NEWSLETTER
Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed the nice spring weather we got yesterday. What a lovely lazy Sunday it was. I spent the afternoon in my garage with the overhead door open, watching TV with the kids outside riding their bikes—what a nice change of pace. We’re just one week away from the NHL trade deadline next Monday afternoon, and we’ve some an update (that’s not much of an update) on the Marc-André Fleury situation from Pierre LeBrun.
• TSN’s senior hockey insider Pierre LeBrun Tweeted on Sunday afternoon that Marc-André Fleury’s agent Allan Walsh told him that there had been great communication between Fleury and Kyle Davidson. Still, as of Sunday, there were no updates to report on the future of Fleury in Chicago.
Eight days to the deadline.
Will Marc-Andre Fleury decide to move or not?
From his agent Allan Walsh today:
“There has been great communication between Marc-Andre Fleury and Kyle Davidson. We’ve all talked but there are, as of today, no updates to report on his situation.”— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 13, 2022
• LeBrun later tweeted that he thinks that the asking price for Fleury would be a first-round draft pick or a first-round level prospect and maybe a mid-round pick. LeBrun believes that the mid-round pick’s inclusion would be a sweetener for the Blackhawks retaining salary in a deal. The Blackhawks could retain up to 50 percent of Fleury’s $7 million cap hit, making it just a $3.5 million cap hit for a team acquiring his services.
What I think an asking price would look like from Chicago in a Fleury trade: 1st RD pick (or 1st RD level prospect) and maybe a mid-round pick. The second pick likely depends on whether the Hawks need to take back a contract and how bad that contract is.
But key is: 1st RD pick.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 14, 2022
• Again, this isn’t new information, more so just a confirmation of what we already believed to be Fleury’s asking price. So, as of this morning, with one week to go before the trade deadline, we know this; there has been communication between Fleury and Davidson, no decision has been made yet, and if he is traded, the ask would be a first-rounder to start.
• Outside of Fleury, there’s nothing else to report on the Blackhawks trade front as of this morning. I discussed a few names that we’re likely to see moved last week:
Rumor Roundup: Latest on Marc-André Fleury and Blackhawks Most Likely to be Tradedhttps://t.co/l67oREa940 pic.twitter.com/o9G4N8iuJn
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 11, 2022
• I also wrote about one Blackhawks player who shouldn’t be traded last week:
Dylan Strome has been on a heater … do the #Blackhawks cash in on that value or hope he can keep it up? For my money, it's the latter.
Here's why: https://t.co/l2jSxvmBeK
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) March 9, 2022
• Dylan Strome scored another goal in the Blackhawks’ win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, his seventh goal in his last six games. After ending the month of February in a five-point mini-drought, Strome has been red-hot in the first half of March, racking up 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in six games with a staggeringly high 35 percent shooting percentage.
• After Connor Murphy was drilled into the boards early in the first period in Ottawa on Saturday night, the Blackhawks looked sluggish and needed an injection of energy. They got it from Jonathan Toews.
Jonathan Toews Threw Down, Got Popped, Then Scored … TWICEhttps://t.co/74EwKjAfNL pic.twitter.com/3zhliAkZdx
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 13, 2022
• Toews took a beating, scored two goals in the first four minutes of the second period, and the Blackhawks went on to beat the Senators 6-3 on Saturday night.
• Seth Jones (who almost had a goal on Saturday night if not for a Dylan Strome deflection) has struggled to score goals this season. Jones’ last goal came on December 2. It’s been “frustrating the hell out of” him. Ben Pope of the Sun-Times broke down the frustrating scoring drought:
Seth Jones — at least at even strength — is shooting with his normal frequency, with career-best accuracy and career second-best efficiency.
They’re just not going in for him right now.
“It’s just frustrating the hell out of me.”
New story: https://t.co/Wutnrb0wIH
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 13, 2022
• The Blackhawks have scored 35 goals in their last eight games, a significant uptick in scoring for a team that has struggled offensively for much of the year. Ben Pope broke down who the scoring is coming from, and to no surprise, the top line is leading the charge with 18 of the 35 goals.
Blackhawks top scorers over their past 8 games, during which they've scored 35 goals):
Kane – 19 points (6+13)
DeBrincat – 13 pts (5+8)
Strome – 11 pts (7+4)
Hagel – 9 pts (6+3)
Seth Jones – 8 pts (0+8)
Caleb Jones – 6 pts (2+4)
Toews – 5 pts (3+2)
Carpenter – 4 pts (2+2)— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 13, 2022
• The Blackhawks are off tonight, so I’ll be putting together the Weekly Preview tomorrow rather than today while I help Luis out with the NFL free agency madness we hope to see today.
What Does a Successful Offseason Look Like For You? And Other Bears Bulletshttps://t.co/LW7KSOUMXF pic.twitter.com/Fwwhas0NGu
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) March 14, 2022
• But, the Bulls are in action tonight!
Zach LaVine Remains Questionable Heading Into Tonight’s Game at Sacramentohttps://t.co/iHUzFkDLLB
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 14, 2022
