Chicago Blackhawks Trade Rumors- Moving Nick Leddy Today.

Jun 28, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy (8) during the 2013 Stanley Cup championship celebration at Grant Park. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Leddy already has two things going against him  heading into the turbulent waters that is the trade market before the NHL draft.  First off he was in the dog house of Joel Quenneville for the Stanley Cup finals only playing 2:55 in one game and seeing very limited minutes throughout the Finals series.

Secondly, Stan Bowman gave him the kiss of death with they we will match whatever offer we receive for Leddy comment  just like we did for Niklas Hjalmarsson after the 2010 season when the Hammer was a restricted free agent. It’s the K.O.D. because why would Bowman just go out there a put a huge target on Leddy and sucker teams into putting a bigger contract on him than expected just to unnecessarily drive up the price tag for the Blackhawks on Leddy.

That being said Leddy is still young and progressing as an NHL defenseman which is why he did find the doghouse in the very late stages of the season because his defensive skills are still developing.  His offensive skills on the other hand are great a combination of outstanding speed a good shot and a nose when to pinch.  It was noted on almost every powerplay by a lot of people on Twitter that Leddy should have been on point instead of Duncan Keith.

If the Hawks are going to move Leddy it’s going to be today and it’s going to be a huge move not just some minor move to move up two spots move.  The way I see Leddy moving today is if the Hawks were able to move up to acquire a pick high enough to select Darnell Nurse in the top 5-10 of the draft.

Nurse is of course the newphew of Chicago born Donovan McNabb but he’s projected to be a shut down blue liner once he fills out his 6 foot 4 inch 185LB frame.  Nurse should be a dominant defenseman with some offensive skills to boot which is the flip side of Leddy who is still working on his defense.  I’m sure there other prospects that the Hawks like to at the top half of the draft, but if Leddy goes a top defensive prospect would be the reward for such a big trade.

PROBABILITY FACTOR – The probability that Leddy gets traded today 18%  not only would Bowman get a great prospect out of the deal he would be saving a ton of cash (over 2 million) to help sign other key free agents like Bryan Bickell, The other side of the coin is that Leddy has been in the organization since 2011, and has been improving each season and it would be foolish to trade him now when he’s about to enter the prime of his career.

What do you think? Is there any chance the Blackhawks and Stan Bowman move Leddy today?

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