NBC on Yahoo SportsHow the Blackhawks will attempt to replace Patrick Kane
MIAMI – The bad news became official on Wednesday night: Patrick Kane could be out for up to 12 weeks after having successful surgery on a fractured left clavicle.
The Blackhawks placed Kane on long-term injured reserve on Wednesday afternoon, when they headed to Florida for back-to-back games against the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
So what do the Blackhawks do now? The team that liked what its roster a few weeks ago, when its only lengthy was Trevor van Riemsdyk, now has to re-evaluate its situation. And with Kane on LTIR the Blackhawks free up about $5 million worth salary-cap space, which it looks like they’ll now need heading into Monday’s trade deadline.
The Blackhawks already looked like they could use a defenseman. Johnny Oduya is out a few weeks with his own upper-body injury, and while the Blackhawks have quantity remaining – they have seven healthy defensemen – they need to bolster quality heading into the postseason. You can’t count on van Riemsdyk to pick up where he left off prior to his injury.
And now the Blackhawks need some help at forward, too. They’ve gotten through forward injuries already this season, from Patrick Sharp’s knee to Kris Versteeg’s lower-body and left-hand injuries. But now they’re minus their top scorer who not only collected a league-best 64 points by the time he was hurt, but a player who always commands opponents’ attention on the ice.
No one player, no Rockford call-up – Teuvo Teravainen was that call-up on Wednesday afternoon – is going to fill that void. The Blackhawks need to fill it by committee.
They also need to fill it via a trade-deadline deal. Arizona Coyotes center Antoine Vermette would be a great fit, giving the Blackhawks much-needed size and restoring some depth. Jaromir Jagr obviously isn’t the youngest potential acquisition out there but he still has enough game to help the Blackhawks. Jagr has expressed frustration at his waning minutes in New Jersey.
[WATCH: Analyzing Patrick Kane's clavicle injury]
The Blackhawks now have enough salary-cap room to swing a deal, and the cap doesn’t count in the postseason. Now, here’s the issue. The Blackhawks aren’t going to be the only group vying for some of these trade-deadline prizes. We’re already seeing that. Welcome to the everyone-gets-a-point era, where so many more teams are either in the postseason or right on the verge of making it.
There’s one other thing: the Blackhawks are no longer coming from a position of strength. If they still envision a long playoff run, they’re a heck of a lot more needy in the personnel department now. Yes, Chicago is obviously a destination in a lot of hockey players’ minds. But those general managers looking to unload coveted players aren't concerned about that. They could up the antes and the Blackhawks have to be careful how much they’re willing to give up at their time of need. There’s a fine line between a bold move and an overboard one.
The players they now have could never get a bigger wake-up call: those who were already playing well need to bring a little more and those who weren’t need to bring a lot more. Even all that may not be enough to ensure a long postseason.
The Blackhawks have some decisions, and some deals, to make.
