As deadline nears, Tallon searching for the right deals

LOS ANGELES -- There was no doubt about it in the recent past that the Blackhawks were sellers at the NHL trade deadline.

This season Hawks general manager Dale Tallon considers himself neither, stressing that the outcome of weekend games in Los Angeles and Anaheim likely wouldn't change his approach to Tuesday's deadline.

"We're not buyers or sellers -- we're building," Tallon said Saturday before the Hawks went out and beat the Kings 6-5 in overtime.

The Hawks have three veterans scheduled to be unrestricted free agents in Martin Lapointe, Yanic Perreault and Andrei Zyuzin, and they all are available.

"We'll get some things done," said Tallon, who has assistant GM Rick Dudley and director of pro scouting Marc Bergevin with him here on the trip. "We know what we want to do."

Lapointe is believed to be coveted by two teams (Ottawa and Detroit) needing more of a physical presence.

The Senators might be stepping up their efforts for more muscle after Thursday's loss to Columbus, when the Blue Jackets' Jared Boll ran around the ice hitting Ottawa's skill people.

The Red Wings also want more grit, but they are close to bringing back Darren McCarty, who is playing at Grand Rapids in the American Hockey League.

The Hawks think they still are in the playoff race in the Western Conference, and Tallon would love to add a player to help make the final push.

But of more importance to Tallon is improving the team for the long term.

According to an NHL source, the Hawks have talked to Tampa Bay about center Brad Richards, who is available along with his $7.8 million salary.

According to reports, Columbus is very interested in Richards, perhaps offering goalie Pascal Leclaire. The Blue Jackets would have plenty of room for Richards' salary if they could move Sergei Fedorov.

There has been speculation that the Red Wings might want to bring Fedorov back to where he had his best years.

Would the Lightning, desperate to land a No. 1 goalie, be interested in Nikolai Khabibulin in a deal for Richards? Likely not, although the Hawks might be working on it.

Khabibulin's name also was linked Saturday in a trade rumor with Ottawa.

The Red Wings might also be in the market for goaltending insurance, such is their concern for Dominik Hasek's injured hip.

There are big names out there and available, such as Atlanta's Marian Hossa, Calgary's Alex Tanguay, Florida's Olli Jokinen, Fedorov and possibly Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell.

Hossa has been rumored to be going to either Montreal or Boston, Jokinen to Nashville or Calgary and Tanguay perhaps to the Canadiens.

Mats Sundin was thought to be the biggest fish in the pond heading toward Tuesday, but the Toronto captain apparently will not waive his no-trade clause.

There is so much speculation out there with more on the way in the next few days. Calgary GM Darryl Sutter has taken to calling it "echo journalism," to which the former Hawks coach says he pays little attention.

"It's like listening to a magpie in the morning," Sutter told reporters. "As long as it doesn't wake the kids up, it doesn't bother me."