Two Months, One Deal

Trading has become synonymous with Chicago GM Thomas Gidlow. In his fourth season as Blackhawks general manager, Gidlow has made dozens of deals.

But since January 1st, he's only made one.

Sensing an unbalance in his defensive unit, Gidlow shipped out promising defenseman Dylan DeMelo and prospect Kyle Olson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Mike Matheson and prospect Robin Salo.

Chicago was 7-5-2 at the time of the deal. They've gone 13-5-2 since. Matheson has contributed six points and is a plus-5 in those 20 games as a Hawk. DeMelo had four assists and was a minus-3 in 12 games in Chicago (he has six points and is minus-4 in 21 games with the Penguins).

The trade seems to have been a win for Chicago so far. Not to mention that Salo has been on fire in the Swedish Elite League, with 29 points in 44 games, and is plus-17 playing professional hockey at just 22 years of age.

"No sense in rocking the apple cart much right now," quipped Gidlow. "We're in a heated race as usual in the Central, and we're in the thick of it."

Indeed, the Blackhawks find themselves in the unusual position they have become accustomed to. With 44 points in 34 games, Chicago sits fourth overall in the EHE - but third in the Central Division. The Hawks are five points back of division and EHE-leading Dallas, and four points behind Colorado (both teams have a game in hand as well).

That position puts Chicago in cruise control when it comes to their roster. The only appreciable moves they've made recently are benching the underperforming Eric Staal and inserting the feisty Curtis Lazar into the starting lineup.

Staal has just 11 points in 30 games, leading to speculation that Gidlow might be interested in a trade. But at a $9 million salary for this and next season, there's no doubt been a shortage of interest.

"Eric has had a tough year, there's no denying it," said Blackhawks head coach Rick Tocchet. "He's getting himself in the right frame of mind that we need him in right now."

In other words, other than getting Staal back into the lineup at some point, it's steady as she goes for Chicago.

"I think trading in general has been lighter this year because teams are pretty much where they figure they'll be," said Gidlow. "It'll pick up past mid-season, but right now there isn't a big onus to do something.

"Maybe that will change. But we're not pushing it on our end. We're pretty happy with where we are right now."

Chip Whitley
Blackhawks Beat Reporter