Blackhawks add some more depth
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman never has been one to make a big splash on trade deadline day.
The trade Bowman made Tuesday fit his profile.
The Hawks acquired defensemen David Rundblad and Mathieu Brisebois from Phoenix for a second-round draft pick in 2014. Rundblad will join the Hawks, while Brisebois will report directly to Rockford.
Rundblad is 23 and has appeared in 12 games with the Coyotes this season, posting 1 assist. He originally was selected by St. Louis in the first round, 17th overall, in 2009.
Going back four years, Bowman's only trades on the actual deadline day have been for depth guys.
Bowman acquired defenseman Johnny Oduya from Winnipeg for two draft picks in 2012, probably the closet thing to an impact deal. He also picked up center Sami Paulsson from Anaheim for James Wisniewski in 2009; defenseman Nick Boynton from Anaheim for a draft pick in 2010; defenseman Chris Campoli from Ottawa in 2011 for a draft pick; and center Michal Handzus from San Jose last season for a conditional draft pick.
"I think sometimes it's hard when a guy comes in for a couple weeks and then you jump right into the playoffs and you can't get him acclimated to your system the way you play and who you're going to play with," Bowman said Saturday.
The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday at 2 p.m., and it's unlikely the Hawks will do anything else.
Bowman already has made four significant trades this season, five if you count Kyle Beach to the New York Rangers. His biggest deal came in November when he got Kris Versteeg from Florida for Jimmy Hayes and Dylan Olsen.
He also picked up center Peter Regin and winger Marc-Andre Bouchard from the New York Islanders right before the Olympic break for draft picks. On Sunday he sent minor-league center Brandon Pirri to the Carolina Panthers for two draft picks.
Versatility works:
If there's one thing Hawks coach Joel Quenneville likes, it's the ability to be versatile.
So it was with that thinking that Quenneville put together a third line of Peter Regin at center with Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell at wings Tuesday against Colorado.
Michal Handzus was the center on the second line for Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg. Brandon Saad slid into Marian Hossa's spot at right wing on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp.
"I like that, whether it's in the course of games or a stretch of games," Quenneville said. "I think being able to play multiple positions is really a good quality to have.
"It gives you a lot of options, which makes you a better team. Whether it's Shaw moving over (to wing), it gives you two centers on faceoffs. I like guys being able to play center."
More Bollig:
Left wing Brandon Bollig, who got a three-year, $3.75 million contract extension Monday, has made a rapid transition into a player who can contribute in a lot of ways.
"I thought he really progressed the day he got up here," Joel Quenneville said. "He gave us a nice ingredient. He added some toughness off the bat, presence, but I think as a hockey player that's the part that might have surprised a lot of us, knowing the consistency of his game and what he's able to do with the puck.
"Play selection, thought process defensively, and that line has really developed over the last year-and-a-half, where it's an important part of our team structure and we utilize him in a real important role.
"He's added that dimension where we're comfortable with him defensively, and he gives us some size and he gives us some toughness and adds a real nice dimension to our game."
Bollig came to the Hawks as primarily a fighter.
"As far as the fighting goes, that's kind of what got my foot in the door, but guys like that, who play a one-dimensional role, are kind of getting phased out and I wasn't real interested in that part of it," Bollig said. "So, obviously, I had to expand my role, and it's been working out for me. I can only hope to build on it."