Donnie & Dhali: Ben Pope on with Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal on what the Chicago Blackhawks could do at that trade deadline.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Dhaliwal: “Ben, the rebuild continues in Chicago. You guys are in 31st place. How is this trade deadline, do you think they’re gonna approach it?
They just signed two veterans who would have had a lot of interest, (Nick) Foligno and (Jason) Dickinson. What do you see them doing at the deadline, Blackhawks?
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Pope: “I think it’s gonna be a really quiet deadline for the Blackhawks. A lot different than the past two years since Kyle Davidson took over as permanent GM.
As you mentioned, Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson both re-signed for two year contracts and that really just leaves Peter Mrazek as the only pending free agent with much significant value. And I think the odds are that he probably gets re-signed too (re-signed on Wednesday for two-years). Arvid Söderblom, who is a rookie this year, they kind of seen as potentially a guy to take over the number one job has really struggled and Drew Commesso who is a top prospect just arrived in the AHL this year. so he’s probably not going to be NHL ready next year.
So I think they see Mrazek as a guy who has played well this season. Who is happy in Chicago. Who gets along with everyone is a pretty logical choice that just keep around for the next year or two until they start to transition out of this rebuild.
And beyond him, I mean, Tyler Johnson, maybe a guy who could get a little interest for maybe a fourth-round pick or something like that. But considering the way they’ve struggled with injuries and just not having a lot of offensive production, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to keep him around if not re-signing, and just at least for the end of the season, just to keep a full lineup out there.
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And beyond that, there’s not really many logical trade candidates, so I wouldn’t be surprised if, if their number of trades was limited to one or zero beyond this point.