Patrick Sharp Might Be On The Move To Washington

It looks as though the Chicago Blackhawks are not impervious to a little controversy. This comes on the heels of a published article on Thursday by Puck Daddy on yahoo.com, describing a divided locker room. For details, click here for the article in question.

One of the Blackhawks, whose name has come up through the article is forward Patrick Sharp. Recent reports have surfaced centering on a trade involving the two-time Stanley cup Champion and the Washington Capitals.

The reported trade discussion was reported by Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune through social media. Friday evening, he sent out this tweet:

Source: #Blackhawks and Capitals have had dialogue about possible trade involving Patrick Sharp.
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) February 28, 2015

Later that evening, Chris Peters of cbssports.com posted an article centering on the possible movement of Sharp to the Capitals.

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It hasn’t been a productive year for Sharp as compared to previous seasons. He has played in 49 games scoring 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) with a -13 rating. He did miss a significant amount of games early in the season due to a lower body injury in November. Thus, it is understandable for Sharp to feel distracted and his offensive game to suffer.

Sharp’s been a multi-30 goal scorer, averaged close to a point per game during his Blackhawks career, and helped the Blackhawks to win two championships in three seasons.

But all of this maybe coming to an end after reports have surfaced about the division on the team, specifically with Sharp. And with the Blackhawks inconsistent play as of late and significant injuries to key players, namely Patrick Kane and Johnny Oduya, you could get a sense something is going to happen.

One move the Blackhawks did make was acquiring veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen from the Philadelphia Flyers. Details on the trade can be read here written by fellow writer JP Powell. However, he has not played since last April and he just resumed skating on the ice with the Flyers a few days before the trade.

In Chris Peter’s article, he writes:

"“(Patrick Sharp would be) a fit in Washington, especially if he ended up on a wing with Backstrom and Ovechkin. But the real question that comes up next is what the Caps would have to give up…”"

Sharp’s present contract has two years remaining with 5.5 million towards the salary cap in 2015 and 5.0 million in 2016.

If the Capitals are pursuing Sharp, who could they give back in return?

Mike Green’s name has been a name mentioned in the breath of trade rumors these past couple seasons. However, he does carry a cap hit of 6.25 million. Fortunately, he is expected to be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. This move could be temporary for the Blackhawks. Green would be a rental defenseman, who can make an impact on the blue line. But with the uncertainty of Green signing on with the Blackhawks after this season, draft picks would need to be included for security. With the uncertainty of Timonen, this may not be a bad option. And with the Los Angeles Kings acquiring Andrej Sekera from the Carolina Hurricanes earlier this week, Blackhawks management may want to pull the trigger.

If the Blackhawks needed additional offensive help in the wake of Kane’s injury, Troy Brouwer could be a possible option. Brouwer is a former Blackhawks and is familiar with the Chicago area and locker room atmosphere.

Depending on the need, the Blackhawks have an opportunity to capitalize on their situation. No pun intended.

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