All Quiet on the Western Front
Hawks trade Beauvillier for a 5th Rnd pick. My thoughts on the quiet trade deadline.
The trade deadline has came and passed and to no ones surprise, it was very quiet for the Hawks. Wait. You mean to tell me there are people that are actually upset at Davidson? Let's dig into this.
At the start of the season, the Hawks had Corey Perry, Taylor Raddysh, Tyler Johnson, Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, and Petr Mrazek as players who might fetch something at the deadline. That something would have been a 3rd round pick at best from any one of them if things had panned out in the Hawks favor. They didn't. Perry decided to do something that pissed off Kyle Davidson (by the way, I'm sure the grievance deadline has passed already). Raddysh has performed well below expectations to the point where he has no value on the market. Tyler Johnson likewise hasn't produced up to value and he missed some games due to an injury. Foligno won over the hearts of the Blackhawks front office.
Dickinson and Mrazek were two players that I would've liked to see traded. However, Davidson resigned them and overpaid them to help keep the salary above the floor. We also do need someone in net who can stop pucks while we have young defensemen learning their game.
Colin Blackwell started to be included in trade speculation because of his play since returning from his injury. Would a 5th round pick be nice for him? Sure. But let's be real, teams aren't going to be exactly chomping at the bits to get Blackwell.
The Anthony Beauvillier trade was made after Preds GM Barry Trotz initiated talks. The Hawks broke even with a 5th round pick for a player they picked up to plug a bleeding (literally) roster.
With all of those players, you aren't left with much.
What about that cap space?
I would've liked to see Davidson weaponize his cap space. There's plenty of room to take on a bad contract for a deep draft pick. However, the Hawks have two spots remaining to retain salary and the market wasn't looking too good for the Hawks. Why limit yourself at the deadline when the return is most likely a 5th-6th round pick?
All in all, it's nothing to get worked up about.
What you should get worked up about is the Sharks decimating what's left of their roster. They're looking like solid contenders for the toilet bowl.