3 Just for Fun Mock Trade Proposals For The March 3rd Trade Deadline

With the trade deadline just over a week away, there are plenty of new and interesting rumors being thrown around regarding the futures of many teams and players. Although there may be some truth to a few of them, they are still just rumors.

This is not to be taken too seriously as if it is known whether both teams would accept the trade or not, but rather just a fun idea to try and come up with some possible trade deadline moves. Let's be honest, as Blackhawks fans, we never have any clue what to expect when it comes to trades anymore.

Mock Trade 1:

Edmonton receives: Sam Lafferty

Chicago receives: Edmonton's 2023 second round pick

Sam Lafferty has not only been a fantastic high-energy forward since coming to Chicago, but also an excellent penalty killer as well. He has accumulated four shorthanded goals which has him tied with Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith for the league lead. Edmonton's penalty kill is currently tied with the LA Kings for 25th in the league at a 74.6% success rate. They could really use some help in that department and Kyle Davidson is asking for a second round pick for Lafferty per Frank Seravalli, so the trade could work out.

Mock Trade 2:

Dallas receives: Andreas Athanasiou (50% salary retained)

Chicago receives: Anton Khudobin, 2024 2nd round pick, and a 2025 4th round pick

The Dallas Stars have been leading the Western Conference almost all season and should be buying big at the deadline. They have reportedly been looking for one more scoring forward. With a powerplay that ranks 12th in the league at 22.9%, adding a fast goal scorer on the wing like Athanasiou would be smart. It would likely cost them a 2nd round pick to acquire Athanasiou alone with salary retention, but add a 4th round pick to dump Khudobin's contract and this makes a fair deal that both teams should look at on deadline day.

Mock Trade 3:

Los Angeles receives: Jason Dickinson

Chicago receives: Cal Petersen, a 2023 1st round pick, and a 2024 3rd round pick

Perhaps the least likely of these trades, the Kings receive Dickinson to help with their 25th ranked penalty kill. This is modeled after the recent Nikita Zaitsev trade. If the team received a 2nd round pick and a 4th round pick to take on Zaitsev's contract of 4.5mil aav for 2 years, they may be able to receive a 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick for taking on Petersen's 5mil aav 3 year contract and giving up Dickinson. This also helps the team by acquiring a second goalie to share starts with Mrazek next year assuming Stalock either retires or is not re-signed. Stauber and Soderblom have been too good to keep in the NHL. Because of their age, they should be kept in the AHL longer to make sure their development is not rushed and ruined.

Mock Trade 4:

Carolina receives: Patrick Kane (50% salary retained with a contract extension)

Chicago receives: 2023 and 2024 conditional 1st round picks (lottery protected), Jack Drury, Vasili Ponomarev, and Jake Gardiner.

The blockbuster trade we have all been waiting for finally happens. Clearly the package will not be this big for Kane unless a contract extension is attached and Chicago takes on Jake Gardiner's contract. That being said, this deal goes down to the wire and Carolina is the team that outbids the others. Seeing what was given up for O'Reilly and Horvat, this should be a fair deal. Their teams received a first round pick, an NHL caliber player, and a prospect when there was no guarantee that either player would re-sign at the time of the trade and there was no bad contract going back the other way.

One could argue that these mock trades become increasingly unrealistic, but as stated in the beginning, they are all just in good fun. Maybe similar trades will be made, or maybe these are all just wishful thoughts from a Blackhawks fan. It will definitely be interesting to see what trades go down between now and the March 3rd deadline.