‘It’s 2 or 3 good pieces away’
If some Hawks have a say, they would opt to build the roster — not blow it up — before the trade deadline
Trade rumors certainly have loomed over all the Blackhawks, but they couldn’t hit closer to home for Patrick Kane.
Kane currently plays on a line with Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalík, two potential candidates to be moved by the March 21 deadline.
“You always hear certain names around trade rumors,” Kane said. “But both those guys have been really effective players for us since they’ve been here. There’s obviously things you want to focus on as a line and take it game by game because you don’t know who’s going to be here in a month or so.
“But yeah, just enjoy it while we can.”
That sentiment could apply to a good portion of the roster.
The Hawks find themselves in an interesting position. They are likely weeks, if not days, away from naming a new general manager, but that doesn’t preclude interim GM Kyle Davidson — who’s in the running — from making a move if the right offer were to come along.
“Kyle has been around the team for a while and knows the team, but they’re interviewing a bunch of candidates, so it could go either way,” Strome said. “Whoever the new GM is, or if it’s Kyle, it depends on what they want as a team or what they see fit because they’re going to have the majority of the say and report right to (CEO Danny Wirtz) . ... Whatever the new GM wants to do.”
Added Kane: “I guess you just know it’s going to be interesting the way everything goes down with naming a new GM and what steps they’re going to want to take and what direction they’re going to want to go.
“It’ll be interesting to see when it happens.”
Kirby Dach, who’ll be a restricted free agent, said about the specter of trades, “That’s not up to any of our players. As a group,
we’ve just got to keep playing hard for each other and support each other.
“We’re a family in there. Whatever happens, happens.”
It’s probably a foregone conclusion that the 17-23-7 Hawks are in business to shop several names, including restricted free agents Strome and Kubalík, unrestricted free agent Calvin de Haan and goalie Marc-André Fleury, who has a modified no-trade clause with a 10-team no-trade list.
Fourth-liner and penalty killer Ryan Carpenter and defenseman and power-play contributor Erik Gustafsson will be UFAs.
Trading some veterans might be unavoidable or even prudent, but some of the Hawks aren’t receptive to the idea of a wholesale fire sale.
“I think there is a pretty good
core of young players in place when you look at (Alex) DeBrincat and (Seth) Jones and Dach and (Brandon) Hagel,” Kane said. “There are some young guys that are coming up and being effective.”
Coach Derek King can be pragmatic — he’s in the role on an interim basis himself — but he sees no reason not to develop the current group, even if he’s not around to see it through.
“I don’t think it’s drastic pieces,” King said. “We do have some good core pieces here. You’re only a couple, whether it’s two or three good pieces, away.
“They do have some good potential guys coming up. Right now, (defenseman Jakub) Galvas and Slavs (center Josiah Slavin), they’re feeling their way through.
“You see the line of Cat and
Dacher and Hagel, those guys are the future. Hopefully Kaner and Tazer can play till they’re in their 50s, but that’s just not possible. They’re eventually going to retire and these are the next generation of kids, and they’re good.”
It’s obvious, however, that the Hawks as currently constructed aren’t going to make deep playoff runs, so they must acknowledge some improvements must be made.
“We’re probably definitely more than a few pieces away from being a Stanley Cup contender,” Kane said. “But this team isn’t as bad as we’ve showed this year. We could be a playoff team.
“Like we always say, you never know what can happen once you get into playoffs . ... We’ve played well against some top teams.”
Kane cited three close losses last month to the Colorado Avalanche, the Western Conference leaders at 33-8-4, as an example.
King said the Hawks could use a top-two-line center. But the Hawks have been stockpiling centers.
“We have guys that are showing they can do it,” King said. “It’s more just being consistent about it.”
Referring to the situation at forward, King added, “I think you could use a little grit at the bottom end. Again, there’s young guys coming in here that can do it, and eventually hopefully (they) will be able to do it on a more consistent basis.
“But that’s not my decision. I’m just here to make sure the structure’s there and hopefully they can continue to get better.”