Trade Talk Heats Up For Blackhawks’ Jake McCabe, Ask Is High

This is a steeper price than many thought the Blackhawks might want to move the d-man, but with no big-name defenseman having moved yet this season and with the first-rounders going in both the Bo Horvat and Vladimir Tarsenko trades, it’s not hard to see why the Blackhawks might be asking for a big haul, especially for a player with term who is on a reasonable contract already. If a team wants the Blackhawks to bring that salary down so that McCabe becomes an absolute steal, it’s going to cost a hefty price. As Mark Lazerus writes, “Two-plus years of Jake McCabe at $2M could indeed be worth a lot.”

McCabe has a seven-team no-trade list and there was chatter that both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers were perhaps looking at this player. He’s strong in the defensive zone and would be a top-four blueliner on a contending team.

The same teams that were interested to be looking at McCabe were probably also looking at Jakob Chychrun. But, with Chychrun’s cost being so high, McCabe was likely viewed as a solid Plan B. Now, if his price is going up and it could take more than a first-rounder to acquire him, perhaps Chychrun becomes a more attractive piece again.