Hawks go on the defensive
For the Blackhawks, it was all about defensemen on the second day of the NHL draft.
The Hawks made six picks, trading with the Dallas Stars for an additional one, and used five of them on defensemen Saturday.
Hawks general manager Dale Tallon traded his third-round pick (No. 72) and fourth-round selection to the New York Islanders to move up to No. 68 in the third round and take Belleville defenseman Shawn Lalonde.
"We had Lalonde as the No. 1 guy we wanted going into (Saturday)," said Tallon, who was without a second-round pick, having traded it to Ottawa two years ago as part of the package for Martin Havlat.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Lalonde is a right-handed shot best known for his skating ability. He has defensive shortcomings, according to various scouting services, but so did Duncan Keith at that age.
Lalonde figures to return to junior hockey with Belleville for at least one more season.
"With no second pick we were really happy to get him," Tallon said. "He's a tremendous skater who has improved his all-around play."
The Hawks took Saskatoon defenseman Teigan Zahn in the fifth round and Swedish defenseman Jonathan Carlsson with the first of two sixth-round picks.
Their second choice in the sixth round was Boston College right winger Ben Smith, who had 25 goals and 25 assists in 44 games last season.
"Smith was a point-a-game guy in college, and we like his grit and presence around the net," Tallon said.
With two picks in the seventh round, including the one from Dallas in exchange for a sixth-round draft choice next year, the Hawks took defensemen Braden Birch of Oakville and Joe Gleason of Edina High School in Minnesota.
"Each defensemen we took has a different strength," Tallon said. "We had hoped to fill our defensive position to get some depth back there. We've got a lot of prospects at forward."
Tallon expects to have a busy week and didn't rule out the possibility of making at least one trade after laying some groundwork at the draft.
"We've got some things we're working on," he said. "We'll be working on some possible trades, then we'll see where we're at leading up to free agency. We're going to be as aggressive as we can possibly be."
It's no secret the Hawks will make a serious play on July 1 for puck-moving defenseman Brian Campbell should he not re-sign with San Jose and reach free agency.
But a hot rumor at the draft was the Hawks' apparent serious interest in signing winger Marian Hossa, who is believed to be looking for a bigger offer than the one he had on the table from Pittsburgh worth $49 million over seven years.
The Penguins badly want to keep Hossa after giving up a lot to Atlanta at the trade deadline to get him, but they likely won't get into a bidding war.
Penguins GM Ray Shero told reporters Saturday that he had broken off negotiations with Hossa but didn't rule out the possibility of re-signing him after July 1.