A couple of weeks ago, the Chicago Blackhawks were a part of a monster NHL trade. It will be remembered as one of the biggest in-season trades to go down in NHL history.
The trade involved the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, and Chicago Blackhawks. The big piece moved in the trade was superstar winger Mikko Rantanen who is now a member of the Hurricanes.
Other notable names were moved and Taylor Hall was one of them. He ended up in Carolina with Rantanen. The Blackhawks were always going to be sellers and that was the first domino to fall. These three players could follow him out the door:
1. Seth Jones
Seth Jones is making over $9 million against the salary cap. He is still a solid player but not worth that level of money anymore.
If a team is willing to take on half of that money, the Blackhawks can afford to retain the other half. If they can get a team to bite, they should not hesitate.
Jones isn’t going to go anywhere and be their number one but he could eat a ton of minutes, play at even strength, kill penalties, and find himself on the scoresheet a fair amount. It’s hard to find guys who play the way he does.
A few teams have been rumored to be interested. The return for Jones shouldn’t matter as getting his cap off the books would be the win. If they could sweeten the pot to retain less, they should consider that as well.
2. Ryan Donato
Ryan Donato is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. He is also only making $2 million against the cap. If he went to a new team and continued to score goals in all situations, he’d be a valuable depth piece for the stretch run.
Teams adding Donato would be adding a guy who could pass 20 goals this season and score in the playoffs. He isn’t a star player who is going to move the needle too much but he can help any contender be just a bit better in all areas.
Whether it’s his contagious motor, his ability to score goals in front of the net on the power play, or his lethal shot, putting him in certain situations can lead to big moments and contenders like guys like him.
3. Pat Maroon
Pat Maroon has already played for just under 1/3 of the league. Now, he may add another team to his resume.
If he is acquired ahead of the deadline, he likely won’t be a guy that plays for his new team every day but he will have a role.
Every team needs depth and Maroon can provide that. He plays the game hard and is intimidating to go up against from a physicality standpoint. He’s also cool with being a healthy scratch as long as he’s helping guys get through the grind. He knows what it is like.
Maroon has scored big playoff goals, won three Stanley Cups, and positively impacted multiple locker rooms over the years. Teams may want a guy like this to come in simply for the vibes. He can provide some hockey help as well.
All three of these guys could follow Hall out the door and they would all have different roles on new teams. They could all stick around as well which would allow them to help out the influx of young talent coming in. Nothing should be ruled out ahead of this upcoming trade deadline.
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