The Dallas Stars signed defenseman Johnny Oduya to a two-year contract Wednesday, the team announced. Financial terms of the contract were not released, but ESPN.com reported it's worth $7.5 million. Oduya, 33, who spent the past four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, had two goals and 10 points in 76 regular-season games last season, and had five assists in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He has won the Stanley Cup twice with the Blackhawks in the past three seasons.
Well, I guess The Stars just got a little better defensively.
No long eulogy for Johnny O as I'm still wrung out from the lengthy Sharp farewell piece. During his stay in Chicago Oduya proved to be a very capable 4D, very responsible, decent on breakouts and an excellent shot-blocker. His only glaring weakness was his tendency to lose ground when closing gaps on rushing opponents on his left side but, hey, nobody's perfect. With the Dallas deal, two years at $3.75 per, Oduya earns a modest raise, something The Hawks could not possibly manage at this time.
With that, unless Stan Bowman succeeds in ridding The Hawks of Bickell and/or Versteeg (ha!), it appears that they'll kick off the 2015-16 season with these D:
After obsessively checking Twitter, sports sites and The Hawks' own website, oh, about every 20 minutes for the last two weeks, doesn't it just figure that Patrick Sharp's inevitable trade occurred on a travel weekend when I had no internet access? Of course it does. I learned that he had been traded to Dallas, no more, no less, via text on Saturday morning by a friend kind enough to respect the 3-hour time difference between hometown Thunder Bay and my new home away from home in Coquitlam. I cannot say I was shocked, exactly, but it was still jarring news. The head knew it was going to happen, eventually, but the heart irrationally hoped some way to avoid it could be found and it was still oddly startling when the news actually came. Sad and helpless more correctly described my feelings at that time. When I returned home on Sunday evening and began reading the breakdowns of the trade I could add angry and let down to that short list of emotions. More about that, later.
I watched Patrick Sharp toil as an underage junior with The Thunder Bay Flyers back in 1998, playing alongside his older brother, Chris. Chris Sharp was a skilled player, always a leader on whatever team he was on and was absolutely consistent in his assertion that his younger brother was the better player of the two and, in retrospect, he was spot on. In two seasons with the Thunder Bay Tier-2 club Patrick put up impressive numbers on a declining Flyers team, ranking second in team scoring as a rookie and leading the team in assists and points in his second year. At that level, Sharp seemed crazy-fast, had alarmingly good puck control and was incredibly well balanced, his wide, powerful skating stance making him instantly recognizable even when he wasn't soaring past less fleet opponents. I was pleased and proud when Sharpie was drafted by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2001 draft; even though I couldn't stand Philadelphia (still can't) I was excited that a guy I had so enjoyed watching in my home town rink had a legitimate shot to make the NHL.
Three partial seasons with the then-competitive Flyers failed to showcase Sharp's true worth, as he was nearly always buried on the fourth line with such offensive juggernauts as Todd Fedoruk and Donald Brashear. A full season in the AHL during the lockout year of 2004-05 served notice that Sharpie was The Real Deal, as he was a major contributor on The Philadelphia Phantoms Calder Cup winning team. He probably should have won playoff MVP that year after leading The Phantoms in playoff scoring and scoring both goals in the final 2-1 victory to clinch the AHL championship.
Salvation came in the form of The Hawks when they traded for Sharp midway through the 2005-06 season in a barely noticed deal involving spare parts and draft picks. Sharpie joined a Hawks team that was squarely in the midst of a Dark Age, having missed the playoffs six out the previous seven seasons and boasting such talent as Kyle Calder, Tyler Arnason and Mark Bell. We all know how the rest went; smart drafting, a few adroit trades and having the patience to stick to the program and develop the good, young players they had obtained...a dynasty was made.
Flash forward to this season. The piper needs to be paid and, through a combination of priorities, performance and doggedly persistent rumours of Sharp-fuelled disharmony in The Hawks' dressing room, Chicago's Most Handsome Athlete found himself the subject of trade talk. Everything about Sharp "needing" to be traded due to the ever-looming specter of the salary cap made perfect sense, but just because something's true it doesn't mean you have to like it. The Hawks renewed their vows with Toews, Kane and Keith, were already deeply committed to Marian Hossa and finally paid Corey Crawford what he's worth, so something had to give, there. Sharp's 2014-15 numbers would not have helped, either, as he had a tough time finding the net and endured another injury, mid-season. I suspect that the mean rumours floating around were a factor, also, and we saw glimpses of how much that background noise was bugging him during game broadcast interviews, as well as some intel learned through Thunder Bay sources. After the Saad trade there seemed to be a small ray of light, a slim chance that The Hawks could find a way to keep #10 in the fold but, ultimately, The Hawks' inability to move Bickell and Versteeg along made it absolutely necessary for Sharp's salary to go away.
(This assumes that Sharp didn't ask for a trade. One could easily see Sharp feeling less invested in Chicago after a season of mean-mouthing and little credit for a great career there. Reports that he and his family were building a home in Connecticut had me convinced that he had requested a move to the NYC area.)
As for the trade itself, what was actually gained by this bit of maneuvering? From my perspective, bearing in mind that I'm still smarting a bit over the finality of it all, not a lot. The entire notion that Sharpie had to be dispatched was was to shed salary, right? Well, that didn't really happen, now, did it. The Hawks received a combined salary hit of $4.2 mil for Daley & Garbutt, netting a mere $1.7 mil worth of relief. Wow. All that and Trevor Daley, too? I realize that Hawks GM Stan Bowman had it all to do where Sharp was concerned; everyone knew that Stan would be frantically shopping Bickell and Versteeg and, when that inevitably came to nothing, Stan would be forced to flog Sharpie and his daunting salary for basically whatever he could get. Talk about being over the barrel in the most public of ways. There is no doubt in my mind that Stan would have tried to get Sharp a spot on one of those NYC-area clubs mentioned above but, aside from New Jersey, those teams all have their own salary cap issues. Anyone that Stan talked to could essentially name their price, take it or leave it, and I expect Stan chose to Leave It quite a few times before settling on the Dallas deal.
Oh well, Sharpie came to Chicago in a legendary steal of a trade so maybe this trade is the universe evening things out again.
No less irritating and twice as puzzling, though, is the addition of Stephen Johns in the deal. Wasn't he supposed to nail down the 5D or 6D position with The Hawks in a couple of months? I was really looking forward to seeing the kid with all the size & savvy playing in The Show. I guess I still might, probably on Dallas' top pair in a year or two, though.
On that tack, though,let's review, just for a sec, the parade of Hawks' top defensive prospects that have exited the Chicago and Rockford areas recently: Johns, Klas Dahlbeck, Nick Leddy, Adam Clendening and Ryan Stanton. Did I miss anyone? Now, what did The Hawks get in exchange for those top prospects? Just off the top of my head, all that remains is the two guys that are coming from Dallas and Ville Pokka, who may just have been elevated to top of the list for the 6D role if Oduya is not re-signed. That's some fancy wheeling and dealing there, Stan.
So what did we get? Not a lot. First there's Ryan Garbutt, who is basically a more score-y Andrew Desjardins. Probably serviceable and will perhaps even play with Desjardins on the fourth line. Still, I'm glad Dallas picked up half of his salary, 'cos $1.8 mil sounds like a lot of dosh for 8G 17A, although he potted 17G the year before so you never know. Actually, we probably do know, as Garbutt will be 30 when the season begins, so the best of Ryan Garbutt may well be behind us all, by now.
Then there's Trevor Daley who is, granted, coming off a "career year" in which he maxed out on goals, assists and points as well as standing-around-while-his-goaltender-flails and getting-caught-up-ice-and-not-able-to-catch-up-'cos-he's-so-dreadfully-slow (gotta love those advanced metrics, ha ha). Daley will be 33 in October which isn't the worst part of this tale, since history has shown us that offensive-type defensemen often persevere long after their teammates that give a shit about checking and maintaining gaps and just plain old playing defense are done, son. The real problem with Daley is that he's so slow, so disinterested in preventing goals against and, worst of all, this "style" of play was not only tolerated but quite possibly encouraged during his long spell in Dallas. But hey, maybe I'm wrong on this and maybe Daley's offense first and defense...when he feels like it style will actually work with a safety net like Hjalmarsson alongside. Maybe, but I doubt it.
In summary, The Hawks received two aging, marginal players in exchange for a highly skilled aging player, who had what may have just been an off year, and that happens to earn too much money. And as far as the salary cap issues are concerned, The Hawks went from being slightly over the cap ceiling to having a mere $1.3 mil cap space, so someone still has to be jettisoned as there are still three Hawks from last year yet to be signed, 'cos $1.3 mil won't even get Kruger re-signed, never mind Oduya and Nordstrom (if there's a chance they'll keep him).
I haven't checked to see when Dallas next visits Chicago but I fully expect a gushy, sentimental tribute to Sharp when he returns in white & green. I hope he scores a friggin' hat trick, too.
Blackhawks defenceman Trevor Van Riemsdyk has received a contract extension keeping him in red & black until the end of the 2017-18 season. The bonus is that it is reportedly at an alarmingly cap-friendly $825K per year. This is great value as TVR is one of the only young players who Coach Quenneville appears to trust with any significant ice time. Now all he has to do is remain healthy, as TVR underwent surgeries for two separate injuries this season.
Rumour Mill
From letsgohawks.net: According to veteran reporter Marc De Foy of Montreal Journal, Bowman has been very busy talking to his former assistant Marc Bergevin of the Canadiens. De Foy mentions that Bowman had talked to the Habs general manager about both Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg.
That would certainly go a long way toward solving some problems, as long as a big salary doesn't come back to Chicago in the bargain.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have agreed to terms with forward Andrew Desjardins on a two-year contract, which runs through the end of the 2016-17 National Hockey League season. Desjardins,
28, tallied a career-high five goals in 69 regular-season games between
the San Jose Sharks and Blackhawks and four points (1G, 3A) in 21
postseason games on the way to his first Stanley Cup championship. He
also scored a goal in his postseason debut for Chicago in Game 3 of the
First Round against the Nashville Predators. Desjardins was acquired via
trade on March 2, 2015.
Financial details are said to be two years at $800 a pop, which is downright cap-friendly and, in my view, a good value. Desjardins hit a career high 5 goals this season, but that's not where his true value lies. Along with a few hard-earned and timely assists during the playoffs, Desjardins found success as an agitator and space creator playing with Marcus Kruger and Andrew Shaw. Together, they were a consistent, reliable trio that may not have logged big minutes but they were hard minutes, usually spent hounding their opponents' best line. If and when Kruger is re-upped The Hawks fourth (or maybe third?) line is done and dusted, assuming Coach Q can resist trying to fix something that ain't broke. His hands are questionable and his shot unexceptional, but he's got a great motor, decent positional instincts and can kill penalties, in a pinch. I suspect he's Good In The Room, as well, as his teammates appear to like and value him even though he came to Chicago at the expense of the popular Ben Smith. Saad signs 6-year, $36mil Contract with Columbus
Okay, that wasn't gonna happen in Chicago, so let's move on. Saad's post-trade chatter suggests that he just left the whole thing in his agent's hands which is either disingenuous or stupid, both of which reflect poorly on the lad. At least the other players' agents now know not to play chicken with Stan Bowman, I guess.
Oduya Lurks in Weeds
It looks as if Johnny Oduya's camp is holding back on talks with other teams while they see how much cap space The Hawks may have available. Oduya earned $3.3mil on his just-expired contract and, on a lesser team, could stand to earn $5mil+, thanks to some hilariously overpaid d-men around the league (I'm looking at you Wideman). His superior-in-every-way partner, Nik Hjalmarsson earns a mere $4.1mil so we cannot expect The Hawks to go north of $3.x for Oduya. We shall wait and see.
Other Signings Artem Anisimov, acquired in the Saad deal, extended to 2021 (I think) at a hit of $3.3mil. Too soon? I honestly know nothing about the guy except that he's large and has a rep for versatility. You know he's going to be lining up with better quality wingers than he's ever played with before, so I'm cautiously optimistic on this one. If it fails to pan out at least his salary is reasonable enough that he should be easy to move along. Viktor Tikhonov, F, failed to set The KHL alight since his 61-game audition with Phoenix in 2008-09. At the NHL level this lad is likely 3rd or 4th line material, at best, but his size may be part of a contingency plan in case Bickell is moved along this summer. Michael Leighton, G, returns as the presumed #1 guy in Rockford and back-up-to-our-back-up in Chicago. Why not? Cameron Schilling and Michael Liambas, D, help fill out the ranks in Rockford and may be useful if Pokka or Johns or whoever begins the season in Chicago.
Departures Antoine Vermette, back to Phoenix for some reason. I guess that stuff about wanting to remain was to plump up his deal with the 'Yotes? Brad Richards, to Detroit, continuing his prolonged farewell tour. I predict he ends up in Los Angeles before this is over.
