Deal brewing between Blackhawks, Canadiens?
Chicago Daily Herald’s Tim Sassone and Len Ziehm of the Chicago Sun Times both write about a TSN report that claims a trade between Chicago and Montreal would see the Blackhawks acquire forward Sergei Samsonov and defenseman Craig Rivet in exchange for defenseman Adrian Aucoin.
Sassone also points out that Canadiens scout Gordie Roberts “has been following the Hawks around” lately, and Montreal may also be interested in center Bryan Smolinski, not just Aucoin.
A favorite of Blackhawks assistant GM Rick Dudley, Samsonov “has been a bad fit in Montreal, getting only 22 points in 51 games” and could use a change of scenery. The Russian forward is in the first year of a two-year, $7.050 million contract he signed last summer.
Rivet becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, and earns $2.47 million this season.
Meanwhile, Aucoin, who has battled a long list of injuries since his arrival in Chicago two years ago, has just returned to the Blackhawks’ line-up after missing eight games with a groin injury. The defenseman is owed $8 million over the next two seasons.




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