Could Jay McKee Be the Missing Piece of the Blackhawks’ Cup Puzzle?

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

According to a blog posted last night by Tim Sassone of The Daily Herald, the Blackhawks may be on the verge of acquiring blue-line help within the next few days.

32 year old Jay McKee, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was the onus of the piece by Sassone. He apparently was a healthy scratch last night in the Pens’ game against the Sabres, and the scuttlebutt is that he may be on the move soon.

McKee is a cheap, skilled option for the Hawks at this point. He is making only $800,000 this season, and his contract does expire at the end of the year. He has a goal, eight assists, and 52 penalty minutes so far this season. He also has a plus-eight in his 49 games this year.

The question becomes not only one of finding the right package for the Penguins to accept, but also a simple one of cap economics. While McKee does only make $800,000, the Penguins are about as hard up against the cap as the Blackhawks are. The Pens only have $586,000 worth of cap space remaining this season, and so the ideal trade, Cam Barker for McKee, would not work.

It’s a bit of a sticky wicket for the team, who is hard pressed to start moving guys at some point in order to create cap space for next season when the new contracts for Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane kick in. This year may see the team having $1.151 million in cap space, but next year things get dicey. As everyone and their mother has already discussed, the team already has over $60 million in contracts locked in for next year, and the cap is unlikely to go above $56.8 million, so heads will need to roll.

That’s neither here nor there, however. Back to the trade at hand, it would certainly have to include a prospect and possibly a draft pick. One player that could be on the Penguins’ radar is Richard Petiot, a 6 foot 4 defenseman who is enjoying an excellent season with the Rockford IceHogs. He has 21 points (2 G, 19 A) and 58 penalty minutes in 52 games this season, and he is exactly the kind of big body that could grease the wheels of a deal.

McKee’s reputation as a stay-at-home defenseman would be a sorely needed presence on a team full of offensively-minded d-men. With players like Cam Barker and Brian Campbell consistently driving deep down the ice from the blue line, the need for a physical player to counter that is huge. He is a veteran who isn’t too old to move around in the fast paced Chicago system, and he would be a solid addition should this deal come to fruition.

Another player Sassone mentioned that could spark some interest from the Blackhawks would be Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes. He may be 37 years old and have a pretty sizable $2.5 million contract, but he can move the puck fairly well, and he has a history of being a very solid defensive player. He could move in exchange for Cam Barker in a cost-saving, future minded move for the team, and it’s a direction that the squad should definitely look at.

As always, if anything breaks on this front or on the Dave Bolland watch, Paint it Blackhawks will have you covered.

Tags: Aaron Ward, Brian Campbell, cam barker, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Duncan Keith, Jay McKee, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tim Sassone