Blackhawks Make Big Moves: Are They Done?

KEY ADDITIONS

This has been quite a busy offseason for the Chicago Blackhawks after signing defenseman Brian Campbell (the best d-man on the market) and goaltender Cristobal Huet.

Campbell is the type of puck moving defenseman that the Blackhawks have desperately needed and Campbell will come in and immediately help the power play.

Huet on the other hand is an unknown; we do not know if Khabibulin will still be with the team so Huet will either be a back up or a starter depending on how the rest of the off season plays out.

It's is not just the big moves that have caught my eye but the slot allocation moves that have perked my interest.

For example, when James Wisnewski went down with and ACL injury this offseason, Dale Tallon went out and got Matt Walker, a hard hitting/scrappy defenseman to replace him in case there defensive prospects are not ready.

But I am sure most Blackhawks fans are really excited to see Campbell on the blue line next season and Huet in the Hawks net.

KEY SUBTRACTIONS

Some of the key losses for the Blackhawks have been Jason Williams and Kevyn Adams, these two were fairly important players for the Blackhawks, when they made it into the line up. That was the problem for these two they were unable to stay healthy, Jason Williams with a sports hernia and Kevyn Adams with an ACL injury.

When these two were healthy they were important parts of the Blackhawks team. The guy that will be most missed will be Adams because he was a great mentor for the young captain Jonathan Toews. Williams will not be missed as much because his production on the power play will probably be matched or surpassed by Brian Campbell.

NOT DONE?

I do however believe the Blackhawks are not done because they need to get under the cap and the likely candidates to get moved are Khabibulin and defenseman Cam Barker.

Khabibulin is entering the final year of his gigantic four-year contract that will pay him $6.75 million this season and Barker is likely to be moved with Khabibulin to sweeten the pot for an NHL team to take on "The Wall's" contract.

Potential places for Khabibulin to land are Los Angeles, Colorado, Tampa Bay, and Ottawa. Los Angeles seems to be the most likely place for Khabibulin to go to because LA needs to get above the cap floor and they need a veteran stop-gap goalie until the arrival for Jonathan Bernier.

A name that I could see headed back the Blackhawks in any deal with the Kings would be Patrick O'Sullivan, who is in somewhat of a contract conflict with the Kings or possibly Alexander Frolov. Just speculation but I would expect that Khabibulin is dealt before the season and not at the trade deadline.

Conclusion

Although the Blackhawks did lose a guy that scored them 36 points in only 43 games (Williams) and a key figure in their locker room (Adams) the Blackhawks seem to be in line to be a much better team next year with the additions of Campbell and Huet.

The Blackhawks might not be done, so buckle up Hawks fans this offseason could get much more interesting.