Trade rumors loom over Blackhawks-Coyotes matchup originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
With their roster in a state of flux, the Chicago Blackhawks wrap up a four-game road trip with the second game of a back-to-back set on Tuesday against the Arizona Coyotes in Tempe, Ariz.
Chicago had a season-best, five-game winning streak snapped with a 4-2 loss on Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks. That came hours after the rebuilding Blackhawks traded defenseman Jake McCabe, forward Sam Lafferty and two fifth-round draft picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for forwards Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev, a 2025 first-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick.
That deal was made one day after Chicago sent veteran defenseman Jack Johnson back to Colorado for defenseman Andreas Englund. Meanwhile, star forward Patrick Kane, who began the road trip on Wednesday with two goals and an assist in a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over the Dallas Stars, has returned home while the New York Rangers play salary-cap gymnastics to try to complete a rumored deal by Friday’s trade deadline.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said he may not be done dealing. Chicago center Max Domi, who has four goals and nine assists over the past six games, also has been rumored to be on the block.
“You’re always kind of talking and bouncing things around with other teams, and we’ll see if anything happens,” Davidson told the team’s website. “But we got a lot of work done in the last 24 hours or so, but still a little bit of a lead-up to the deadline, so we’ll see where things go.”
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson was asked what the team needs to do to rebound after the winning streak ended.
“You know what, we have a lot of new players right now and (we’re) going to have to find a new rhythm,” Richardson said following the loss in Anaheim. “But these guys have been resilient, even (Monday). They pushed right to the end. I never count this group out, so it would be nice to get a win (Tuesday) and finish off the road trip on a good note and then take it home for a few games.”
Arizona will be the playing the front end of a back-to-back set that concludes with a Wednesday night road game against the Dallas Stars.
The Coyotes had a nine-game point streak (5-0-4) that included wins over the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets before dropping their past two games, both at home, in blowouts. Arizona fell 6-3 to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday and 6-2 to the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Arizona hasn’t played star defenseman Jakob Chychrun for the past seven games for “trade-related reasons.” Veteran defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who had a short-handed goal on Sunday for his 300th career point, and forward Nick Schmaltz also have been rumored to be on the block.
“It’s definitely a stressful situation for my family and I,” Gostisbehere said. “Pretty much know that your life is going to change in the next five days or so. The hardest part is the unknown, I think, not knowing where you’re going to go.
“Obviously, we love it here. It’s just part of the game. You’re definitely thinking about it.”
Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said of Gostisbehere, “He in a tough spot right now with the trade deadline. We can feel it in our team right now. They’re professional. They handle themselves the right way, but let’s get to Friday ASAP. … If I could move the trade deadline up to tomorrow, I would.”
The Tuesday game will be the first of two at Mullett Arena for the Blackhawks in a three-week span. Chicago won both games against the Coyotes earlier this season, 2-0 behind 22 saves by Alex Stalock on Jan. 6, and 4-3 on a Caleb Jones overtime goal on Feb. 10.
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