Blackhawks Acquire Andrew Desjardins
Late Monday morning, the Blackhawks traded forward Ben Smith and a conditional seventh round pick to the San Jose Sharks for forward Andrew Desjardins.
Desjardins, 28, has five goals and three assists in 56 games with the Sharks this season. He has also racked up 50 penalty minutes, 96 hits and 31 blocked shots. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Smith, 26, was a top penalty killer for the Blackhawks over the last couple years. The former Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player had five goals and four assists in 61 games for the Hawks this season, but couldn’t buy a goal over the last couple months. His contract runs through the 2015-16 season with a $1.5M cap hit.
San Jose will reportedly retain half of Desjardins’ remaining cap hit.
Another center. Just from his penalty minutes alone, I think we got tougher. We are getting stronger up the middle. Without knowing anything else about AD, I like this swap.
Booman – with you! Stronger up the center has been missing.
Clearly Smith had soured in the eyes of Q; but I am not really impressed with losing one of our top penalty kill guys for a tough guy.
I guess this means the top kill will be Kruger-Vermette?
Good Move here… Smith was a nice player, but nothing fancy, and not as tough as Desjardins…
Depth down the middle… sounds good to me!
The observation of getting STRONG up the middle is “perfect” all great NHL clubs have a solid center play and aggressive which opens the ice up, before these trades Hawks ahd very very weak center ice positioning now they got “impact” guys who will actually make TOEWS even better, these last trades are perfect. Ben Smith has played very well and trained really hard every summer, he may have maxed out his skill level but even at the level he is at he is a solid player and will be missed. His penalty kill will be missed. Go luck to BEN! but now we get more than a little MUSCLE
What’s the angle on this one? The start of the 2015 post-season salary cap purge? Adding a slight increase in physical presence? The rest of the stats seem like a wash and not sure he can or will kill penalties any better than 28. What’s the scoop?
Might just be Kruger-Desjardins on PK…
Vermette-Hossa would be interesting. Played together 1 year way back when in Ottawa…
Vermette is a plus PK guy, clearly his arrival allowed the Hawks to part with Smith.
I also like that- it erases $1.5M from next summer’s purge!!! which means- SB will have more options/ and less to shed… not a lot less- but still less. Which gives SB more leverage while “playing” his options next summer.
Physical Presence is the pick up here . . .and speed! If your not scoring goals ya better be finishing your checks, getting into the corners, running players of the puck all hard nose, and get in front of the net, setting up your line mates. Ben was good, yes good on penalty kills but now lots of guys to step into that role. We really need a bigger presence on penalty kills, with some offense punch Vermette will shine like a rock star in that role, lack of size on our penalty kills is also why no “shorties” like in the past, small quick skaters like Kruger but i’d take the length and strength of a guy like FROLICKKKK. Hawks did very well and i ma personally oddly glad Kane went down so Hawk Fans can see what a little grit does. Some bigger decisions coming next year!
Was just poking around and saw a couple things. One is the $1.5 MM from next summer’s cap. Second, SJ kept half of Desjardin’s salary so that allowed the Hawks to keep 86 up (otherwise they’d have been over the cap). Finally, some added grit to the 4th line would help in another series vs. the Blues. I liked Smitty, but probably destined as a cap casualty with his lack of production. Too bad he has to now play on the Sharks.
Vermette certainly allowed the Smith departure to happen. Also, Desjardins is a ufa after this year. So salary may have also been a selling point? Every little bit is going to help this summer.
Tim G, I wouldn’t want to make Hossa a regular PK — might be “interesting” but, at his age, it might be better to spare Hoss of extra work that other players can do. Go HAWKS!
LeBrun is reporting that SJ is eating salary so this will allow Tuevo to remain on the club, that’s the best news of all!
Nice work Stan!
Q is about to unleash the 4th dimension, I mean 4 lines of hell.
I believe Kane will be missed less than people think. We have enough talent on this team that someone WILL step up. I am thinking Sharpie and Vermette will be the guys that do so. Again commend the Hawks org for all these moves. Can’t stand how prior regimes fell in love with players that were not winning cups. Great job hawks. GO HAWKS!!!
This is what a majority of people have been clamoring about. Getting tougher, bigger, more punishing. I think all of the moves have at least made the Hawks tougher. I really like this move from the standpoint of we have a player now who will at least hit someone and be impactful with that hit. Smith’s value stemmed from his PK, his ability to pot a goal now and again, and his ability to play a 2 week super dynamo role when bounced to a higher line. He stopped doing 2 of the 3 things he was good at.
I’m with Peter on this one – looks like Stan and Q are getting ready to go to war, I love it. Hate to see Smith go, but hopefully for his sake he will become yet another young Hawk that needed to a new sweater to grow…
sounds like SJ might be retaining cap too…
even better.
Pretty sure Hossa is right next to Toews on the pk….
San Jose retained 50%. Have to wonder is that to give more room for a call up, or is something else coming?
Man I wish we had capgeek. NHL numbers just doesnt cut it.
@Ernie – San Jose retaining half of Desjardin’s salary was necessary to keep the Hawks under the cap & keep Teravainen up w/ the NHL club the rest of the way. The Hawks are AT the cap.
I like this move. SB traded for some grit. Smith is a hard working kid and will play hard wherever he goes. I wish him well. Desjardins will bring the body and will stick up for team mates. He has some skills, but he is here for the war against the big boys we will likely see in the playoffs. Teams like Jets, Kings and Blues. He should like being moved to Chicago and have a shot at winning the Cup. Bowman should be commended for bringing in pieces of the puzzle that were needed to fit. I think the hawks are better today than they were last week up and down the roster. Let’s wish Kaner a successful recovery and get to playoffs healthy as possible.
Lets Go Hawks!!
Ernie, didn’t you hear? The commissioner says nobody cares about the cap numbers.
As SSHM noted, SJ is retaining 50% of salary which allows the Hawks to keep 86 up with the big club. With the full salary, he probably would have been sent down.
So pre-trades, the Hawks had 3 reliable centers (19, 91, 16 assuming you count 91 is reliable, which, you know…) and now they have 5 including Vermette and Desjardins. Nice problem to have for a change.
Great signing and completes the trifecta. Improved 4-6 D pairing options, added FO winning C who strengthens team defensive concept, and now some physicality up front. Surprised and delighted Stan Jr showed the stones to make these moves. Delighted we may have the oppty to get thru a round or 2 while we wait for the possible return of 88. Not to be overlooked, this also sends a strong signal to current team members we’re serious about turning things around THIS season.
I also hate to see Smith to go. He played hard all the time but he was in a long funk. It looks like we got a tough player in return and shed a little salary. These additions could be the spark the Hawks needed. We shall see.
Bettman is an idiot. Theyre hoping somebody does what capgeek did. So they don’t have to. Oh well, Capgeek spoiled us. No other sport had a resource like that.
Should have used my sarcasm emoji. Bettman is a tone-deaf shill for the owners and nothing more. Just goes to show how out of touch he is with the fans.
Rumor has it that there are sites working on replacing CapGeek. NHLNumbers and others do not cut it. Loved CapGeek and was sad to see it go. The replacement can’t come soon enough (and hopefully not from the NHL).
On the surface I like the look of all these new toys. Hopefully they work well together and rejuvenate the core.
Desjardins gives Q another center who can play defense so he now has a move he can make should Richards disappear or be overmatched in the playoffs. Plays with more of an edge than Smith too. As long as Smith can be effectively replaced on the PK, then this is another plus move for this season and a head start on the Cap purge this summer.
How is Carcillo still on the roster? That’s half million plus in dead lbs. cap space…. if necessary. They could use one more D-man….
sorry Phil, Hawks are not better than last week- picking off leftovers from Philadelphia, Arizona & San Jose while not having Kaner is no improvement
Smith had been playing since the healthy scratch, but he indeed have been an off-season casualty anyway. Never will forget that OT goal he scored against the Canucks in game 6 of the series the Hawks lost in game 7 OT after Toews’ tremendous game tying goal. Good luck to him, seems like a great guy. Hopefully the Hawks get tougher and some more net presence.
Tab—what’s your thoughts on this move? What type of play can we expect from Desjardins?
I don’t think any Hawk fan is happy that Kaner got hurt but SB has done a pretty good job in the last few days to help correct some of the weakness the Hawks were having and if they can go far enough in the playoffs so that Kane can rejoin the team then look out Eastern Conference.
This is a smart, outstanding move for the simple reason that Ben Smith’s contract for next year is now gone. The Hawks are going to be in salary cap hell this summer and moving $1.5 M of money allocated to a very replaceable “role player” is smart, smart, smart. I get it that Smith has been exceptional on the PK, but in a salary cap world guys who play the 4th line (and arguably also the 3rd line) MUST be interchangeable and in constant replacement mode. Joakim Nordstom is a better hockey player than Ben Smith as well. And Andrew Desjardins is a very nice rental of grit and toughness.
hawkfacts – Does Timonen make the d-corps better? Yes if he can play at the same level as last season. Does Vermette make the Hawks better defensively and on faceoffs and give the Hawks another center who can play defense against big centers? Yes. Does Desjardins give the Hawks more of an edge as well as another center who can play defense? Yes. Therefore in all areas except of “need” the Hawks got better. The fact that Kane is out means they are less skilled offensively in a major way and that is a huge loss that can’t be replaced – but, if the team is better defense and gives up less goals, then the net result could, and I say will, be that the TEAM is better now than it was before Kane got injured.
Correction to previous post.
The sentence “Therefore in all areas except of “need” the Hawks got better.” should be “Therefore in all areas of “need” the Hawks got better.” I have no idea why I put the word “except” in there.
I thought Stan said he “had a plan” for next year after signing the big two to those extensions. I guess his plan must be to play with 13 veterans and 10 rookies in 2015. (assuming Saad and Kruger will be resigned) Even Pittsburgh dealt with the cap better than this. — but of course managing the cap is his specialty. Jeez!
ER – respect your position but losing the league leader in points, a big time, big game player like Kane can’t be replaced with role players. There’s a reason those guys make all the dough
hawksfacts – I agree that Kane can’t be replaced, but that doesn’t mean the overall team doesn’t play better and therefore is a “better team”. The Hawks were only a .500 team with Kane before he got injured and the reason for that is they weren’t playing sound team defense. The new players will help the team play better team defense which is the only way they stand a chance to do anything in the playoffs. Will it be enough? I don’t know, but the additions gives the team a better chance.
Smitty was all class
lets hope that the number 28 isn’t to be worn again
Good move from a cap standpoint. Great to see TT will now be able to stay up with the big club. From a talent only standpoint nothing much gained here. Should be interesting to see if these rental moves help in our playoff run.
Hawksfacts – to further ER’s point (credit to 1961 from an earlier post):
Hawks1961 says:
Hawks October-December
Gf- 3.03
Ga- 2.08
January-February
Gf- 2.42
Ga- 2.69
If, by adding Kimo, Vermette and Desjardins they get their GA average down to what it was from October-December, even the current GFA is enough to win the majority of their games. 88 wasn’t exactly lighting it up the first two months of the season either. The vast majority of the team’s problems start on the defensive end. If (and it’s a big if) Kimo plays like his old self and Vermette and DJD play good two-way hockey, it gives this team a chance.
Chevrier- No emoji needed. Obvious sarcasm, just can’t overstate his idiocy.
I really do hope the best for Matthew Wuest. Hopefully the next update we get will be a good one.
I’m happy with the moves that were made to make a solid run at the cup. I just hope that the gambles work. Looking forward to tonight’s game.
I wrote a very insightful and lengthy post last week (to which only 1 person responded and complained about the length???) that the problem with the Hawks has been that the GM and the HC have NOT been on the same page. Q coaches a certain way and SB has tried to run his organization in a fashion that does NOT mesh with Q’s style of coaching. I concluded that for the Hawks to turn their fortunes around something had to give between these two men…clearly something did.
Bowman did what I suggested which was to give Q the kind of players he needs to win with if he is going to be your coach, either that or fire him and move forward with a coach that will work with the system you have created. The cost of these moves have consequences, but SO WHAT, either this team got in synch with its Head Coach or we were going to be spanked in the first round. Look at what teams in the WC have done to combat the Hawks skill over the last 3 years…size, more speed, toughness and a willingness to bang us out of the building! Bowman until this week had done literally NOTHING to combat this! We lost to the Kings last post season because he tried to get away with a cooked 40 year old at 2nd line centre at it ALMOST WORKED!
WGP, STL, LA, MIN, VAN, SJ were all set to run us out of any building starting game 1 of the playoffs, now they are going to have a hard time achieving this with the new lineup we have. If Timmonen can actually still play the Hawks just got a lot better than what we were EVEN WITH A HEALTHY KANE, and he was our MVP so far this season! Our defence was a JOKE and our forwards skated circles around the oppositions perimeters firing 60 helpless shots a night at monstrous goalies who simply batted them out of the way! Our PP will even become more effective now because we will start scoring some “lucky”/garbage goals with pucks going in off of people’s heads, which is how you score PP goals in the playoffs!
So kudos to Bowman for finally seeing the reality of his situation. He and Q were fighting each other in a way and things weren’t progressing as a result. This week he got behind his coach and gave him what he needs to win. If Q falls flat on his face it will be on him now…
Who the hell is this “HawksFacts” nutjob? I guess I would love to understand how he would have addressed new contracts for Toews and Kane….THE two faces of the franchise and elite-level Stanley Cup champion caliber players. And were the Hawks supposed to trade for Sidney Crosby to replace Kane?!? The additions of rental players Timmonen, Verdette and Desjardins are excellent. Flat out excellent. Address critical needs of this team in the aftermath of cap dollars becoming available when Kane went down for the regular season.
Ugy….need edit feature. Vermette.
And to the poster who says I hope the risk is worth it? Well of course. But Bowman has no choice but to go for it now because salary cap hell is coming this summer and the Hawks are going to see a substantial changeover in personnel. And sadly, I doubt Kruger fits the new math. Hell, Seabrook might now fit the new math. So you have to go for it now…before Kane got hurt, what we had is what would have been the plan of battle. But the injury freed up cap dollars to get innovative on addressing a few critical screaming needs, under the hope and prayer that Kane can somehow come back in the playoffs AND return to instant form. Odds are not great of this all working, but there was little option otherwise boys and girls.
Some fans are just never going to be happy. The cap isn’t nearly as dreadful as everyone is making it out to be. It’s safe to assume Oduya and Rosy will not be brought back(5 million combined) , which is wise from an on ice decision.
If Sharp and Bickell are moved that’s nearly 10 million freed up. If SB really wants to get creative Seabrook can be moved(not smart IMO).
While it’s unlikely it’s not completely crazy for Vermette (#80) to come back at 4 million a season. If that’s the case your top 8 forwards remain intact. I know Hawks fans were jilted after 2010, but next year will not be like that. 4-6 new faces which is healthy in all professional sports.
However no sense in worrying about those changes now the Hawks have another cup to try to capture
I like it, there are an abundance of Ben Smiths in the organization.
Last Christmas I bought my brother in law a Ben Smith jersey. Fortunately, his last name is Smith so it still works for him. GO HAWKS
Continue to like the moves-and kind of agree that losing Kane-(the reason I watch the Hawks most nights) might have a pay off in overall team play in the next few weeks–
although to be fair 88 has worked hard on his team game.
But to those getting excited about an early return, even saw a post of getting thru a round for him???-Kaner broke a very important bone for hockey, especially the wear and tear of the playoffs, and had surgery-Surgery is only needed in 5 to 10% of the cases and usually when injury more severe like multiple fractures or through the skin. Often after HEALING the doctor will say stay away from contact sports for up to 2 months (non pro athletes at least)
–12+ weeks is realistic, 10 or 11 would be fantastic.
Sorry hawksfan I respectfully disagree. Hawks got better down the middle. Added a solid 2 line Center. Got much better at the dots and aquired a guy in Desjardins who has some muscle bay needed on this team . Timonen if he is over his illness should help on the back line . Let’s see how it plays out.
Let’s Go Hawks!!
Pete…Thats hilarious..plus your brother in law will have to explain thats his name every time! Another win!
Rufus, Duh, you just trade Smith, throw in Keith and Seabrook, for Ovechkin and have the Caps pay his salary, and there you have your elite scorer you need for 12 weeks. it’s not that hard. And I really hope the sarcasm is coming through on this :-)
Just got back from picking up the Jeep. Was getting new altinator and tune up. Stop at Bobbys Lounge for a beer and cheeseburger after getting a couple bags of dog food, etc. Power up the equipment and I see Ben and Jerrys traded. Aughhh. This is more meaningfull to me then anything else we have done/in terms of sending the other way, but it makes are team game better then I am defenatly ok with it/anything we do.
Just really liked Ben and Jerrys. I was thinking what Wall said/thinks wks ago about who we might not keep and Smitty was one of those 1.5 for a .600 Nordy. It will make the difference when we resign 80 and sign/trade for a top4 Defenseman at draft/FA and roll with how ever many low caphit guys as role players. As salary cap goes up each well be able to pay raises and add higher caphit guys.
To the guy who said, we need Bowman to get Q type guys and be together on what Q needs or switch coachs, etc. This has to be making you very happy with the trades we made.
Bannerman!
Negzz, trifecta. Sont ta Bitch.
Good luck to Ben Smith who always gave everything he had…a great kid that ran into some bad puck-luck this year. Hope he makes a mark in SJ…just never against the Hawks!
I am predicting that Desjardins will make a physical impact with his play immediately and that it will rub off on 29 & 65 who will follow suit much more consistently.
I like all the moves made by SB; it’s now time to go for it and hope 88 heals fast.
Puck drop in 45 mins…tonight’s game will, indeed, be interesting to watch.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
SSHM, yea man its not going to be terrible. I think Seabsy boy stays and Vermette resigns and I think we can add a top4 defenseman and roll with a lot of low caphit role players. The thing most people are not thinking/reminding themselves about is how many of the other top10 teams will not be able to keep whoever and the bigger impact on their rosters compared to us. I know JS, Phil and AJ are on top of this.
Noonan, I am not thinking more then 12 (to not worry) and would be sweet between 10-12 wks.
To the guy who said, Q is about to unleash the 4th. Objects are closer then they appear. 29-11-65
Bannerman & Belfour: Your self-proclaimed accolades are noted. Next time, don’t be so modest.
I did like Ben Smith but the one thing this trade does is move Shaw to the wing where he belongs and hopefully cuts Carcillo’s ice time. The 4th line of Nordstrom, Kruger and Shaw looked pretty good last night.
Will be intrigued to see if Nordstrom sticks w/ Desjardins arriving…