Blackhawks Blockbuster Trade

[Fyrebyrd]

Blackhawks just made a massive trade to clear capspace which they would have been way over.

Hawks send Byfuglien, Sopel, Eager, and Akim Aliu (Rockford-AHL) to Atlanta

Thrashers send 1st round draft pick (24th overall), 2nd round draft pick (54th overall), C Marty Reasoner, and highly regarded juniors prospect Jeremy Morin.

That first and second round draft picks were the picks they got from NJ for Kovalchuk.

Personally I think its a move that makes some sense for Chicago, and it is a HUGE move for Atlanta. They are already in a weak conference and a weak division. They have no reason to miss the playoffs next year.

[tornado]

serious ?? if they lose Buf the are not the same team - this trade might hurt

[Fyrebyrd]

Should have posted a link for you link-trolls. Per ESPN, originally reported by Eklund

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/news/story?id=5320715

[Da Coach]

I agree that such a trade was necessary. Byfuglien will be missed, but he was mostly the beneficiary of the real skill guys like Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, and others. I think he is replaceable. Sopel was great for the Hawks this season, but he had a big contract, and with all the guys under long-term contracts, he would have been impossible for them to resign. Plus he is one of the older guys at 33. This is simply a deal that had to be made for them to retain guys like Versteeg, Ladd, Seabrook, Sharp and others.

I do find it interesting that Akim Aliu was included in the deal. He is a big young winger very similar to Byfuglien. He is also the only Nigerian player I know of in the NHL system.

Now they need to make one more deal- find a team willing to take Cristobal Huet and his massive salary.

[DUBrave5]

I think this move was fantastic. Yes it sucks that Buff is gone, but the Hawks now have 5 picks in the first two rounds and they cleared almost $5 million from their salary cap. If they don't draft another player like Buff, Hawks fans will likely see Kyle Beach brought up from the AHL and from what I have heard, he is a similar player to Buff.

Remember Buff wasn't that big during the season. He was portrayed by the media as being THE guy for the Hawks during the Playoffs but the Hawks will be able to get by and they will likely be able to hold onto Patrick Sharp now and I really feel that he is overall a better player than Buff is.

Don't be surprised to see a few more moves by the Hawks as they still have cap room that they need to clear. Rumor has it that the next Hawk to go could be Versteeg.

Another interesting point that they were talking about on the Afternoon Saloon on ESPN Radio in Chicago was what happens if Niemi gets a contract offer of around $3.5 million. Being a restricted free agent, the Hawks can match that, but if they don't match it, apparently they would be given a 1st and 3rd round draft pick as compensation, but maybe someone like Fyrebyrd could verify that. If that were to happen, do the Hawks keep Niemi? Yes he was a stud this season, but does one good season force the Hawks to keep him when they could be well compensated for him?

All in all it is going to be an interesting summer. Feel bad for Buff though who didn't find out about the trade until the Producer from the Afternoon Saloon called him and asked his thoughts about the trade and got him to go on the air.

[Fyrebyrd]

Ya restricted free agency is a weird thing. If Niemi does accept an offer sheet from elsewhere and the Blackhawks refuse to match it (They have the right to match it or refuse it), Niemi would go to that team and they would give up pick compensations based on the amount of money the player signs for.

Here is the odd thing in all of this though. Normally right after a trade is announced, it goes to the league office for it to be approved, and that usually happens pretty quickly. However, it has yet to be accepted by the league. Dunno what thats about.

EDIT: Here are the compensations for each dollar amount from 2009....may rise incrementally since the NHL just raised the Salary Cap

$863,156 or less
-None

$863,156 - $1,307,812
-3rd round pick

$1,307,812 - $2,615,625
-2nd round pick

$2,615,623 - $3,923,437
-1st and 3rd round pick

$3,923,437 - $5,231,249
-1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick

$5,231,249 - $6,539,062
-Two 1st's, one 2nd, one 3rd round pick

$6,539,062 or more
-Four 1st round picks

[Fyrebyrd]

If anyone is curious. Niemi made 850k last year on his last year of his contract. And he is due a raise. My expectation is that Niemi will resign with Chicago for $3.5-4.0mm. For another team to pick him off they have to offer higher than that. The RFA compensations are there to deter other teams from doing this without giving a lot. And I think Chicago would match an offer sheet up until about 5 million at which point I don't think it is worth it for another team to give up two 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd.

[Future Walk-On]

I don't know anything about hockey....but is Nabokov a free agent too?

Is he expensive? Efgeni Nabokov is my favorite name to say in sports.

[BradleyBrave]

This was a great move for the Hawks on several fronts. First, they maximized the value of a perennially underachieving Dustin Bfyuglien. Aside from his stellar playoff performance, he had usually not worked real hard in the offseason, and been as inconsistent performance-wise as you can be. Sopel and Eager are easily replaceable as well. Second, in return they got two draft picks, a veteran to replace departing John Madden, and a prospect. Lastly, they have gained the flexibility to re-sign Antti Niemi to a long term deal, as well as retain the services of more important players like Patrick Sharp, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Andrew Ladd.

Buff was a fan favorite, no doubt. It's too bad he was traded. But his value will never be higher than it is now, and the Hawks are making moves to give them the best shot at an extended Stanley Cup run.

[Da Coach]

I don't know anything about hockey....but is Nabokov a free agent too?

Is he expensive? Efgeni Nabokov is my favorite name to say in sports.

Interesting you asked about Evgeni Nabokov. He is one of the top goalies in the NHL, but he is a free agent after this past season, and the San Jose Sharks have decided not to pursue him because of salary cap concerns. He will probably be asking for a new contract in the $5+ million per year range.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=532414

[Da Coach]

Just announced- the Norris Trophy (for the NHL's best defenseman) goes to the Blackhawks' Duncan Keith!

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=532553

Live blog from the NHL awards program in Las Vegas-

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=532373

[Fyrebyrd]

I don't know anything about hockey....but is Nabokov a free agent too?

Is he expensive? Efgeni Nabokov is my favorite name to say in sports.

If the Blackhawks were smart, and I believe their owner and GM are, they should absolutely not go for Nabokov. Here's why.

Nabokov is 35, wants 5 or 6+ million and has never won a Stanley Cup

Niemi is 26, can pry be signed long term (I'm betting 17-20m for 5 years), and has won a Stanley Cup.

[Da Coach]

I am certain they see it that way. They will retain Niemi, and pass on Nabokov. His salary would negate what they accomplished with today's trade.

[BradleyBrave]

I am certain they see it that way. They will retain Niemi, and pass on Nabokov. His salary would negate what they accomplished with today's trade.

Correct. Also on the goalie front - Unless they can pull of a miracle trade, they'll be sending Cristobal Huet and his obscenely large contract to Rockford, thus clearing him from counting against the salary cap.

[Fyrebyrd]

Just a couple quick hits.

The trade finally went through early this morning. The reason for the delay was this trade would put the Thrashers over the 50 contract limit (Most teams are way under this, but many players in the AHL and in juniors can count to this as well if they have signed entrl level NHL deals). The Thrashers needed to dump one player and they did so in a late trade with San Jose (nobody real notable).

On another note. The Blackhawks just traded away winger Colin Frasier for the 6th round draft pick from the Oilers.