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Blackhawks on the Trade Block? U.S. and Canadian men ousted, women’s gold medal final and more Blackhawks balls

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By on Trade block

The Blackhawks do not have a permanent general manager who leads the team. They have a coach who probably won’t be the head coach again next season. They have no real hockey aspirations in the playoffs. They have a slew of players who could and should be traded before the NHL trade deadline on March 21, just over a month away.

This is the dumbest of dumb seasons.

• Just understand the turnover amount of this Blackhawks roster could see at the end of the day on March 21…

• Of this list, only Hagel seems to be the most deserving of not being traded, at least to me. Now moving Brett Connolly seems impossible because of his contract, but if there is a chance to trade him as part of a package, Chicago must do it because he has no future with the club.

• Yesterday, we learned that the Vegas Golden Knights could explore the possibility of reuniting with Marc-André Fleury, former Vézina goaltender. With starter Robin Lehner dealing with a possible long-term injury, Vegas needs a goaltender who can handle the load of a playoff run.

• Of course, a few hours later, Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon put those rumors to rest…

• Look, Marc Bergevin was adamant the Montreal Canadiens wouldn’t trade PK Subban in 2016, then, presto, he traded him. I’m not saying McCrimmon is lying, but who believes everything they hear from NHL general managers this time of year?

• While names like Fleury’s have been trade rumored for months and the prospect of him, Dylan Strome or Dominik Kubalík being moved is acceptable (as long as the trade is worth it for Chicago ), a name that many would not want to see moved is Patrick Kane. He is a mainstay of the modern Blackhawks dynasty era and a sports icon in Chicago. It also looks like he’s inquiring with management about the direction the new GM will want to give the Blackhawks for the rest of the season and beyond.

• Several things can be true at the same time. Kane wants to play his entire career in Chicago and Kane probably has no interest in playing on a team that will rebuild for ‘X’ years. Kane is the best player the Blackhawks have on their roster, and Kane would get the biggest return in a blockbuster trade for the Blackhawks.

• If Kane really wants to play the rest of his career in Chicago, Stanley Cup or not, fine. He earned that right to make that kind of career decision. But, just know that while it will be sentimental to see him play his entire career with the Blackhawks, if they continue to stink loudly, he would be seen as someone who ultimately retained the team.

• Men’s Olympic Hockey Update: While you were probably sleeping, USA lost to Slovakia in a shootout. With just one minute left in regulation time and leading 2-1, the Slovak side found Marek Hrivik’s equalizer.

• The match would end scoreless in extra time and we would head to the shootout. It was the same place Team USA lost in the 2018 tournament, also in a shootout.

• In what many have called the worst shot on goal by a US team in an Olympics-like setting, the USA went 0-5 while the Slovak team found the winner in a penalty shootout. dam of former Boston Bruin Peter Cehlarik.

• 0 for 10.

• This will be the third Olympic Games in a row for the USA men’s team to come away empty-handed after losing the bronze medal game in 2014 and being rebounded in the quarter-finals in consecutive years. Team USA’s last men’s Olympic medal remains silver from 2010, and their last gold medal remains team “Miracle on Ice” from 1980.

• The last time Slovaks won an Olympic medal was in 1992, when the nation was Czechoslovakia. The last time Slovakia played for a medal was in 2010, when they lost the bronze medal game to Finland. On the face of it, this victory (NHL players or not) means a lot to the country.

• I hope it will end with a medal for them. Just based on this video alone.

• Without the United States, Canadians have taken to social media to learn about the state of hockey in the United States. Well, I hope they had fun. Early this morning, Canada was shut out by Sweden in the quarter-finals with former Blackhawk Lucas Wallmark’s game-winning goal.

• For the first time since the 2006 Olympics, the United States and Canada will not come away with a medal in men’s hockey.

• Every team has at least one former Blackhawk or IceHogs player on the roster, so at least there’s that guarantee someone will walk away with a gold medal.

• Speaking of gold medals, the US and Canadian women are playing in the women’s gold medal game tonight!

• Damn, I wonder if women’s hockey has a place in the Olympics now?

• Team USA is looking to defend its gold medal from 2018, while Canada is looking to reclaim gold for the fifth time in Olympic history.

• Happy birthday to former Blackhawk Tuomo Ruutu!

• In other NHL news last night, Alex Ovechkin hit the 30-goal mark for the 16th time in his career. Another 30-goal season will tie Ovechkin for the all-time record for most 30-goal campaigns in an NHL career.

• Ovechkin is also the only player to have reached the 30-goal mark 16 times with a team.

• More history last night as Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scored his 500th career goal!

• If not for the injuries that derailed some of his best seasons, Crosby could have hit the 500 goal mark much earlier and would likely be close to 600 by then.

• In IceHogs news, they won their third straight game last night with a 3-2 shootout win over the Iowa Wild. Trailing 2-1 late in the third period, defender Ian Mitchell scored the equalizer!

• Later in the shootout, Mitchell found the winning goal on his stick.

• Rockford are 20-16-4 this season with the win. They’re fourth in the Central Division in points percentage (.550), just behind the third-place Milwaukee Admirals (.553), Milwaukee having played seven more games than Rockford. And how about that? The IceHogs and Admirals face off tonight in Milwaukee.

• If you’re not watching what DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls are doing this season, now would be a great time to start paying more attention to what’s shaping up to be a legitimate MVP-caliber season.

• I love the return of the Bulls.

• That will suffice for today. I hope you are all enjoying your Wednesday!

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