Insider links 3 gigantic names to the Blackhawks.
An NHL insider has proposed 3 big names for the Blackhawks in lieu of their injuries.
The Chicago Blackhawks have rapidly watched their season go down the drain as the majority of their roster (in terms of cap dollars) has been decimated by injury, forcing them to ice a patchwork roster of players on Sunday against the Calgary Flames.
It is an unfortunate situation that the Blackhawks find themselves in and one that doesn't come with any obvious solutions, especially not for a rebuilding team that has limited depth available to them at the best of times.
In light of the ugly situation the Blackhawks have found themselves in, a National Hockey League insider has suggested a radical move on the part of the organization, one that would see the team bring in a few nostalgia acts for the sake of driving up interest in the team.
On Sunday, Blackhawks insider Mark Lazerus suggested the Blackhawks should target the likes of free agent forwards Phil Kessel, Jaromir Jagr, and even former Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.
To be clear Lazerus isn't suggesting that the Blackhawks are actively pursuing any of these players, but is instead proposing that they could be players the Blackhawks will target as they try to recover from their litany of injuries.
Kessel seems like the most realistic of the 3 targets with the veteran NHL forward having expressed interest regarding a potential return to action this season. Kessel is currently an unrestricted free agent and has also indicated that he is willing to be a team player and put aside his ironman streak should that be neccessary.
The least realistic of these options would appear to be Jonathan Toews who was forced to retire under unfortunate circumstances. Toews made the decision to step away from the sport to focus on his health, and I simply don't see a scenario in which he would be eager to return under these circumstances.
The biggest mystery here is of course the legendary Jaromir Jagr. Although Jagr has not played in the National Hockey League since the 2017-18 season when he was a member of the Calgary Flames, he continues to play professional hockey in the Czech league as a member of the Kladno Knights. A return to the NHL for Jagr sounds more than a little ridiculous, but the 51 year old has made a career of defying the odds.
