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Not trading Patrick Sharp the best deal Chicago never made

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In the wake of the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup championship the hard realities of playing in a salary cap world became apparent to GM Stan Bowman almost immediately. After performance bonuses kicked in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the bite on the Blackhawks ability to spend was instantaneous for this season and tough decisions had to be made. Out went character scorers like Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien among others, but one guy who was rumored to also get sent out of town stayed.

Patrick Sharp, a former Flyers castoff in his own right, stayed in Chicago and this season he’s made Chicago’s faith worthwhile. Sharp’s been nothing short of being the team MVP this season as the Blackhawks have relied on cast-offs and very green rookies to make a run at another Stanley Cup. Where would the Blackhawks be without Sharp though? It’s frightening to picture.

This season, Chicago’s lost Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa for multiple games due to injury putting pressure on a host of different young forwards to try and fill their spots in the lineup. Any number of players from Bryan Bickell, Jake Dowell, Brandon Pirri, Jeremy Morin, Ryan Potulny, and Jack Skille have all seen time while players have been out but Sharp has been the iron man of the team.

Looking through the stats this season it’s easy to see why Sharp was the guy the Hawks hung on to. Sharp leads the team in goals with 25, he’s also leading the team in goals scored at even strength (13), on the power play (10), shorthanded (2) and is by far the team leader in game-winning goals (6).

Wayne Gretzky always said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” and that’s been Sharp’s motto this year as he’s firing shots on goal at an insane rate leading the team with 186. He’s averaging nearly four shots on goal per game and that sort of offense is necessary for a team that’s essentially rolling with two lines that can be counted on to score at all.

When you see the types of seasons Ladd and Byfuglien are having in Atlanta and if you pair that sort of production up with what Sharp’s doing this year, picture losing all of that from one lineup. The Blackhawks off-season was hard enough as it is in dealing with the salary cap, and for as important as Ladd and Byfuglien have been to the Thrashers, both virtual team MVP-type players, losing Sharp makes the difference for Chicago from being a playoff contender and from looking ahead to the NHL draft. With how tough the Central Division and the Western Conference in general has been, losing a guy of that caliber is enough to decide the race in the playoffs. For Stan Bowman, not dealing Patrick Sharp has to be the best deal he never made.