Blackhawks' Trade Analysis: Someone Who Should Be On Chicago's Radar

The Chicago Blackhawks enter March as the fourth seed in the Western Conference, a thought most fans would have laughed at just 24 months ago.

But that doesn't mean everything's golden in Chicago. There are still issues with beating physical veteran teams like San Jose and Detroit, and they still need a second center.

With Patrick Sharpe currently on injured reserve, it's been up to the kids to pick up the offensive load. Captain Jonathan Toews has been as hot as anyone in the league the last two weeks, and Patrick Kane has broken out of another prolonged scoring slump to provide some offense as well.

That being said, the Hawks still need a second center. Rookie Kris Versteeg has been adequate, but nothing special at center, and coach Joel Quenneville has openly coveted someone to consistently win faceoffs.

Enter Dallas, and Mike Ribeiro.

Dallas has been rumored to be shopping some of their more expensive veterans, and with Brad Richards out with an injury it would appear Ribeiro might bring the best value coming back.

What would Ribeiro mean to the Blackhawks? Ribeiro, 29, has 56 points entering Monday's action, which would tie him with Patrick Kane for the Blackhawks' team lead.

The tricky part of a trade for Ribeiro would be his salary; he's set to make $5 million annually through the 2012-13 season. The Blackhawks are openly trying to create cap space in an effort to clear room to keep young stars like Kane, Toews, and potentially Martin Havlat in town long term. This might be a sticking point in trading for Ribeiro.

Unless....

The Blackhawks will have Nikolai Khabibulin's $6.75 million come off the books after this season. This would help absorb the cost of Ribeiro. But there are still a lot of Hawks that need to have their contracts looked at.

Some of the players that are restricted free agents this coming summer include Versteeg, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Dave Bolland, Cam Barker, and James Wisniewski. Havlat and Matt Walker are unrestricted free agents, and Havlat is currently making $6 million.

One thought would be to send Brent Sopel, Dustin Byfuglien, and a draft pick to Dallas for Ribeiro. Sopel is making $2 million through 2010-11, while Byfuglien is due $3 million over the same time frame.

The money would break even at $5 million going both directions, but the Stars would have a shorter obligation with Byfuglien and Sopel's contracts.