Trade Senario: Brian Campbell to the Atlanta Thrashers

Let me preface this piece saying that this is not a rumor that I have heard or that will likely go down. Rather this is a senario that I have imagined in my head as a trade that could make sense for the Atlanta Thrashers and the Chicago Blackhawks. Here is the trade:

The Atlanta Thrashers recieve:
D Brian Campbell
F Jack Skille
D Jordan Hendry
Third Round Pick 2010

The Chicago Blackhawks recieve:
D Ron Hainsey
Rights to F Colby Armstrong

Why does this make sense for the Chicago Blackhawks? Because it gets Brian Campbell's enormous cap hit off the books. Don't get me wrong Campbell had a great season with the Blackhawks but his contract has their future cap flexiblity handcuffed. Hainsey and Armstrong's cap hits would not have as big of an impact on the cap and you are getiing two players for the price of one.

Why does this make sense for the Atlanta Thrashers? Because the Thrashers were in hot pursuit of Campbell last offseason and they are also in desperate need of a puck moving defenseman. An added bonus to the trade are prospects Jack Skille and Jordan Hendry who would add depth to an Atlanta team that needs new talent.

But hey I suppose there is a reason that I am not a gm for an NHL team. Just my tale, what do you think?

Dave Bolland resigns with the Blackhawks

Word from Dave Bolland's agent on Twitter the blackhawks second line center has agreed to a five year $18 million deal. This signing does seem to signal that the Chicago Blackhawks will not be able to hold onto all of their assets, Martin Havlat, Sammi Pahlsson, Cameron Barker and Kris Versteeg. More to come.

Are The Chicago Blackhawks Targeting Disgruntled Sniper Dany Heatley?

Now that the Stanley Cup playoffs have come to their dramatic conclusion, we now turn our attention to the NHL offseason and more importantly, rumor. Although I am not one to devise rumors or come up with fantasy trades, I do enjoy analyzing rumors that other media outlets have come up with and determine their feasibility.

One of the biggest names being mentioned in recent trade rumors is disgruntled sniper Dany Heatly. Just about a week ago the Ottawa Sentors super star wing asked general manager Bryan Murray for his trade. As a Chicago Blackhawks writer I really didn't take notice of the trade demand but when I read this article from the Ottawa Citizen my interest was definitely peaked.

In the article Ottawa Citizen sports writer Allen Panzeri discusses possible destinations for the former 50 goal scorer and one of those possible destinations was the Chicago Blackhawks. The player that the articles discusses being shopped by the Blackhawks is 2008 free agent signee Brian Campbell.

When I first read the article I was curious how this trade would be beneficial for the Blackhawks and how the author could think Dany Heatley was a suitable replacement for the dynamic Martin Havlat. But if you break down the numbers this trade could make sense, at least for the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks have nearly $50 million invested in Brian Campbell over the next seven seasons and could commit over $5 million per season to free agent Martin Havlat. The reason, in my mind, that the Campbell (and more) for Heatley trade makes sense is that the Blackhawks free up about $4.64 in cap space, let me explain.

Brian Campbell was a great addition to the Blackhawks power play and provided the blue line with a great offensive defenseman but even though he showed flashes of great offensive ability he also had quite a few defensive lapses. Campbell is also expendable because of the emergence of Cam Barker as an elite power play defenseman who is a more physical defenseman than Campbell.

Campbell's departure would also open up a spot for a young defenseman like Niklas Hjalmarsson, who was a playoff stud for the 'Hawks or 2008 draft pick Shawn Lalonde. Although neither Lalonde or Hjalmarsson possess the offensive ability that Campbell does either of them can be a good stay at home defenseman that the 'Hawks desperately need.

Now for the Martin Havlat part of this trade.

As we inch closer and closer to the July 1st free agent deadline the likelihood that the Chicago Blackhawks will be able to sign unrestricted free agent Martin Havlat. Although I do not think it is out of the question that Havlat could sign at a discount with the Blackhawks, once he hits the open market many Eastern Conference team will be throwing quite a bit of money at him.

If the 'Hawks do loose Havlat they will need to replace his team leading 77 points and could rookies like Jack Skille, Kyle Beach or Akim Aliu fill the void left by Havlat? Unlikely. So the possibility of adding a former 50 goal scorer and 100 point producer like Healty should be attractive to general manager Dale Tallon.

Another important issue that must be mentioned in any trade or signing of player is the future contract statuses of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith. These three players are the faces of the young Blackhawks franchise and will all be due for raises in 2010 when they are restricted free agents.

If the 'Hawks can save themselves money by dealing Campbell for Heatley and not resigning Havlat to make sure that they secure Toews, Kane and Keith for the future. If this trade has some validity to it and the Blackhawks do add Heatley to their offensively charged lineup they could be cup contenders for years and years to come.