It’s the morning after the Michael Frolik deal and many commentators are echoing the fan sentiment that Dale Tallon may have given up too much in trading Frolik for Jack Skille. However, contrary to some thoughts coming from Panthers country, this trade was apparently not initiated by Tallon, but by Chicago GM Stan Bowman. Bowman needed to make changes and has had his eye on Frolik for a while. Tallon wants some more grit and character and for him this trade was about that and not about more goal scoring. Assistant GM Mike Santos confirmed this, saying, “Any of us that have seen this team play the last 10 to 12 games knows we’ve been out-hit badly. We need a more physical presence up front. [Skille] brings that element we need.’’ Don’t expect that this is the blockbuster deal of the trade deadline. There are still too many Panthers players that could be of value to other teams.
Skille’s Blackhawks teammates for the most part were sad to see him go, saying he was a good teammate, but seemed equally excited to see what Frolik could bring. Although coach Joel Quenneville hasn’t played him much as of late, also had good things to say about him.
We haven’t seen any Panthers player reactions yet, but the Blackhawks played last night and the Panthers don’t play until tonight. We’ll have quotes up as soon as they’re available. The Panthers roster on their website has been updated to include Skille, who will wear number 15 for the Panthers. Sorry, Kenndal McArdle, you just got bumped. The Panthers hope Skille will play tonight, but as of now there are 18 skaters on tonight’s roster not including Skille, but including Cory Stillman, who is not expected to play until next week.
And lest we forget Alexander Salak, media reaction to this part of the trade has been more on the par of “this could be the sleeper in the trade” and “they’re probably penciling him in to back up Corey Crawford,” as opposed to the extreme disappointment expressed by several people on this site last night. My take on is this: the situation is that there is a log jam in goal prospects right now. Tallon has said on several occasions this year that one of the good things about having all of these goalies is that they can be traded to other teams. It should surprise no one that a goalie prospect got traded and Salak, playing in Sweden, is the most expendable *right now*. With the injury to Jacob Markstrom and the possibility of Vokoun getting traded, the organization can’t afford to trade Tyler Plante or Marc Cheverie right now.
Facing panic time, Blackhawks trade for Michael Frolik [Puck Daddy]
Wyshnyski follows up on his Tuesday story about how the Blackhawks need to do *something* to get things going.
Local coverage:
Florida Panthers trade Michael Frolik to Blackhawks [Miami Herald]
Panthers deal Frolik to Blackhawks for Skille and two prospects [Sun-Sentinel]
Chicago coverage, including Blackhawks’ player reactions to the trade:
Blackhawks trade Jack Skille for Michael Frolik [Chicago Sun-Times]
Why the Hawks’ Scored With Frolik[NBCChicago]
Roster shakeup doesn’t faze Hawks [ESPN]
Blackhawks react to Skille trade