Chicago Blackhawks Mailbag: Goaltending, Trade Rumors and More

Is Delia the future? — Paul, @mrpchvz

If you’re the Chicago Blackhawks, you’d better hope so.

Corey Crawford has been skating recently, implying that playing is certainly more on his mind than retirement is at this point. He’s already come back from injury once and returned to his old form, I don’t see why he can’t do it again. In that situation, he’d certainly be your no. 1 moving forward.

That said, the “future” you’re talking about is cloudy when it comes to the Blackhawks’ goaltending. Crawford only has this year and next on his $6 million contract. He’s 34 years old, so if Delia’s time isn’t already here it certainly looks to be coming soon.

Delia has been great this season despite some questionable defensive efforts from the Blackhawks. He’s been so good that ‘Hawks fans like you and me are hoping this kid could actually be the Blackhawks no. 1 goalie moving forward.

Personally, I think the raw talent is there. Hopefully his play this season can translate to a full year. Similar to Colliton, though, we’re working with a small sample size which makes it hard to predict the future.

If Keith/Seabrook were to waive their NMCs, which team(s) would they have the biggest impact with? — Nicole (@NDorigan36)

@Siddhagpuri1 had a similar question, so let’s get down to it.

Reports have come out that both Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have denied being asked about waiving their trade clause. What makes this interesting, and semi-awkward, is what Elliotte Friedman said about this. Friedman was the one who reported that both had been approached about waiving them, however they denied it.

Friedman’s response shines an interesting light on the situation:

"“I’m really uncomfortable being on the opposite side of Brent Seabrook, but here is all the information I can provide into his situation: At some point, there was a conversation between the player, the organization and his agent about the future. (Team and agent declined to comment.) According to an individual who reached out on Monday, the discrepancy might be timing. The discussion was during the darkest days of Chicago’s season, probably around six weeks ago. Now that the team is making a charge at the playoffs, things could be different — and it should be noted multiple sources indicate the club’s feelings on Seabrook’s positive impact have not changed. What is true is the Blackhawks have checked the market to see what opportunities might be out there, they currently do not have permission to trade him, and Seabrook loves Chicago. If, somewhere in all of that, something I said was in error, that is totally my fault.”"

It seems as if Keith or Seabrook being moved is a long shot. In Seabrook’s case, I personally believe he’s on far too poor a contract in order to be traded to a contender. If he was traded, I imagine it would be in the offseason to a team trying to reach the cap floor. Having said that, I don’t see Seabrook waiving his clause anytime soon.

However, if Keith for example was to waive his NMC, obviously an inexperienced team trying to make a playoffs would be a good fit. The New York Islanders are one team that comes to mind, however I have no idea what they’d give up in return.

In my opinion, Kane should be the only untouchable player this trade deadline. With that said, if they did get approached for Toews, what would it take to get the deal done? —  Jason J, (Facebook)

This is an interesting question, but after the season Jonathan Toews is having this year I don’t think the Blackhawks are willing to trade him.

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He has already surpassed his goal totals from the past two seasons and is on pace to set a career high in goals. The Chicago Blackhawks’ window for championship contention is still slim, but it’s still open. If they want to continue to compete I think Toews needs to be on this roster.

If I had to put money on it, Toews will retire in a Blackhawks sweater.