Blackhawks Affirming Cup-Favourite Status with All the Right Deadline Moves

There’s still plenty of time for action prior to Monday’s NHL trade deadline, but in the weekend leading up to the transaction freeze, there was a clear winner. The Chicago Blackhawks, winners of three of the last six Stanley Cups, loaded up and established themselves as the favourites to win again.

Some have quailed at the cost. Others may debate the necessity. Both are mistaken.

The entire purpose of asset management is to help teams win championships by ensuring effective use of available resources. With a Stanley Cup within reach, now is not the time to balk at moving a late first-round pick who might pay off in five years in exchange for someone who will immediately help in a major way.

Nor should there be any question as to the necessity. The league’s salary cap forced the ‘Hawks to pare down their roster in the offseason. Despite an impressive campaign, this is not a flawless team; rather, it’s a club that succeeded despite its flaws. General manager Stan Bowman went a long way toward correcting many of them with a strong 48 hours.

Chicago paid a heavy price in the primary move in this sequence, sending away an excellent young forward in Marko Dano and once again sacrificing a first-round draft pick. In return, however, it landed a player who should fit like a glove at left wing on the club’s top line.

It’s not just Andrew Ladd’s significant virtues as a hockey player that make him appealing; it’s also his history. Ladd was there in 2010 when the Blackhawks won it all and knows both the core and head coach Joel Quenneville, all of which should make the post-deadline transition go smoother than it otherwise might.

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"The big thing for us is the familiarity he has with not only our coaching staff but our players," Bowman told the Chicago Tribune's Chris Hine. "He has maintained friendships, and that's important. He's a guy you want to go to war with."

Ladd should slot in next to Jonathan Toews and (when healthy) Marian Hossa. That turns a formidable duo into a great trio, helps fill the void created by this past summer’s loss of Brandon Saad and, at the same time, allows the Blackhawks to bump Andrew Shaw back into a third-line role, which should do wonders to help the club’s rather weak forward depth. The importance of the latter is worth emphasizing, as Chicago had just seven forwards with more than nine points entering the weekend.

Also helping up front was another trade:

Phillip Danault has his good points, but the 2011 first-rounder now has three years of anemic scoring at the pro level on his resume. According to ESPN.com's prospect guru, Corey Pronman, his long-term upside is as a bottom-six forward: 

The second-round pick isn’t until 2018; the realistic NHL time frame for the player selected then is around 2022-23.

In exchange, Chicago added two forwards with double-digit goal totals already this season. That’s the heart of a third line, which can provide secondary scoring, something the Blackhawks haven’t had all season. In line with the ripple effect of the Ladd trade, this move effectively displaces an entire forward trio from the bottom of the roster.

At first glance, the third trade appears to be a rather minor one. Over a long playoff run, however, it might actually prove to be of surprising importance:

This deal involved some byzantine salary-cap maneuvering, with both the Los Angeles Kings and Blackhawks retaining money. In the end, the ‘Hawks took on a small amount of additional cap hit this year and were able to dump Scuderi’s deal next season while retaining half of his contract. On balance, that’s a win for Chicago.

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

The addition of Ehrhoff is a bit of a gamble, but it’s a good one. Only a year ago, Ehrhoff was an effective rearguard for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and while he struggled to adapt to Los Angeles this season, it isn’t ridiculous to think he can rebound to the point where he provides the ‘Hawks with reliable play on the third pairing. That’s more than they got from Kimmo Timonen last season, and it’s more than they were getting from Scuderi.

Additionally, Quenneville has shown a fondness for veterans on the back end, and he’s coaxed unexpectedly good performances out of this exact kind of player.

Overall, the Blackhawks have done a lot to recover from this summer’s salary-cap-inflicted suffering.

Ladd adds boost to the power Toews line, and that might prove decisive in any given playoff series. His addition bumps down Shaw, giving the ‘Hawks depth, and the trade with Montreal reinforced that depth, effectively creating a whole new third line. Finally, Ehrhoff improves the club’s defensive depth in the here-and-now, as well as next year’s salary situation.

Given the history of this coach and this core group of players, the Blackhawks were already one of the top-end contenders for the 2016 Stanley Cup. These further additions make it difficult to consider them as anything other than the favourite.

Statistics courtesy of NHL.com and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com. Salary information via General Fanager.

Jonathan Willis covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter for more of his work.