NHL Rumors: Blackhawks Center Will Be Traded Below Expected Value

Jonathan Toews started this season off hot for the Chicago Blackhawks before the team really struggled for the majority of this season. The Blackhawks' captain is on the last year of his deal and the team would like to trade him, preferably for a good return. That doesn't appear to be the case as Elliotte Friedman says teams tell him the market for Toews will be about a second/third round pick.

This is the value the Blackhawks will get for Toews if he is in fact traded. He has a full no-trade clause on his contract that ends after the season. Toews has put up good numbers this season for a 34-year-old on one of the worst teams in the NHL. He has 13 goals and 27 points in 44 games while having an incredible faceoff percentage of 63.4.

What is likely causing the value of Toews to drop well below what the Blackhawks thought they would be able to get for him is his cap hit. He has a $10.5 million cap hit that the Blackhawks will only be able to retain 50 percent of unless they use a third team. It's never ideal to use a third team because that team will always require an extra asset from one of the other teams involved in the trade.

The price may go up if some teams lose out on their first or second options. Notable teams looking into acquiring a top-six centre at the deadline include the Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes, and potentially a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs. We will have to wait and see if Toews even waives his no-trade clause for some of the teams interested this season.