Blackhawks Forward Made Available For Trade League-Wide

The Chicago Blackhawks are at the bottom of the standings and will be selling off some pieces before the trade deadline this season. A name that has started to get some traction is Tyler Johnson. Jimmy Murphy reported that the Blackhawks have made Johnson available for trade around the league.

In any deal the Blackhawks strike, they will have to retain a good chunk of Johnson's salary. He was dumped to Chicago a few years ago and still has a $5 million AAV cap hit. No team will be willing to take on that full amount unless there are a couple big injuries and it opens up a lot of cap space.

Johnson is a third line center at best nowadays, but he can still produce a decent amount in his role. On the Blackhawks, he has been a middle-six centerman due to the lack of talent. This season he has seven goals and 11 points in 33 games, but doesn't exactly have wingers who can help him produce offensively. If a contender is going to pick him up by the deadline, it won't cost that team much to acquire him. He has the playoff experience a lot of teams look for.

What may be just a little tricky for the Blackhawks is finding a team that is willing to trade for him that isn't on his no-trade list. Johnson currently has a 20-team trade list. I think he will garner a late round pick at best, but the Blackhawks will just be happy to have got anything for him after already receiving a 2023 second round pick to take on his contract from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021.