Nick Leddy is a member of the New York Islanders, some new prospects are headed to Rockford, and the Chicago Blackhawks are finally under the salary cap. Pretty much everything is squared away for the Hawks entering the 2014-15 season following the deal, but some questions still remain with less than a week before the first puck drop. Given the hectic movement over the past few days, now seems like a good time to do a bit of a status check on the team’s roster. Let’s see where we’re at.
So how’s the cap situation?
The Blackhawks are technically $1.47 million under the salary cap following the trade, per CapGeek, but that’s only with 21 players on the roster. Assuming that Peter Regin gets claimed off waivers or ends up in Rockford, that’s the amount of money Chicago has to fill two remaining possible roster spots. Here are the 21 guys already on the docket:
Forwards
| Patrick Sharp | Jonathan Toews | Marian Hossa |
| Brandon Saad | Brad Richards | Patrick Kane |
| Bryan Bickell | Andrew Shaw | Kris Versteeg |
| Daniel Carcillo | Marcus Kruger | Ben Smith |
Jeremy Morin is also here as the 13th forward, likely bouncing between the third and fourth lines depending on injuries, matchups, etc.
Defensemen
| Duncan Keith | Brent Seabrook |
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | Johnny Oduya |
| Michal Rozsival | David Rundblad |
Goaltenders
| Corey Crawford |
| Antti Raanta |
That leaves two extra spots. Who gets them?
With 13 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders seemingly well positioned to make the team, that still leaves the Blackhawks two spots below the 23-man threshold. There’s limited cap space even after the Leddy trade, however, and that will play into how the team uses its remaining roster spots.
At least one of them will go to a defensemen, and it’s possible lefty-shooting guys like Klas Dahlbeck and Kyle Cumiskey have the advantage. Those two are set to make $613,333 and $600,000 this season, respectively, so that would still leave the team with ample space ($856,000-870,000) to keep one more player.
This could make it less likely that Trevor van Riemsdyk earns a roster spot, because he’s a righty shooter and is set to make $925,000. Rundblad can’t be sent down since he would need to go on waivers, and retaining both Rundblad and van Riemsdyk — a pair of righty shooters — would make it difficult to add a 23rd player.
So it’s likely we see Dahlbeck or Cumiskey, and possibly both.
What about Teuvo Teravainen?
This doesn’t really change the equation for the team’s best prospect because there’s still not an obvious major role for him yet and fitting his salary would be a crunch. The team might carry a 14th forward, but burying Teravainen in an undefined role isn’t going to happen, nor should it. The 20-year-old is going to be in Rockford to begin the 2014-15 season, and hopefully he can blow enough minds down there to earn a call up soon.
Are any other moves coming?
It’s also possible the Blackhawks aren’t done making moves. A trade of Morin still seems possible, even if it’s unlikely and wouldn’t make a lot of folks around here happy, and the situations of Regin and Leighton remain up in the air. Most likely, the guys discussed above are the options to work with, but it’s not a guarantee that Stan Bowman is packing things up and calling it an offseason. It’s also possible some young guys, such as Adam Clendening and Joakim Nordstrom, get closer looks after being sent down to the AHL recently. Both of those guys could easily fit into the team’s remaining cap space.