If the Chicago Blackhawks are going to make a
run at their fourth Stanley Cup in eight seasons, they will likely
have to do so with the current roster.
General manager Stan Bowman told reporters in San Jose on Tuesday
that he does not anticipate any significant moves at the March 1
trade deadline to bolster the Blackhawks' questionable depth.
"I've said this from the beginning of the year, and I mean it: We
have a different dynamic this year because we have a lot more young
players that have been with our team this year from the beginning,"
Bowman said via the Chicago Sun Times. "Established players, they
don't typically get better as the year goes on.
"They're at their level, and they maintain it. If anything, they
drop off due to injury or fatigue or whatnot. But we've got a
different dynamic at play. We've already seen it with a few of
them. They're better now than they were in October."
It was a curious statement to make for a team with forward depth
issues that needs a suitable left wing to play on the top line with
Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, but it sounded even stranger after
the Hawks dropped their third straight game Tuesday in San Jose,
and have fallen from the top overall spot in the Western Conference
to a tie for third with Anaheim.
The Blackhawks are a mediocre possession team this season, nothing
close to the teams that won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
The reasons for Bowman's stance are likely tied to the Blackhawks'
limited cap space and the fact that so few teams have assumed the
role of seller.
With one month left before the deadline, only Colorado and Arizona
have fallen far enough off the playoff pace to decide the
postseason is a lost cause.
"The way the standings are going, I don't know if teams are going
to fall out of the race," said Bowman, whose team faces the Coyotes
tonight at Gila River Arena. "There may be fewer players than
ever on the market, relative to other years, just because of the
way the standings are."
That means a scarcity of supply and high asking prices. Arizona
will likely be shopping free-agent-to-be center Martin Hanzal and
defenseman Michael Stone, and possibly right wingers Radim Vrbata
and captain Shane Doan, but none of those pieces fit the
Blackhawks' greatest needs.
General manager John Chayka echoed Bowman's statements about a
limited trade market, so the Coyotes are taking a wait-and-see
approach with their most attractive assets, including Doan. He
played his entire 21-season career with the Jets-Coyotes franchise,
but admitted recently that he would consider waiving his no-move
clause if the perfect situation arose for him to chase a Stanley
Cup before he retires.
"I just think it's natural for players of that age to start looking
at the potential of it," Chayka said. "Again, it's not something
that's set in stone or anything like that.
"Shane's a Coyote for now and we're happy to have him, but at the
same time, that might be a selfish view of things. If Shane were to
come to me with a different idea, then I'd have that conversation
with him."
On the ice, left winger Max Domi practiced with the Coyotes on
Wednesday -- the first time that has happened since he broke his
hand in a fight against Calgary on Dec. 8. Domi is considered
day-to-day, but coach Dave Tippett did not rule out him playing
against the Blackhawks.
"That wasn't the plan but we'll see," Tippett said. "We'll see
where it goes."
Coyotes center Brad Richardson (broken right tibia and fibula) is
still out indefinitely. For the Blackhawks, defenseman Michal
Rozsival (lower body) is on injured reserve.
Mike Smith is expected to start in goal for Arizona. Corey Crawford
starts for Chicago.
