Friday, February 18, 2011

Boston "D" Party?

The other night it was leaked that there were rumblings the Blackhawks were interested in acquiring current Boston Bruin Mark Stuart. This would fit into Stan Bowman's latest mantra that they were looking into another Defenseman. He's a big physical guy, at 6'2" and 213. Think a less talented Brent Seabrook, as Seabs is an inch taller and 5 lbs heavier. He has never had more than 17 pts in a season, but that's not what his forte is. He has a big body and loves to throw people around. Outside of Seabs, the Hawks have no one on Defense that can realistically pound someone into the glass. Boynton tried, but ended up with his ass parked on a stool in the penalty box, or with a big red light flashing in his face. If Quenneville or Havi kept the defense the way they've had it, Deuce and Leddy / Seabrook and Hjalmarsson / Campbell and Hendry, Stuart could play with Campbell. I like Jordan Hendry, but Mark Stuart is an upgrade. They could also head back to the more traditional pairings of Deuce/Seabs, Soupie/Hammer, and have Stuart play with Leddy.

This is a scouting report on Mr. Stuart:
Assets
-Is a fluent skater and loves to lay on the body. Flourishes in a stay-at-home role and also owns leadership qualities.

Flaws
-Isn't a natural player with the puck, and won't ever be confused with Bobby Orr on the score sheet. Could stand to play with even more aggression.

Career Potential
-Defensive defenseman.

Awards
-2004NCAA - West First All-American Team
-2004WCHA - Defensive Player of the Year
-2004WCHA - Second All-Star Team
-2003WCHA - Third All-Star Team

This trade looks good, if the Hawks only need to yield a draft pick, because Stuart only makes $1.675 million, but they would still need to move some players around to make that number fit into the current team. Stuart is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so this would be strictly a rental. According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, the Hawks have also been looking into Steve Montador of the Buffalo Sabres, Ladislav Smid of the Edmonton Oilers and Matt Hunwick (would be nice to see someone wearing my number 48, in a Hawks jersey) of the Colorado Avalanche.

UPDATE
Stuart was traded, along with Blake Wheeler to the Atlanta Thrashers for Rich Peverly and Boris Valabik. That's 25 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.
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