If he has ypur not remotely getting that return

Not a chance

Hellebuyck may get a pretty good return, with a little luck a 2nd + Schmid is certainly possible.
But there's no way Hellebuyck returns a top 6 fwd on an ELC like Mercer. Goalies do not have that kind of value.

Blackhawks wouldn't give up assets for Wheeler.
Not sure any team around the league would to be honest.

I would say they have an outside shot to move him at the deadline with half retention for literally like a conditional 4th. The hawks certainly aren't going near him, and I agree it would have to be very specific circumstances for any team to consider.

Hand forced? Yes. Which is why you have no chance at Barron.

CHI is not giving up a 2nd for one year of Wheeler, and that UFA deal for Domi...serious overpay.

Hawks decline. I doubt the Hawks would take him if the 2nd was coming with him from Winnipeg.

Yes. PLD and Brisson have force the Jets to move PLD. They might get that type of return from another team, but not Montreal.

Wheeler has averaged 17 goals & 56 points the last 4 seasons and makes 8.25 per. Zero chance the rebuilding Hawks pay a 2nd to take a year of that at that cost. The 2nd is a good prospect (or a trade chip to move up in the draft) and all Wheeler does is makes them marginally better worsening the odds in the lottery which is all the Hawks are playing for this season.

PLD has been forcing Chevy's hand for over a year now.

Doubtful they'd get Barron from Montreal.

Zero chance of getting Mercer.

Colorado isn't trading Newhook for a rental center.

No one is giving a 2nd for Wheeler, MAYBE at the TDL with the retention they might be able to squeeze a late 2nd from some team but even then it'd probably be a 3rd and knowing TN they'd decline out of Blake's legacy or some ****.. lol

Schmidt is a cap dump that takes more then a 3rd to move.

Should probably keep Stanley if you're trading Schmidt and Heinola.

I agree about Wheeler, but the Domi part, I'm not so sure. AFP Analytics has predicted Domi will get something around a $5M x 5 year deal. So overpaying a little for less term, could be an option. Although, I think stability might be more important to Domi right now than AAV.

I wonder if Domi ends up signing with Chicago?

When CHI first signed him I wasn't upset, but I just did not care at all. But he grew on me big time. I would love bringing him back. BUT, I think he has earned the right to not only demand a decent pay day and some term/stability, but also try to go somewhere that has a chance of competing for a cup in the near future.

It's curious to me that a player like that hasn't found a longer-term home in the NHL. What is it with Max Domi? He had some good years at the start of his career in ARZ but then was traded after his ELC was up. MTL started great but then tailed off. CBJ he greatly underperformed his contract but in Chicago greatly over-performed (perhaps due to receiving more minutes and PP time?) and was said to be well-liked there. Did decent with Dallas once he was traded there but now will likely be looking for a new home again.

I've heard it said he can have attitude issues and can be lazy at times but what I see is, in spite of some good seasons, he just isn't a difference-maker. He appears to not be a strong play-driver and doesn't do well when the game is close which suggests a lot of his points are "empty calories". Maybe he has matured now and is more reliable but his history is very inconsistent and nobody has ever seemed to want him to stick around.

That's a no for the Avs.

more like a hell no with Sakic laughing in the background during that phone call

You're probably right, everybody gets overpaid in UFA. But having watched him and seen how one-dimensional he is (and how much trouble CHI had trading him for value even at $3m AAV) you gotta wonder if anyone who gives him $5m per is going to regret it.

Yeah. Idk. It's hard to say. That was my take on him too, but once he came to CHI I saw a side of him that didn't seem to align with all of that. Could've just been him trying to endear himself and find a home. We'll see. In CHI, we also don't need him to be some big time superstar producer. But that would be kinda sad if he spent his career bouncing around only to end his career in a rebuild that he likely doesn't get to see the end of. Not necessarily that his career is almost over, but you gotta think, if he does sign here, after a few years in CHI he will be on the wrong side of 30 and likely not very desirable to many teams.