3 Defensemen The Blackhawks Should Consider Trading
It was certainly a good sign this past season to see how active Kyle Davidson was when it came to trades. In doing so, he kept his word to the fans of saying this process was going to be a rebuild. But even though Davidson has been active in that sense, there is still so much that could be done to kickstart this rebuild. A good place to start would be hearing offers/making offers for pretty much every defensemen not named Seth Jones. Obviously they won't be able to trade away all of them, but here are three defensemen that they should really consider moving this offseason.
1) Caleb Jones
As awesome of an idea it is to have a "dynamic brother duo" on the Blackhawks, it simply just is never going to be the case with Caleb and Seth Jones. Certainly not anytime soon. Sure he made some strides this season, but none that has anyone thinking he can be a top defensemen option for the Blackhawks going forward. On the other hand, he has only been in Chicago one season, so who knows how bad Davidson and the rest of the front office want to see a second.
To put it blunt, Erik Gustafsson became known for frustrating the Blackhawks fan base throughout this last season. Probably safe to speak for all fans when saying that we definitely had our face palm moments with Gus this season that just had us wondering "what is he doing?". There were just so many things, big and little, that he would do over and over during the season. Terrible defensive positioning, getting bullied in front of the net, it was always something with Gus. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, the rest of the teams front office saw his play as well. So if there are going to be any suitors, expect a very dull offer.
Out of all three options, this one seems to be the most likely. For starters, he was rumored to be on the move close to the deadline earlier this year. Most Blackhawks were actually pretty surprised that he wasn't dealt at the deadline. Especially considering they were able to move Ryan Carpenter for a fifth round. Now Calvin de Haan isn't the best defensemen by any stretch, but he's for sure worth a fifth round pick, maybe even a fourth you could argue. Just seems hard to believe that not a single team has offered that. Or could be that they have, and for whatever the Blackhawks have decided to hold on to de Haan for now.
As much as trading one of these guys could be helpful, let's be very clear. It will not be a trade like the Brandon Hagel trade where the Blackhawks get a ton in return. These guys would net a return similar to the Ryan Carpenter trade to Calgary. Now yes, those may not be the most exciting trades to us fans. But those kinds of trades in a rebuild are just as important as the "blockbuster" trades. Making multiple trades like this allows you to methodically build something instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket. Want to see an offseason like that? Go look at what Stan Bowman did going into this season. He put all his eggs in the Jones and Fleury basket and it got us here. So for those who say these little moves won't get you anywhere quick, they would be right. But on the other hand, the fall isn't so hard compared to some moves that don't play out.
