Desperate trade options and strategies for the desperate Blackhawks

Whatever length of time goalie Corey Crawford might be out – it has been three weeks, it could be all season, who knows with the Blackhawks playing Secret Squirrel– the team cannot trade to replace him. Crawford is the Hawks’ best player and one of the best goalies in the league. You’re not going to find another one. Sorry, no, Amazon can’t drop one off via Zamboni.

So forget it. So don’t try. Backups Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass have numbers similar to likely trade targets. So trade to bolster other areas.

But not in the way people might think.

The Hawks have been messy in their defensive zone and allow a lot of shots that Crawford kept out of the net, thus offering repeated scoring opportunities for the iceberg of misfit toys playing in front of him. One conclusion, then, is trading for a top-four defensemen, which is what people might expect when you factor in the Hawks’ offensive numbers.

Despite playing some awful hockey for an alleged Stanley Cup contender, the Hawks remain among the leaders in five-on-five Corsi For and five-on-five scoring chances for, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. That means the Hawks have the puck more than their opponents and they get more shots than the other guys.

But other metrics reveal that the Hawks don’t finish the way they should. They rank among the worst in shooting percentage on those scoring chances. They don’t convert when they have the chance. They don’t put away teams.

But still, generating offense remains the best thing the Hawks do and it might be the right and surprising move to make their strength stronger by trading for several scorers or snipers or anybody who can put the puck in the net the way they did with the Anthony Duclair trade. More of that. It might be the right play to try to outscore their roster of backup goalies and third-pair defensemen. Play pond hockey. It might kill coach Joel Quenneville, but it feels as if the Hawks already are there.

Wise up, nobody’s going to trade the Hawks an Erik Karlsson. Sorry, the Norris Trophies R Us store is closed. There likely will be a handful of good defensemen available, but only a handful, and that’ll jump up the bidding.

However, the Hawks might be able to rent right wing Thomas Vanek, who has 13 goals with Vancouver, or left wing Pat Maroon, who has 11 goals with Edmonton. Or both. Or players like them. That would seem to be the cheapest route, which figures to be the choice for a franchise that is at the crossroads whether it wants to admit it or not.

Then again, try this: The idea of trading for Montreal left wing Max Pacioretty is something that might appeal to Hawks GM Stan Bowman, who isn’t afraid to be bold or wrong, and has been both recently in the last year.

Pacioretty is enduring a down season – just 12 goals – but is coming off four straight seasons of at least 30 goals. He’s 29, and this could be the start of his descent the way it seems to be with Jonathan Toews at the same age. Pacioretty has another season of a $4.5 million salary-cap hit remaining on his contract, and trading for players on multi-year deals can be tougher and sometimes risky. It also can rejuvenate a great player who has shown he can finish.

You get my idea. It might or might not work, same as anything. If you’re a team that leans toward firewagon hockey and you lose your most important defensive player, then you might try doubling down on firewagon hockey. Put good shooters with a roster that gets a lot of chances, but doesn’t finish like it should, and see what happens.

Look, it can’t be a worse idea than trading Niklas Hjalmarsson for Connor Murphy.