player to complete their roster.

The math doesn’t add up for the Hawks to make a deal for Halák.

There has not been a package linked to anything between the Hawks and Montreal anywhere, just speculation that the Hawks would have interest in a young goalie that might be available at the right price. Clearly, adding a contract like those of Kris Versteeg or Patrick Sharp is completely out of the question given Montreal’s cap situation, so the Hawks wouldn’t even be able to accomplish their desired salary dump in a deal with Montreal either.

For the Blackhawks, adding Halák would be an improvement on the ice over Huet but would present other issues this summer for Chicago as well as Montreal. The Blackhawks would then have to deal with both Niemi and Halák being restricted free agents. Being forced to re-sign both goalies could be an expensive proposition for the Hawks to deal with in a summer in which they still need to cut money to be under next year’s cap.

The flip side of the deal is the proposal for Vokoun. In that deal, as we discussed over the weekend, the Blackhawks would send Huet, Versteeg and Corey Crawford to Florida for Vokoun and either Denis Seidenberg or Jordan Leopold. Both Seidenberg and Leopold are free agents after this season, meaning the Hawks would be eliminating Versteeg’s $3.083 million cap number. Adding that to what the Hawks already cut in the Barker-Johnsson trade, the Hawks would be closer to their goal of cutting roughly $10 million off nexy year’s payroll (Barker also had a $3.083 cap number, and Johnsson is a free agent this summer).

Vokoun would come with a slightly higher cap number than Huet ($5.700 million), but in this case it’s the length that matters. Vokoun has only one year left on his contract after this season, while Huet has two. The significance of shedding $5.7 million off the books in the summer of 2011 is that Brent Seabrook, Dustin Byfuglien and Troy Brouwer are all scheduled to need new contracts at that time. Therefore, the immediate cap savings might not happen, but the Hawks would feel cap relief when they need it in 15 months.

So while our old buddy JR might think Halák is the right/better guy for the Hawks, the number don’t add up.