Rumor Has Toews and Kane Wanting Out of Chicago!

In the matter of days, things have blown up in the Windy City.

The Chicago Blackhawks absolutely blindsided their veteran core, by trading away Brandon Saad to the Colorado Avalanche, letting Corey Crawford walk to New Jersey and completely changing the direction of the team. The team went from almost acquiring goaltender Matt Murray last week from the Pittsburgh Penguins to hitting the 'rebuild' button and the core is completely shocked.

Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, caught up with Jonathan Toews and Toews didn't hold back at all:

Bottom line is, I want to win. The expectation for the other leaders on this team and myself is to come ready to training camp every year to be a playoff team. We prepare ourselves to win a Cup for our fans. I’ve never been told that we were going through a rebuild. That has never been communicated to me, for that matter. A lot of this comes as a shock because it’s a completely different direction than we expected.

When asked about his long-time goaltender being let go, Toews was also very candid: 

It’s sad. It’s really disappointing. Crow has given so much to this team. I feel he was ready to bring more in the next few years and still be a big part of this group. He had that mindset that he could help this team go deep in the playoffs again, and there’s no doubt that he could.

According to a few industry sources, the players did not hold back on a phone call with management and let them know, if the team's goal was not to win hockey games, both Toews and Kane would appreciate being moved.

Interesting times in Chicago as this could be a franchise altering off season, and nobody saw it coming.

Photo credit: Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire