A Low Down, Wild, and Crazy Week

Up until the beginning of February, the story of the Chicago Blackhawks this season was very much one of steady progress. Rolling along in a battle amongst the top teams in the Gretzky Conference, the Hawks seemed poised to ride their momentum into the postseason, and see if their success could carry them to a destiny seemingly impossible just a season ago.

And then this week happened.

Chicago mostly sat by while other clubs made big moves. Colorado made several to bolster their already solid lineup. Tampa Bay, the New York Islanders, and others followed suit to a lesser degree. Even the Blackhawks got in on the action somewhat, acquiring Jordan Staal from the defending Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators in a 5-player deal.

But other than that and the early-season move to acquire Justin Faulk and Jonathan Marchesssault in the Rasmus Ristolainen trade with Washington, the Hawks didn’t play much of the flashy “let’s make a deal” game, opting for smaller moves to bring in Colton Sissons and Brayden McNabb, and moving out Chad Ruhwedel, Luca Sbisa, and Adam Lowry.

And then this week happened.

On Sunday, the league offices announced that Mike Fisher had declared his intention to return to the EHE. It was a stunning revelation, particularly to the Islanders for whom Fisher had played for since the dawn of the league. The 37-year young veteran would be an unrestricted free agent, seeking one more shot at an elusive championship. He made his intentions known – he wanted to play for a contender.

And Chicago was too happy to oblige.

To do this, Blackhawks GM Thomas Gidlow felt he needed to back up the brinks truck to ensure Fisher would sign in the Second City. After some deliberative talks among a handful of teams, it was clear that Fisher would command a high salary. But after two days of discussions, Gidlow effectively ended all negotiations.

They offered Mike Fisher the maximum contract allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.

Once this was done (or likely beforehand since they knew the ramifications), Gidlow immediately set out to ensure the signing would be codified by the league. Fisher’s contract would put Chicago’s salary cap total well above the maximum $67.3 million mark.

It couldn’t have been easy. Reilly Smith, who has struggled mightily in the EHE this season with a 5-8-13 scoring line in 42 games, while making $4 million in the final year of his contract, seemed the likeliest candidate for Gidlow to move. But Smith, with an amazing performance thus far in the alternate universe known as the NHL, is going to be a force next season, destined for better results and will be counted on to vastly improve on a disappointing 2017-18 campaign to date.

But Gidlow worked the phones. Not satisfied with the offers for Smith alone, he decided to dangle the possibility of adding Faulk into the discussions. Faulk, who was tapped to replace Ristolainen and put in an admirable 10-9-19 line (with five PPG’s and four game winners) in 33 games with Chicago, instantly made the offers more palatable. But would the Blackhawks really part with him?

In the end, it reportedly came down to a few teams with different, intriguing offers for Smith and Faulk. According to sources, Chicago was offered a young sniping scorer still developing in the EHE minor leagues, along with a depth pro defenseman and a late pick, for the pair. One team reportedly offered a former 30-goal scorer who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, along with a bonafide top-4 stay at home defenseman and a prospect for the duo.

But it was a team in their own division that offered the most promising deal. The Dallas Stars, nine points shy of Chicago as of this article’s posting in the Central Division, was reportedly not eager to make another move – particularly if it helped a division rival. Talks continued, however, and eventually, a deal was struck.

Charlie Coyle, a 25-year old forward who has amassed a 16-14-30 line in 40 games with the Stars, was the asset the Blackhawks could not walk away from. The deal saw the Hawks acquire Coyle, UFA-to-be defenseman (and Stars assistant captain) Kevin Klein and Calgary’s fourth round pick in the 2018 Entry Draft, along with re-acquiring 21-year old prospect Radovan Bondra.

It cost them a defenseman who was slated to be a part of the club for many years in Faulk, who took quickly to Chicago’s defensive strategy. However, with a solid amount of top-end talent available in offseason free agency this year and plenty of cap space, the Blackhawks figure to fill that hole with a big name rearguard. And Coyle will remain, poised to offer the Hawks a possible three-center rotation that already includes Jonathan Toews and Jordan Staal.

That’s down the road. This deal was as much about now as it was about the future. Coyle is a big improvement on the wing and can play the middle as needed for now. Fisher, once he suits up for Chicago, figures to anchor a “third line” with Jussi Jokinen and Marchessault, while Coyle likely slides on the right of Staal and Chris Kreider. Both of those lines roll out after the top line of Toews, Zach Parise, and Cam Atkinson, who have combined for an incredible 60 goals and 80 assists in 42 games this season.

Klein figures to slide into the third defensive pairing with Derek Forbort, while Paul Martin takes over in Faulk’s previous spot alongside Matt Niskanen. With Jake Muzzin and Brent Seabrook in the top pairing, the backend isn’t wanting for much – at least for this season. And McNabb is still available when needed as well.

All in all, it’s been a crazy week in an amazing season. The Blackhawks, winners of seven straight, return to Las Vegas on Friday night to do battle with the Golden Knights. Chicago has won seven in a row, eight of their last ten, and sits two points ahead of the Avalanche for first place in the Central.

Just imagine what next week might bring.

Chip Whitley
Chicago Blackhawks Beat Reporter