Chicago Blackhawks: Trade deadline possibilities Part III
1. Ryan Dzingel
Everyone loves when a local kid comes in and plays for a hometown team. Every kid that grows up in Illinois and plays hockey wants to grow up and put on the red jersey with the Chief Blackhawk logo on it. It is a premier team in the NHL with a very healthy fan base.
If we’re talking Illinois-born players, there are not many better than Ottawa Senators forward Ryan Dzingel. He is having a very good season on a very bad team and appears to be on the trade block. He is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Dzingel was a healthy scratch in Ottawa’s most recent game vs the New Jersey Devils. This wasn’t for performance, believe me. It was precautionary because they plan to trade him to acquire assets.
He is having a magnificent season for the Senators. He has 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points in 57 games. This is in the shadow of Matt Duchene and Mark Stone as well as playing in a losing environment. Ottawa declared for rebuild when they traded away their captain and superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks.
Dzingel would be a great addition to any team that is in it at the deadline. He is pretty used to sitting in the backseat to some superstar forwards so he would fit right in with the Chicago Blackhawks. Riding along with superstars like Toews and Kane would be perfect for Dzingel who is the perfect man to provide some consistent depth scoring on any team looking to win.
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What would the Blackhawks need to make a move for the local boy? Probably not as much as you would think. Ottawa is concentrated on trading their two superstars in Stone and Duchene. Dzingel is a very good player but he isn’t quite those guys. Those two might earn them a first round pick or two.
If a team made an elite offer like a first round pick or a top prospect for Dzingel, Ottawa would obviously take it up. But the Blackhawks might be able to make an offer for him that isn’t selling the farm, like they would have to for some other guys on the block.
A second round pick and mid level prospect would probably get this deal done. Let’s say a second round pick and one of Evan Barratt or Nicolas Beaudin for Ryan Dzingel. It probably wouldn’t be too hard to convince the local boy to sign an extension with his hometown team so this would be a rather smart trade for Chicago to acquire a good player who’s ready to contribute right now.