Blackhawks: Sitting Mattias Janmark means just one thing

It has been widely reported by the Blackhawks beat today that Mattias Janmark will not be playing in tonight’s game. Stan Bowman and the Blackhawks organization can not risk Janmark getting injured ahead of the trade deadline on Monday.

Mattias Janmark has had stretches of good play this season. He has 19 points in 41 games giving him the fourth-best point total on the roster. Janmark has been one of the Hawks’ top players throughout the majority of the season but put him on a real contender and he falls to the bottom six.

Janmark signed with the Hawks in large part to get an opportunity to prove himself. After a great trip to the Stanley Cup Final with the Dallas Stars, he has now proven that he can also play offensively and take on a bigger role as he did with the Blackhawks.

The news about Janmark being scratched probably means just one thing, that there is another trade looming for the Blackhawks. The Hawks have made two deals the past week involving the Florida Panthers, and I still do not think they are done after Janmark is dealt.

Scott Powers of The Athletic added this about Janmark being scratched:

As expected, a source just said Mattias Janmark has been told he's sitting out today because the Hawks are expecting a trade.

A scout thought a few weeks ago Janmark could fetch a 2nd-rounder. That was when Janmark was pretty hot. He has one point in his last 10 games. We'll see
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) April 10, 2021

A second-rounder for Janmark would be great, but considering he is not as hot as he was a while back, who knows. Janmark adds to any team looking to push for the playoffs, and Bowman needs to do his best to get the best return in a deal. If that means holding onto Janmark for the next day up until a little before the deadline then that is the best move for the team.

With the Blackhawks’ poor play as of late and the team falling slowly in the standings the decision to sit Janmark for an expected trade shouldn’t come as a surprise. This season was not about making the playoffs, it’s about developing the team and getting this group to the next level.

I think there have been a lot of positives this season, and I think this roster still could win some games down the stretch. Trading Janmark would only add to the team’s prospect pool and considering he is a free agent at the end of the season, who knows whether or not he was going to re-sign with the team anyway.

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