Hawks make trio of deals on deadline day, sign trio of free agents, Hitchcock out?

On what was a quiet deadline day the Chicago Blackhawks shifted some assets around and came away with a trio of deals. In bigger news the team, in a free fall, also relieved head coach Ken Hitchcock of his duties, almost exactly a year after he took over the team. AHL coach Jeff Blashill will take over as interim coach with a new coach expected to be hired in the coming days. As for the trades on deadline day the team already issued a release on the Kaprizov trade, by far the biggest move in terms of player personnel on deadline day for the Hawks. GM Semonick followed it up by adding his world junior linemates Denis Gurianov and Mikhail Vorobyov in two separate deals. 

In the first deal the team sent Kevin Roy and a 3rd round pick to Deroit in exchange for former first round forward Denis Gurianov. Gurianov is a player who had been coveted by Chicago for quite some time, while to this point his production has not matched his draft slot (12th overall) he has a tantalizing set of physical skills. He is a fluid and powerful skater with a big frame, and excellent hands. His upside is through the roof, and while the team was high on Roy the ceiling of Gurianov was too much to pass on.

In the 3rd and final deal of the day for the Hawks the team sent center Martin Hanzal to the wings for prospect Mikhail Vorobyov. The Hawks acquired Hanzal about a month prior with aspirations of a cup run, however given recent results the team pivoted from buyer to seller and looked to recoup some of the assets it moved out originally for Hanzal. In the end a frustrated Semonick had to settle for Vorobyov in exchange for one of the premium rental players on the market, as apparently 28 teams are trying to rebuild simultaneously. Vorobyov is a big bodied center who is performing fairly well given it is his first season across the pond. At very least it makes for an interesting storyline as the Hawks now own all 3 members of the most dominant line at the 2017 World Junior. 

Immediately following deadline day GM Semonick stayed busy adding a trio of free agents to fill holes created by deadline moves. Center Matthew Peca and defenceman Jacob Mcdonald will immediately join AHL Rockford. The team also added to its goaltending depth signing Kevin Boyle to a deal. Having moved out Parsons and Mcniven in deals this season it is a clear area of need for the Hawks heading towards the draft. Boyle joins Casey Desmith, Alex Lyon, and Adin Hill in what is a solid group of goalies behind Martin Jones. 

Look for a major announcement with regard to the coaching vacancy in the coming days.