Via the Edmonton Journal, here’s Sportsnet’s John Shannon, talking on the radio about how the Chicago Blackhawks are going to get under the salary cap next season:
“I keep hearing Johnny Oduya’s name. I keep hearing they’re going to find a way to move Johnny Oduya and get rid of the dollars he makes, and do it with minimum dollars on that five, six, seven defenseman position.”
No surprise, really, that Shannon is hearing Oduya’s name. We wondered about this ourselves last week, when the ‘Hawks signed d-man Kyle Cumiskey.
Oduya, 32, is signed for one more year, at a cap hit of $3.375 million, before he can become an unrestricted free agent. If Oduya were to be traded, Cumiskey could theoretically slot in on Chicago’s bottom pairing alongside Michal Rozsival, with Nick Leddy skating on the second pair with either Niklas Hjalmarsson or Brent Seabrook (whichever guy isn’t up on the top pair with Duncan Keith).
But that’s just one back-of-the-napkin projection. Maybe youngsters David Rundblad, Adam Clendening or Klas Dahlbeck will be part of the equation. Or, maybe the ‘Hawks will decide to keep Oduya and trade Rozsival or Leddy.