Blackhawks: Signing Nino Niederreiter

This article is more a shot in the dark, and is something I dream about instead of it being a possible reality. Nino Niederreiter has been one of my favorite players since his time with the Portland Winterhawks during the 2009-10 season. Me being a 7 year old kid, I was obviously attracted to the name being unique, but as I grew, I watched him grow into a really strong NHL player who could pretty much do it all. Score, hit, penalty kill, win battles, everything. Niederreiter was someone I've always loved watching play, so the Blackhawks making a move to sign him would be super cool not only for me, but the fans would have an immediate fan favorite on their hands.

With 732 games of NHL experience under his belt at the age of 29 and 368 points to show for it in those games, Nino isn't going to be a cheap pickup by any means. Signing a guy like this usually means you're really close to going all in for a Stanley Cup. As we all know, the Blackhawks are no where near that. But, imagine a guy like this, who can put up 50 points a season while being an elite penalty killer and fantastic guy in the room, paired up with Patrick Kane.

At 6'2, 218 pounds, Nino doesn't lack size by any means. He doesn't lack speed, and he has an incredibly fast, powerful shot. When he was picked at 5th overall by the Islanders back in 2011, some questioned his abilities with the puck on his stick, and wondered if he was anything more than a bottom 6 forward, but that hasn't been the case. Nino is looked at as a power forward, but also viewed as "clutch," meaning he is one of the first guys a coach looks too when the team needs an important goal.

Can you imagine a line of:

Reichel-Kane-Niederreiter