Leddy boosts prospects on defense

It's no secret to anyone familiar with the Blackhawks' organizational depth chart that defense has been an area of weakness in terms of prospects.

Drafting Dylan Olsen 28th overall in the first round last June was a start to restocking the cupboard.

Getting Nick Leddy from Minnesota on Friday as part of the Kim Johnsson-for-Cam Barker trade was another important acquisition in the opinion of general manager Stan Bowman.

The Hawks believe they now have three strong prospects for the future on defense in Leddy, Olsen and 2008 third-round draft pick Shawn Lalonde.

"Leddy is a dynamic prospect as we try to rebuild that area of our defense," Bowman said.

The Wild made Leddy the 16th player taken in last June's draft. The 18-year-old is a freshman at the University of Minnesota and has been one of the struggling Gophers' better players.

"Obviously Nick Leddy wasn't our first choice to put in the deal, but that's who they wanted," Wild GM Chuck Fletcher told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "To acquire Cam, we had to make a difficult decision, and we traded our top minute-getter on the team and one of our top prospects. We paid a significant price, but we feel the return will be worth it."

Leddy is an excellent skater who plays the kind of puck-moving game the Hawks want from their defensemen.

"I've heard his two favorite defensemen are Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell," Bowman said. "If that's the case, I think he's in the right place."

Tough goodbye: One of the Hawks' strengths is how close they are as a group, which made seeing Cam Barker traded to Minnesota difficult for some of his now ex-teammates.

"It's frustrating a little bit," Brian Campbell said. "He's a good person. I know he had a Special Olympics event coming up, so he's done a lot of good things not only for our team but in the community as well.

"He's a young guy with a really bright future and hopefully going to Minnesota it's going to help him get a little more ice time because I know that's what he would like."

"It's tough to lose a guy like (Barker) because we're so close in the locker room," Patrick Kane said, "but it's a business and you have to do what's best for the team."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, who as recently as Thursday told reporters more was expected from Barker, still thinks the defenseman has potential to be a solid NHL player.

"You've got to give Barks some credit too because he was useful in a lot of ways with our group last year and this year," Quenneville said. "I think he has a lot of upside in our game and has a good future."

Tip-ins: Defenseman Brent Sopel was shut down until after the Olympic break to rest an undisclosed leg injury. - Jordan Hendry was in the lineup for the first time in seven games. - Left wing Bryan Bickell was recalled from Rockford with an open roster spot at forward because of the lower-body injuries to John Madden and Ben Eager.