The Chicago Blackhawks and the hockey world received bad news Wednesday when it was announced that Wednesday.
The NHL announced that there would be no discipline for Petrovic.
Chicago is tied as numberFire’s second-best team according to NHLNumbers.com, and stats are from Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.
Jeff Petry, Defenseman ($3.075 million)
The theme for Chicago at the trade deadline is to identify and add a puck-moving defenseman. Petry is somehow managing a 51.6 Corsi For percentage at even strength on a miserable Edmonton Oilers team. He's also seeing the second fewest amount of zone starts in the offensive zone among Oiler blueliners. Petry is about as good of a "Plan B" on defense as Chicago can get.
Kimmo Timonen, Defenseman ($3.5 million)
It is great to see the long-time Finnish defenseman healthy enough to be headed back to the ice. The 40-year old Timonen has been a consistent offensive defenseman. He has led the Philadelphia Flyers defensemen in Corsi For percentage in 2013-14 (55.1) and is a seasoned power play blueliner. He is what he is on the tail-end of his career, but Chicago needs another player who can push the offense by securing defensive zone exits.
Antoine Vermette, Center ($3.75 million)
The veteran center has been attached to the Blackhawks in trade rumors multiple times over the past few seasons and would help shore up Chicago down the middle, especially in the defensive zone and in the faceoff circle. Vermette has seen 34.5% of his zone starts in his own zone and is the leading force on the Arizona Coyotes penalty kill. He is winning 56.1% of the faceoffs that he is taking.
There is a chance that these trades could include an unwanted contract leaving the Blackhawks. Bryan Bickell is making a cool $4 million and has failed to use his size to dictate play and contribute more consistently in the offensive zone. Andrew Shaw has seen his playing time fluctuate because of his penchant for taking bad penalties. The former 20-goal scorer has yet to crack double digits this season. Shaw is making $1.5 million playing bottom-six forward minutes.
Chicago is a top five possession team, and Bickell and Shaw are both over 50 percent in Corsi For at even strength. That said the Blackhawks are starved for scoring depth, and the loss of Kane accentuates the emphasis for more scoring throughout the lineup. The team’s puck-possession style is a system that a new addition could adapt to.
Any way you slice it, the Chicago Blackhawks are going to miss Patrick Kane. He is one of the most dynamic players in the NHL today and one of a small group that demands the attention of all five opponents when they skate against him. Chicago knows how to turn on ‘the switch’ when the games are tighter and the Stanley Cup is in sight. That time has to start now if the Blackhawks, who have an 8.88 percent chance to win it all, want to realize their fullest potential.