Chicago Blackhawks rumors: Trevor van Riemsdyk trade with Vegas?
The Chicago Blackhawks might be trying to get the Vegas Golden Knights to take on a bad contract. Trevor van Riemsdyk could be their ticket to doing so.
The NHL Expansion Draft will be taking place in June of 2017. For the first time in over a decade, the league will have a new team in the Vegas Golden Knights. Their strategy for the expansion draft could be interesting. Some teams might view it as a way to get rid of a bad contract. The Chicago Blackhawks are one of those teams.
According to Frank Seravalli, Chicago is discussing a trade that would send defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for taking on Marcus Kruger’s contract.
#Hawks would allow VGK to take D Trevor van Riemsdyk in draft, on consideration that @GoldenKnights also take Marcus Kruger in trade. #TSN
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 31, 2017
#Hawks, of course, used similar tactic last summer moving Teuvo Teravainen to CAR in order to shed Bryan Bickell's contract.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 31, 2017
It’s worth noting the Hawks did the same thing last offseason. They traded young forward Teuvo Teravainen to the Carolina Hurricanes along with a bad contract in Bryan Bickell. This could make a lot of sense for both sides.
First of all, Chicago can’t protect van Riemsdyk. They’re going to have to protect Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Duncan Keith. Protecting four defensemen is out of the question because they have to protect four forwards with no movement clauses. This would leave guys like Ryan Hartman and Artemi Panarin unprotected.
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How could the Hawks make this work? By threatening to trade van Riemsdyk. Otherwise, Vegas could just take the defenseman. However, if the Golden Knights think Chicago will trade van Riemsdyk, maybe they’re a bit more willing to take on Kruger and his $3.083 million cap hit. The center is under contract for the next two seasons.
Expect the Golden Knights to get offers like this. Teams would love to get rid of certain contracts and would be willing to give up valuable assets to do so.