Six days away from the NHL draft and nine days away from the start of free agency, the NHL’s offseason madness is tardy but finally imminent.
That means it’s almost Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman’s favorite time of the year.
“We have the draft preparations, which is the big event next week, but there’s also a lot of other things happening,” Bowman said Wednesday. “I’ve been on the phone quite a bit, and you hear some interesting ideas.
“I would say probably 90 percent of what you talk about — more than that — never comes true, but it’s our job to dialogue it with other managers. It’s a fun time to be working. There’s a lot of energy, a lot of excitement.”
The most obvious item on Bowman’s to-do list is make the No. 17 overall pick, one of four picks the Hawks own within the first 81 selections and one of seven picks they own in the draft overall. (The Sun-Times will have extensive coverage previewing the Hawks’ draft scenarios over the coming days.)
But Bowman is quick to note that his “job is to be planning on several different fronts,” and indeed, the Hawks’ most pressing issue is not the No. 17 pick.
It’s Corey Crawford.
The veteran goaltender could become an unrestricted free agent next Friday, Oct. 9. Although the Hawks could still theoretically re-sign him after that date, their best bet is to get a deal ironed out beforehand.
All accounts indicate the two sides — the Hawks and Crawford’s camp, including agent Gilles Lupien — remain significantly divided in their salary demands.
Crawford, in his August end-of-season interview, said guaranteed playing time would be a higher priority to him than salary, and it does sound like he’s willing to take at least some discount on his previous $6 million cap hit.
But while the Hawks eye a salary in the $3.5-$4.0 million range, Crawford seemingly was thinking more in the $4.5-5.5 million range.
Bowman said Wednesday he remained ‘optimistic’ about re-signing the two-time Cup winner but otherwise offered little insight.
“In every situation, I’m always looking on the bright side. But until something comes to completion, I just don’t know,” he said. “We still have time on our side here and that’s what we’re working through. We’re realistic that it’s a possibility [he becomes a UFA], but that’s not what we’re focused on.”
The entire goaltending market league-wide is complicated, with a number of big-name stars beyond Crawford — Braden Holtby, Robin Lehner, Jacob Markstrom, Anton Khudobin — also staring at free agency. The Rangers added an extra jalapeño to the recipe by buying out Henrik Lundqvist on Wednesday.
Whether the Hawks re-sign Crawford, sign another UFA or go cheap with some combination of Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen will have major repercussions on Bowman’s activity in other realms, too.
The Hawks GM specifically mentioned his team’s surplus of defensemen — some of whom will become expendable if/when prospects Ian Mitchell, Lucas Carlsson, Wyatt Kalynuk and Dennis Gilbert win NHL jobs — as one area in which the Hawks could recoup value and create more cap room.
“It’s always better when you’re trying to push one of those younger players into the lineup. That means you can move an established player,” he said. “Because around the league, there’s always teams looking for established NHL defensemen. If we get to that point, we’re dealing from a good position.”
Olli Maatta has long been considered a prime buyout candidate — for which the deadline is next Thursday, Oct. 8 — but the Hawks would obviously prefer to trade him.
The Hawks would likely love to move Brent Seabrook but be hard-pressed to find a suitor; they’d hate to move Connor Murphy but would easily find suitors. Calvin de Haan could be a nice middle ground between Seabrook and Murphy.
But trading a defenseman, just like the draft, still pales in comparison to the urgent nature of the Crawford situation.
