Blackhawks Captain Pissed Off Over Brandon Hagel Trade

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews didn't hold back his comments after management moved forward Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lighting. While the Blackhawks received a huge package in return that included two first-round draft picks, Toews is questioning the vision of management to rebuild meanwhile ship out a 23-year-old who is producing and under team control.

Needless to say, Toews was caught off guard and was not happy with how things transpired:

Yeah, if Hags is the guy to get traded, if he’s not a guy that’s a part of a rebuild, then I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone feels safe at this point, with the way he’s been playing and what he’s meant to our team. I had a hard time thinking in my mind that he would be one of the guys to get shipped off, considering what he brought in. Yeah, that was a tough one to see. I’m pretty shocked, for sure. Now, all of a sudden, you realize no one on our team is safe, and we could all be going in different directions in the near future - it’s pretty discouraging. I’ll leave it at that for now

Hagel is signed for two more seasons at $1.5 million on the cap, a very reasonable salary for someone with 37 points in 56 games this season.  With Toews basically slamming management's decision making some are starting to question if this will be the last season for both him and Patrick Kane in Chicago. It doesn't feel like a move is coming before Monday's deadline, however both legends have next season at $10.5 million against the cap and could very well be moved during the offseason. 

As for Blackhawks management, general manager Kyle Davidson double downed on his strategy to rebuild and had this to say after the Hagel deal with Tampa Bay: 

I said a few weeks ago that we are rebuilding, and this is clearly the start of that. Getting two first-round draft picks as well as two young NHL players helps us kickstart that process in a major way

Some interesting times in Chicago as the windy city is blowing some wild trade rumors. If Toews and Kane don't get moved before Monday, look for a couple of deals this summer with the captain linked to the Winnipeg Jets and Kane linked to the New York Rangers.

Photo credit:  Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports