Chicago moves Skinner ahead of Entry Draft

NHL vs EHE success is not always an exact science. Case in point: one Jeffrey Skinner.

The 28-year old winger came to Chicago via Colorado last season, played 47 games, and ran a 22-18-40 stat line - plus 3-3-6 playoff line in the Hawks' four-game sweep at the hands of Dallas.

The 28-year old NHL version put up the worst season of his career. With just 14 goals and 23 points in a Covid-shortened 59 games last year, the easy money is on Skinner falling hard in his abilities in the EHE for the 2020-21 campaign.

Still, the case was compelling for GM Thomas Gidlow. Skinner is due just over $5.6 million per season for the next three years. That's not a bad price even with a probable down year coming soon.

But what seems to have won out was depth - with James van Riemsdyk in tow for next season, the Blackhawks had seven top-six pro forwards. And now they have a true top-six/bottom-six distinction after moving Skinner to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Chicago acquired Drake Caggiula, prospect Dillon Hamaliuk, and the 57th overall pick (Nashville's second-rounder) in the upcoming EHE Entry Draft for Skinner. The move creates some nice competitive opportunities for a slew of players come training camp for bottom-six roles, and gives the Hawks their highest draft pick this close to an Entry Draft since 2017, Gidlow's first offseason as GM.

"It wasn't something we were pushing, but when a strong offer came in from (Blue Jackets GM) Andrew (Payeur) and we discussed it, it made a lot of sense for us," said Gidlow, who parted with Tyson Barrie and Nick Holden to acquire Skinner (along with Brett Kulak) last year. "An RFA-controlled asset like Caggiula gives us added depth in the middle/bottom six, and we now have a shot at a possibly high impact player for down the road in the (draft) pick. Hamaliuk is a good-looking prospect with size and solid speed as well."

With Nick Bonino and Ryan Reaves considered locks for the club next season, that leaves Caggiula, Jayce Hawryluk, Jujhar Khaira, Ryan Carpenter, Curtis Lazar, and possibly John Quenneville to battle for four everyday lineup spots. While it may not be the star-studded depth of certain divisional rivals, it gives Chicago the ability to focus the top six to scoring goals and the bottom six to providing defense, energy, and physicality.

"We've had more success it seems when we basically have two groups in the forward ranks," said head coach Rick Tocchet. Generally teams don't specifically separate out their top six and bottom six. And it's not like guys can't jump in. But when each line has an identity and a specific purpose, we play a lot better and more consistent."

"This gives us the ability to get back to that type of style."

HAWK NOTES

With RFA qualifying coming up shortly, Chicago has 15 RFA's to get signed....T.J. Oshie, who was franchise-tagged last season, is expected to sign a new four-year deal soon. The range is generally considered to be around $26-$29 million over the term, and will likely be aided cap-hit wise by a substantial signing bonus...With expansion looming next offseason, the Hawks currently have roughly 15 players eligible for protection. Present thought is Chicago will end up employing the 'eight skaters and a goaltender' option for protection, though Gidlow stated today that "no option is truly off the table this far out."

Chip Whitley
Blackhawks Beat Reporter