Chicago Blackhawks Affected By Colorado-Nashville-Ottawa Trade

Even though the Chicago Blackhawks weren’t involved in it, a three-team trade Sunday will have an effect on the Windy City club

The Central Division and NHL were shaken up by a blockbuster three-team trade Sunday between the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators. The Colorado Avalanche finally dealt Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators, and the Senators sent Kyle Turris to Nashville. Colorado received Samuel Girardi, Vladislav Kamenev, Andrew Hammond and Shane Bowers, as well as three draft picks.

The trade shocked everyone. I instantly began to think about how the trade affected the Chicago Blackhawks.  The ’Hawks are currently in desperate need of points and a spark.

Analyzing the takes

The ’Hawks are affected by the Avalanche trade in a positive way. The Avalanche have gone into full rebuild mode. Duchene was the biggest trade asset the Avalanche had to move. They waited until they got the deal they wanted, and now the rebuild is on.

The Avalanche always play the Blackhawks tough, and Duchene was a big part of that. In 32 career games against the ’Hawks, Duchene had 12 goals and 18 assists.

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Duchene is a 20-goal scorer who is no longer in the Central Division. The Avalanche should be much worse this season after this trade. In theory, the ’Hawks should be helped by this trade.

The Predators got Turris in the three-team trade. Turris is a good two-way, second-line center who will help with their depth. The Predators were lacking in center depth after the retirement of Mike Fisher. With Turris in the fold, the Preds can move Nick Bonino to the third line, where he is better suited to play.

Against the Blackhawks, Turris has nine points in nine games.

The Blackhawks will now have to face three quality centers when they square off against the Nashville Predators. This trade hurts the ’Hawks in the short term, but might hurt the Preds in the long term. Turris is due $6 million a year for the next four seasons. The deal kicks in after this season. The money committed to Turris might hinder the Preds in other contracts down the line.

That is the risk general manager David Pollie is taking the in move. He looking to win the Stanley Cup this season and not just make the Final.

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The ’Hawks will not make a move to match the Predators because of their salary cap situation. Stan Bowman might try to tweak the roster at the trade deadline. Now, depending on the Blackhawks’ position in the playoff race, Bowman might be looking to trade for the future.

It will be interesting to see how this deal pans out.