Trade Rumor Tracker: Blackhawks pursuing Nabokov?

This man will look even happier if he gets Evgeni Nabokov to play goal

Saturday night’s loss to the Phoenix Coyotes made it eight straight defeats for the Chicago Blackhawks, Stanley Cup champions just two years ago and loaded with top-tier talent at both forward and on the blueline.

A cursory look at the standings reveals Suspect #1: with 174 goals, only two Western Conference teams have scored more than Chicago. With 171 goals allowed, the only team in the west to allow more goals is the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blackhawks have some issues on the blueline, to be certain. Duncan Keith has not played up to his Norris Trophy heights of two seasons past and Brent Seabrook has had to fight through various injuries all season long. Still, that pairing has to be considered among the NHL elite. Beyond them, Nick Leddy is a talented offensive rearguard prone to mistakes in the defensive zone, Niklas Hjalmarsson is a talented defensive defenseman prone to invisibility in the offensive zone, and Steve Montador is a solid third-pairing option. Desiring more depth on the back-line, it has been whispered in the media for months that the Hawks are seeking to deal for a veteran such as Johnny Oduya or Bryan Allen to solidify the group.

Yet, watching the Blackhawks, it is difficult to pin the blame on the obscene amount of goals against on their defense. After a promising rookie campaign last season, starting goaltender Corey Crawford has dealt with confidence issues and some sloppiness between the pipes which has often led to inopportune goals squeaking past him. Backup netminder Ray Emery has never lived up to the talent he was once lauded for, and Chicago is his fifth team in five years as a result. Both of their numbers have staggered far below the NHL median this year, dragging the Hawks down in the standings despite an offense littered with electrifying talents like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp.

The Chicago Blackhawks need a goalie and they need one fast.

The New York Islanders need a great deal more than a goaltender. Playing in the toughest division in the Eastern Conference, they currently sit eight points and five teams out of a playoff position. They have not won a playoff round since 1993, since grunge was still cool, since Wayne Gretzky was leading the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals, since nobody except spies had cellular phones yet.

One of the brightest spots for the Isles in 2011-12 has been the play of Evgeni Nabokov, who has absolutely sparkled of late in net. An unrestricted free agent following the season, he is signed through just this year at the bargain-basement cap-hit of $570,000. It is no surprise then to read report after report of Blackhawks scouts at Islander games, and it does not take a great deal of deduction to figure out who on Long Island is being scouted by Chicago.

It seems to be a perfect match, as the Islanders are thin at defense in their prospect pipeline, and the Hawks have a pair of young rearguards with excellent upside in Dylan Olsen and Adam Clendening. If the Blackhawks added a first-rounder to either Olsen or Clendening, it should be enough to pry Nabokov away from the Island. Doing so would certainly vault the Blackhawks back into title contention and aid in the rebuilding efforts of the Islanders. Of course, this is all speculation, but that is clearly why you read a column whose title begins with “trade rumor tracker” and ends in a question mark.