As we all know by now, the Chicago Blackhawks are the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions.  As we also all know by now, the Chicago Blackhawks are neck-deep in cap hell.  If by some strange twist of fate you have no idea what I’m talking about, this article should give you a pretty good idea of just how much trouble they’re in for next season.

Okay, good job, by now you really should be officially informed of the Blackhawks improbable chances at competing hard for a dynasty next season.  But hey, they’re the defending Stanley Cup Champs, they’ve gotta make another run.  That’s where in a perfect world, the Leafs jump right into play.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in pretty clear need of offensive help, especially considering the barren offense core currently set in place for next season, and especially considering that if they repeat the 29th-place performance of this season next year, well, let’s just say it might be pretty hard to forgive Brian Burke for trading away three great picks for one great player.  But Kessel controversy aside, the Blackhawks are full of offensive depth, and full of guys that they will be forced to deal this off-season due to, as stated earlier, unbelievable salary cap issues.

The problem with poaching pieces of the defending Champs and bringing them to T-dot, however, is that the Leafs quite frankly don’t have much to give.  What the Blackhawks are looking for is cheap players who can contribute immediately, and for the most part those players have to be forwards.  The Leafs do however possess an asset here or there that hypothetically Chi-town would be interested in and able to fit into their line-up, so conceivably a deal could be done.Forwards of Interest Who Could Be Available

Kris Versteeg-A Calder Trophy nominee in 2009, Versteeg is an energetic player on and off the ice.  He’s a good skater and can put up 50+ points a season.  He’s a right-winger who, when forced to, can shut it down defensively.  Comes with a 3.083 cap hit for two more seasons.

Dustin Byfuglien-If you haven’t heard by now, Byfuglien is 260 pounds of pure beast.  A decent skater, Byfuglien is known more for the terror he brings to the opposition in front of the net.  Probably only good for about 40 points a season, but your prototypical net presence and classic power forward.  3-million dollar cap-hit for one more year.  Byfuglien can play either wing.

Patrick Sharp-A proven leader and performer, Sharp isn’t quite an elite talent in the league, but he’s certainly a player capable of playing on the first-line and performing well.  Good for 60-70 points a season, Sharp is an extremely polished sniper who carries a 3.9 cap hit for two more seasons.  Sharp can play any position.

Andrew Ladd-A debatable second-liner, Ladd is probably more of an exceptional third-liner who comes with little bonuses.  He’s a good locker-room presence, a decent net-presence and knows what it takes to win (won a cup with Carolina in 2006 as well).  Ladd’s a left-winger and an RFA who will demand between 2-3 million.

Ben Eager-Good for a lot of hits, a lot of energy, a lot of fights and about 15 points a year.  He’s currently an RFA who will probably seek between 1-1.5 million.  Eager plays the left-wing.

Players From the Leafs Who Could Be of Interest

Viktor Stalberg-A speedy sniper who finally began to prove that he can probably maintain a job at the NHL level by the end of the season.  Stalberg could fail miserably and finish with 20 points next season, but also surprise with as many as 50.  He’s also big, also plays the right-wing and also only has a .850 cap hit for one more year.

Luca Caputi-Probably not of that much interest because as it stands he probably isn’t NHL ready.  He only comes with an 0.833 cap hit for one more year though, and as a projected left-wing power forward he could be of some use or interest to the Hawks.

Fredrik Sjostrom-Also known as Sjobacca, he’s another speedy Swede who came over to the Leafs mid-season to considerable liking.  He does a pretty nice job of killing penalties and is good for about 20 points a season, so as a guy who can play either wing with a 0.750 cap hit for one more year the Hawks could do well to try and fit him into their line-up.

Tomas Kaberle-It’s a long shot, but if the Blackhawks were able to rid themselves of Brian Campbell’s contract then this is a guy they would definitely like to add considering he’s an elite puckmover, extremely similar to Brian Campbell and only has one year left on his contract with a very cheap 4.2 million-dollar cap-hit.

Conclusion

Yep, not a bad list of players from the Blackhawks but a pretty shallow one from the Maple Leafs.  Any deal involved with the Blackhawks would almost assuredly involve Viktor Stalberg unless Tomas Kaberle was included, in which case Brian Campbell would have to be on his way out (in a three-way deal, because the Leafs would not be interested in Campbell’s contract).  Again, the Blackhawks are in so much trouble salary-cap wise that they are most definitely going to have to take risks on young players with cheap contracts, and because of this Stalberg could be a decent fit.  Stalberg’s potential is pretty much on the same level as Kris Versteeg, and both are similar players, so who knows, maybe a deal could be done there.  To add to that, if the Blackhawks would rather trade a different player, perhaps they would take Stalberg for Byfuglien or even Ladd.  If Kaberle were to be involved Brian Burke would probably want Patrick Sharp, and maybe some secondary toughness which is where Andrew Ladd or Ben Eager could step in.

All in all the Chicago Blackhawks are in need of significant salary dumping and the Maple Leafs are in some serious need of offensive support for next season so ideally the two could be good partners.  However, the Leafs don’t have many assets that make sense for the Blackhawks, so unless a third team is involved it’s unlikely the Toronto Maple Leafs will be able to poach talent from Chicago, at least not on a significant level.  But who knows, it’s the off-season and Brian Burke is our general manager: anything can happen.

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