April 17, 1961: Bobby Hull, Reg Fleming and Pierre Pilote with the Stanley Cup they have just won. Can today's Hawks team repeat the feat? (Photo: Chicago Herald archive)

Blackhawks fans were holding their breath, waiting for the big deal that never came. Now that Deadline Day has passed, many wonder about the Hawks’ Cup chances, especially as rivals have upgraded their personnel.

Instead of the move pundits predicted–for a goalie– Stan Bowman made some minor deals. So, was he right to stand pat, or has he missed the window of opportunity?

Leading up to March 3rd, the chatter presuming netminders Tomas Vokoun, Dwayne Roloson, Jaroslav Halak, Dan Ellis and Marty Turco were all on Bowman’s shopping list, grew louder.

As the clock ticked down to 3 p.m. Eastern Time, fifty-three players in thirty separate trades—a Deadline Day record—changed addresses, but none made their way out of, or into, Chicago.

Nor were big names involved. Interviewed on NHL Network’s ‘Power Play’ that afternoon, Sabres GM Darcy Regier noted the transactions were really more about depth players. He observed that teams chose to retain most of the impending UFAs who might help them keep pace, as playoff spots in both conferences are tightly contested.

When asked Wednesday afternoon by reporters in Chicago about whether or not he was ‘disappointed’ about the Hawks’ lack of activity, Stan Bowman replied: “No, not really. You go in there hoping to improve your team, and sometimes there are things that work out, and sometimes not. But we’ve come a long way with the group we have, and we didn’t want to do anything just to make a trade. Because that, could disrupt our group.”

Video of the interview from Blackhawks TV here:

http://blackhawks.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=690&id=61613

Here’s a segment-by-segment snapshot of what Stan Bowman didn’t do:

Goaltending
After the collapse in Long Island Tuesday night, the howls of anguish over Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi’ s qualifications, or lack thereof, might have convinced even the most stoic Hawks loyalist that something had to give.

Nothing did, and Cristobal Huet was picked to start against the Oilers Wednesday night in Chicago against the Oilers.

But if the Hawks were talking, what were the asking prices for the potential replacements, and what would the consequences of a transaction have been?

In the case of Vokoun, his 5.7 million dollar cap hit made such a deal impractical unless Florida took Huet’s contract in return. For all the talk about ‘sweeteners’, the reality is simple. Randy Sexton had no compelling reason to trade an Olympic starting goaltender with just one year left on his deal. And according to ESPN Chicago, trying to waive Huet to take his cap hit off the books would have created other impediments, related to ‘tagging’—the arcane term given to the NHL’s procedure of calculating how existing salaries impact cap space. In other words, a deal couldn’t be made.

Dwayne Roloson might have been available. But with Rick DiPietro being out indefinitely, Garth Snow evidently didn’t want to let his best goaltender go, the other assumption being he did not want Huet’s fiscal burden.

Indications are that none of the other potential partners, Nashville, Montreal or Dallas, with playoff spots in the balance, wanted to make a change on the goaltending front enough, to barter with Bowman.

Defense:
After the trade for Kim Johnsson, who helps alleviate the workload for Keith and Seabrook, the prevailing wisdom was that a depth defenseman was the next logical requirement. To address that, ex-Duck Nick Boynton, a tenacious and genuinely nasty blueliner, has been obtained for future considerations. He’ll stay parked in Rockford until the elasticity of playoff rosters allows him to be brought up to Chicago. In this case, Bowman may have scored another win.

With hulking battle-scarred veteran Jassen Cullimore also waiting in the wings as an Ice Hog, the Blackhawks hope they have enough truculence in their 7/8/9 defense reserve to weather the playoff wars.

The uncertain status of Brent Sopel, sitting with a ‘lower body injury’, may test those reserves early.

Forward:
The Blackhawks may finally be able to ice a full line up as March unfolds. While John Madden is nursing a knee, Ben Eager is ready to resume hostilities. Dave Bolland, who says he feels better than he did before his surgery, is re-gaining his form. Agitator par excellence, Adam Burish, fresh from rehab, is chomping at the bit.

While questions have been asked about depth at the forward position, it seems that management has determined that the Hawks have a full complement.

The fact that a quality player like Colin Fraser was designated a healthy scratch on Tuesday, indicates there may be a rotating taxi squad from now until season’s end as players compete for spots. Additionally, the Boys of Rockford, like Bickell, Dowell, Brophy and Klinkhammer—and perhaps some younger prospects like Aliu and Beach, might just sport the Indian Head as the playoffs open.

Key Stats:
With a winning percentage of .701, the Hawks are on course for 114 points, best total in franchise history. Their fourteen-point lead in the Central Division appears secure, and they have a legitimate shot at the President’s Trophy.

The Blackhawks have nine players with more than ten goals so far, and eight with plus/minus numbers better than +10. Their team GAA of 2.36 is second best in the league. Their offense ranks fourth; power play and penalty kill rank 8th and 6th respectively. Their ten short-handed goals are best in the NHL.

Intangibles:
The Hawks’ six Olympians, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Kane, Hossa and Kopecky all raised their play to new levels on the international stage. Can they do that going forward? If so, the Blackhawks have a key element working in their favor.

How good are the Hawks’ Cup chances?
The controversy surrounding Chicago’s perceived weakness—its goaltending—persists. However, the panel on TSN’s Trade Deadline Show, an unforgiving array of experienced observers including Mike Keenan, Matthew Barnaby, Craig McTavish, Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, Darren Pang, and Ray Ferraro, all concurred that the Hawks are strong enough to be Cup favorites—along with the Washington Capitals, who have, in their view, equally questionable netminding.

Furthermore, in their review of the competition, no team has a combination of goalies and overall talent which is clearly superior to Chicago’s.

The Las Vegas line seems to support this perspective. As of this writing, Belmont Sports Betting lists the Hawks and Caps as 4-1 favorites; the Sharks and Penguins are right behind at 5-1. Which only means, that Chicago’s chances are as good as anyone’s.

Summary:
Stan Bowman and the Hawks Executive have decided to put their trust in the players they have. Every one of the players—with the exception of those signed to ‘core deals’—is also on notice: those who fail to deliver performance-wise may find themselves packaged up and shipped off come the summer trading period in June.

Because when millions of dollars—perhaps hundreds of millions, depending how many rounds a team can go—in playoff and ancillary revenue are on the line, hockey isn’t a game anymore. It’s an unforgiving business.

And if Blackhawks management has demonstrated anything in the past year, it’s that they aren’t sentimental when it comes to making business decisions.

Yesterday marks the first day of the trade deadline, in my opinion. Now that the Olympic roster freeze has finally been lifted, general managers can finally get down to the nitty-gritty and piece together the final details of any deals they may have allowed to brew over the break. For any of those that believe that general managers did not talk much over break, look no further than the fact that Jordan Leopold was packed and simply waiting to fly to Pittsburgh on the first flight past 12:00AM today. There are many deals on the table, and many things that could go down in the blink of an eye. As Brian Burke stated, “the trade deadline is the day when everyone in the NHL loses their minds.” Considering the halt in roster moves for the past two weeks, I believe that today and the coming two days will prove to be quite interesting.  There is nothing better for fans than when general managers begin to feel a little pressure…well, unless you’re on the bad end of a deal as us Islander fans have been so many times.

Here is to hoping Garth Snow stays composed over the next few days. To be honest, there is no reason for Garth Snow to do anything crazy. Let us look at the two key players that SHOULD find their way out of Long Island in the next two days.

First, and foremost, is Andy Sutton. At 35 years old, and nearly 6-and-a-half feet tall, Andy Sutton is playing the best hockey of his career. A drop in weight and an increase in his physical play has seen Andy Sutton develop into a very solid, number three NHL defenseman that numerous NHL teams covet. His vision both on the offensive and defensive sides of the puck has led to an increase in blocked shots, and a better first pass out of his own zone. Ironically, and somewhat fortunate for Garth Snow, Sutton is also in the final year of a three-year deal that he signed with the Islanders, making him a perfect playoff rental for any team that believes they need depth.

Sutton has developed into a quality player for the Islanders, and there are many who believe that Garth Snow should take it upon himself to resign him to a multi-year contract, however, we must look at the bigger picture. While Sutton will be able to contribute at this level for another two seasons, at best, the rest of the Islanders squad is still rather young and only getting younger. During those two years, the Islanders cannot reasonably be considered a Stanley Cup contender, as it will be at least another three seasons before the Islanders can be considered a top-level team. That being the case, it may be beneficial in the long run to trade him and bring in younger players or picks that will aid in the rebuilding process. A difficult decision for sure, but one that I’m sure many Islander fans will agree with.

Furthermore, it has been brought up that since Sutton wants to say, maybe he will return in the offseason. Just because Sutton wants to resign here does not mean that he will come back in the offseason after a playoff run with another team. While it would be a classy move (a la Keith Tkachuk), it is very rare that a player returns to the team that traded him.

From the many words spreading throughout the blogosphere, interest in Andy Sutton is abundant, and that bodes well for Garth Snow and the Islanders interests. The more teams Snow can get involved in a bidding war, the better. I’d have to believe that a team would be willing to give up a first-round pick for a solid NHL defenseman, but only time will tell how “crazy” the NHL general managers get at this year’s deadline. Before you consider Sutton going for a first round pick, ask yourself if you’d like to see Garth Snow give up a first round pick for a player like Andy Sutton if the timing was right.

Second on Garth Snow’s list should be the trade of a goaltender. All year long I have stood behind Roloson as our number one goalie, and I still believe that if it were not for him, the Islanders would not even be considered in the playoff race at the moment. Granted, although only six points back, we need to be honest and admit the Islanders are not in the playoff race this season. Making the playoffs this season actually hurts the Islanders long-term plan, and with a daunting schedule ahead, I’d put our chances at making the playoffs this year at 20%.

That being said, I believe that Roloson needs to be the goalie to go. As a forty-year old netminder, Roloson’s value will never be higher, and Snow must capitalize on that this year. With only one-year and an affordable $2.5 million cap hit remaining on Roloson’s contract, there will be many teams willing to pay that money for a playoff proven goaltender who brings experience and leadership to a locker room. The question is, what will they be willing to pay the Islanders to acquire his services for the playoffs this year? My guess is as good as yours, but it doesn’t seem overly farfetched to believe that a first round pick could come back to the Islanders. Furthermore, trading Martin Biron only brings us back a third to fourth round pick, at best, which can’t hold a candle to the return that a Roloson trade would bring.

Think about teams such as Detroit, Philadelphia, and Chicago. All of these teams can be considered contenders, however, they all share one thing in common: shaky goaltending. While they allow their younger goalies to develop, Roloson could be used as the playoff starter this year, and as an affordable one-year stopgap until each organization puts forth a better netminder. Does it still seem too farfetched to think a first-rounder is out of the question?

What do you think Roloson’s value will be at 2:59PM on March 3^rd? Time will tell, but it may get even more interesting than the Andy Sutton saga.

While these two are obviously the big time focus of Garth Snow, I would not hesitate to include the following names in trade discussions: Richard Park, Martin Biron, Jon Sim, Jeff Tambellini, Sean Bergenheim, Blake Comeau, Freddy Meyer, Bruno Gervais, and Trent Hunter. Each has minimal value, but could still prove valuable to another team in one way or another.

This trade deadline is once again another defining moment for Garth Snow and the Islanders rebuilding plans. With the future looking somewhat brighter than it has in a long time, this deadline could only make the future brighter. What do you want to see happen?

-Justin Marques (IslesNet@Gmail.Com)

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/islesnet

Side Note: Be sure to check back here on Hockey Independent on March 3^rd, as B.D. Gallof, myself, and the Hockey Independent Staff will be in the H.I. Chatroom discussing every trade and rumor that goes down. It should be a great day!