Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

NHL Trade Deadline primer: Erik Gustafsson, Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks

CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 19: Erik Gustafsson #56 of the Chicago Blackhawks watches for the puck in the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center on November 19, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

With the NHL trade deadline getting close (February 24, 3 p.m. ET) the Pro Hockey Talk crew will be taking a closer look at some individual players that could be on the move. Today we focus on Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson.

Player: Erik Gustafsson
Current Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Position: Defense
Contract Status: Unrestricted free agent this season with a $1.2 million salary cap number.

Why the Blackhawks might trade him. Because the season is a mess, the dynasty is over, and sustained mediocrity has set in to become the new normal in Chicago. Barring some kind of insane miracle over the next 22 games, the Blackhawks are well on their way to a third consecutive non-playoff season. Time to start trading people and looking toward the future.

Gustafsson is an unrestricted free agent this summer and because of his offensive production should be in line for a significant raise over the $1.2 million per season his current contract has paid him. Is he worth what he will command to the Blackhawks? As is the case with starting goalie Robin Lehner, if the Blackhawks think there is even a 50-50 chance he leaves in free agency, they are doing themselves a disservice if they do not trade him. Even if they think they can re-sign him it still might be for the best to move him before Monday. He is one of the players on the team that does not have a no-trade clause, would not require them to retain salary to move, and could bring back a good return.

Teams that could/should be interested. Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks

What he provides. You are not going to get a traditional top-pairing defenseman that will give you a shutdown role or the type of player you want playing 25 minutes a night against the other team’s best forwards. He will, however, give you a lot of offense from the blue line, especially if you put him into situations where he can focus on the offensive side of the puck. He will probably never duplicate the 17-goal, 60-point performance from the 2018-19 season, but he is still a productive player that should be good for around 10 goals and 30-35 points over an 82-game season with good possession numbers from the blue line. Not a superstar by any means, but a darn good second-pairing option for a playoff team.

The Hurricanes could use some more offense from their blue line with the injury to Dougie Hamilton, while the Golden Knights are apparently still in the market for more help on the blue line even after trading for Alec Martinez from the Los Angeles Kings.

They also cleared some salary cap space on Friday by sending Cody Eakin to the Winnipeg Jets.

Predicted destination. Only winning two out of their past 10 games to all but fall out of the Western Conference playoff race might finally convince Stan Bowman he has to sell, and I think someone is going to offer the first-round pick he will almost certainly want for Gustafsson, and I think that team is Vegas to add more offense to its blue line and try to make a run through a watered down Pacific Division in the playoffs.

More NHL Trade Deadline:

Trade Deadline primer: Chris Kreider
Trade Deadline Primer: Ilya Kovalchuk
Trade Deadline Primer: Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Trade Deadline Primer: Joe Thornton
Trade Deadline Primer: Robin Lehner
Trade Deadline Primer: Tomas Tatar
Teams that need to be active at trade deadline
PHT’s 2020 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.