NHL Trade Rumors: Imagining the Best Destinations for Blackhawks' Patrick Sharp

Patrick Sharp is a fine player, with a fine track record. He's a three-time Stanley Cup winner and a four-time 30-goal scorer.

He is also 33 years old, with two years left on a contract that has a $5.9 million cap hit. The Chicago Blackhawks need to trade him, because the 14 players currently under contract for next season puts them at $64 million and the NHL's new salary cap, announced Tuesday, is $71.4 million. 

Well, they don't have to trade him. If general manager Stan Bowman could somehow convince young restricted free agents Marcus Kruger and Brandon Saad to take short money for this coming season and/or deal away a Bryan Bickell ($4 million cap hit) and/or Kris Versteeg ($2.2 million), then it's conceivable Sharp could still be a Blackhawk moving forward 

But moving Sharp and his huge contract would make everything easier. And besides, his role changed on this year's Hawks team. A top-six forward the last several years of his career, Sharp found himself often on the third line with Antoine Vermette and Teuvo Teravainen. His production slipped to 43 points in 68 games, with a minus-eight, and he scored on seven percent of his 230 shots on goal.

The time to move Sharp is now, too, because trying to get much of anything for him on the last year of an expiring contract, when he'd then be 34 years old, would be much more difficult. With two years left, his acquiring team would get some cost certainty for two years. An expensive one, yes, but at least a team would know they're getting two years of a proven, star player.

B.D. Gallof of The Fourth Period (h/t the Edmonton Journal's Bruce McCurdy) reported that the Blackhawks would like to get a top-six forward on an entry-level contract, a first-round pick and an A-list prospect. But if the rumor is true, well...good luck with that, Mr. Bowman. If Chicago could get any one of those three things, it would be a good trade by Bowman. To want three big assets for a 33-year-old guy arguably on the decline with a big contract? 

Hey, I want 25 grand, a lifetime pass to Disneyland and a plane to Mexico for my beat-up Chevy pickup, but it doesn't mean I'm going to get it.

The following slide show lists our top five picks for the most likely destinations for Sharp and why. The criteria for selection depends on a team's current payroll and most immediate needs for a player like him. How one of them parts with to get the left winger with the rock-star looks? We probably will know by the end of this weekend's NHL draft, if not sooner.

Washington Capitals

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Why it could work

Despite some big tickets on the payroll, including Alex Ovechkin and his $9.5 million cap hit, the Caps have ample room under the new cap—nearly $21 million, per Hockeybuzz.com.

Washington has several pending unrestricted free agents, including Mike Green, Joel Ward and Eric Fehr, and young goalie Braden Holtby is due a next contract for next season. But presuming Washington lets some of their UFAs walk away, there would be room to acquire Sharp's big ticket.

Another big stick up front would help Barry Trotz's team take more pressure off Ovechkin. Sharp's pedigree as a winner presumably would be a welcome addition to a team that has never quite had the final pieces for a Stanley Cup.

Potential pitfalls

Coach Trotz is a real stickler for the defensive side of the game, and Sharp's skills away from the puck have come under question before. Trotz also favors a physical game, but Sharp is a finesse player, not a grinder.

A player going to a new conference is always something of a worry that first year, too. It takes time to get used to new players, new goalies and a new city. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

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Why it could work

According to Chicago Sun-Times, Blackhawks beat writer Mark Lazerus, Pittsburgh is one of the most interested teams in Sharp.

Despite the huge, long-term cap hits of Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million) and Evgeni Malkin ($9.5 million), the Penguins currently have nearly $14 million of cap space. Crosby needs a better left wing than some of the ones he played with last season (Daniel Winnik in the playoffs just didn't cut it), and Sharp would look mighty attractive next to No. 87.

Potential pitfalls

The Penguins' biggest needs are probably still on defense. They need a younger, faster D corps, so why take on Sharp's big contract? Pittsburgh has the $14 million in cap space, but only 13 players are under contract for next season. Adding Sharp would use up 40 percent of it alone. 

Chicago can't take any big contracts back in trade, so the Pens can't offload much dead salary to make room for Sharp. 

Florida Panthers

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Why it could work

Panthers GM Dale Tallon was the man responsible for bringing Sharp to the Blackhawks early in the 2005-06 season, heisting him out of Philadelphia, along with Eric Meloche, for Matt Ellison and a third-round pick.

Tallon hasn't been shy in trying to get some of his former Blackhawks to come to South Florida, acquiring or signing guys such as Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg and Dave Bolland in recent years. Why not bring Sharp back too?

Florida has nearly $20 million in cap space and only a handful of unsigned players, so taking on Sharp's salary wouldn't be a problem, and he'd be a good gate attraction for a team that definitely could use more of them. Florida's average attendance of 11,265 ranked dead last in 2014-15, according to ESPN.com.

Potential pitfalls

Florida already has enough old guys up front. This is a team that has Jaromir Jagr under contract for next season, for instance. 

This is not a team that's just one piece away from winning a Cup. This team needs to keep building through the draft, not giving away draft picks for older, expensive players. 

And how motivated a player would Sharp be, going from a Cup champion to playing in obscurity in Sunrise to a half-empty building? 

Nashville Predators

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Why it could work

The Predators could be losing quite a bit of offense soon, with the possible departures of unrestricted free agents Mike Ribeiro, Matt Cullen and Mike Santorelli. This, for a team that still only finished sixth in the 14-team Western Conference with 232 goals.

So the Preds are going to need to replace some of those probable lost points. A guy like Patrick Sharp could do it. The Preds have more than $30 million in cap space too, although restricted free agents such as Colin Wilson and Craig Smith still need to be signed, and Filip Forsberg's contract is up after this coming season.

Sharp would figure to get a top-six role under coach Peter Laviolette. He and James Neal would make for a nice 1-2 punch at left wing.

Potential pitfalls

While the Preds had a tremendous regular season, achieving more points in the Central Division than the Blackhawks for instance, their first-round loss to Chicago showed they're not as close to a Stanley Cup as many might have thought. 

Nashville shouldn't give away valuable young assets to a division rival either, particularly one that has won the Stanley Cup three of the last six years. 

New York Islanders

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Why it could work

The Isles are nearly $17 million under the cap and could use a nice, big-name guy to show off to fans in their move to Brooklyn's Barclays Center for this season.

Sharp would look great on a line with either centers John Tavares or Josh Bailey. The Islanders added quality defense early last year with the acquisitions of Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy and now need to add more offense. New York's dismal offensive production in the first round against Washington was proof of that.

Potential pitfalls

Again, the question of just how close this team is to competing for a Stanley Cup makes a trade for Sharp worrisome. Chicago's wishes in return for Sharp are unrealistic, but GM Garth Snow has been known to deal away draft picks for big-name guys (a first-round pick, a second-round pick and Matt Moulson to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek in 2013).

That didn't work out so well for Snow, so he should be wary of giving up too much for a Patrick Sharp.