Johnny Oduya won't be returning to the Chicago Blackhawks

By Justin Farmer

Everyone knew heading into this upcoming season that the Chicago Blackhawks roster would look a lot different. Just how different though, that was the million dollar question.

That question continues to be answered as Johnny Oduya is the latest player to be leaving the 2014-15 Stanley Cup winning team. Don Meehan, Oduya’s agent, said Tuesday that Oduya would not be returning to Chicago and will sign with another team.

Ever since free agency hit, Oduya had been waiting to see if Chicago was going to be able to clear enough space and that question is finally answered. It was always going to be a long shot for the Hawks to re-sign Oduya, but his fate was officially sealed when the Blackhawks received Trevor Daley from Dallas in the Patrick Sharp trade. Daley, like Oduya, is a left-sided defensemen so it wouldn’t make much sense to keep Oduya, especially with his price tag.

Oduya was acquired by the Blackhawks back in 2012 from the Winnipeg Jets for a second and third round pick. Oduya went on to win two Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks and not only provided great veteran leadership in their locker room, but played tremendously in this year’s playoff run.

Oduya joins Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Brad Richards and Antoine Vermette as players who will not be back with the Chicago Blackhawks when they raise their Stanley Cup banner in October.

Now that Oduya is for sure not coming back, the Blackhawks will focus their attention on re-signing Marcus Kruger. The Hawks are still trying to find room for Kruger’s expected salary of $2-2.5 million dollars, but seem to be having a little trouble managing the cap. One reason in particular is because of Bryan Bickell’s $4 million dollar cap hit and the Hawks inability to find a trading partner for it.

Oduya is gone, and something tells us that he won’t be the last to be departing the Windy City.

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