Chicago Blackhawks reportedly deemed to land New York Rangers star
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A newly released report indicates that the Chicago Blackhawks could look to pick up some veteran talent from the New York Rangers with a Mika Zibanejad trade.
The Chicago Blackhawks once again missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and young star forward Connor Bedard made no secret that he was getting fed up with the constant losing that he's experienced so far in his young NHL career.
Could the Blackhawks be on the verge of getting him some veteran talent to play with? Arthur Staple of The Athletic has proposed a deal in which the Blackhawks pick up Swedish star forward Mika Zibanejad from the New York Rangers in what would be an interesting transaction.
Rob Couch of The Hockey News breaks down the proposed deal:
This would see the Rangers trade Mika Zibanejad (20% retained) to the Blackhawks along with a second-round pick in exchange for future considerations. So, it would be a cap dump as Zibanejad will be the fourth highest paid player on the team at $8.5 million AAV next season and there are a number of contracts that are jumping up in price, including the ones that aren't yet signed.
Even though Zibanejad has been a long-time productive top-6 center, he didn't have a great season for the Rangers and the team brought in J.T. Miller who can now play center in the top-6 with Vincent Trocheck.
It's true that Zibanejad didn't have his best year with the Rangers, who also missed the playoffs after winning the President's Trophy last year and advancing to the Eastern Conference Final.
He finished with 62 points (20G, 42A) in all 82 games, and his considerable contract of an AAV (average annual value) of $8.5 million. The above proposed deal would see the Rangers retain 20% of that amount after sending him to the Blackhawks.
Is this a deal that Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson should consider if Rangers GM Chris Drury would agree to it?
| POLL | ||
MAI 21 | 377 ANSWERS Chicago Blackhawks reportedly deemed to land New York Rangers star Should the Blackhawks trade for Mika Zibanejad? | ||
| Yes | 197 | 52.3 % |
| No | 180 | 47.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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