Chicago Blackhawks load up for run at 2nd straight Cup

It sounds like the combination already has: Weise said he and Fleischmann clicked immediately when they were put together in Montreal to start the season.

The defending champs acquired Tomas Fleischmann, Dale Weise and Christian Ehrhoff in two separate deals Friday.

Danault, 23, from Victoriaville, has one goal and five assists in 32 career games with the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks are sending forward Phillip Danault and a second round pick in 2018 to the Canadiens, in exchange for the forwards.

Weise had an National Hockey League career-high 14 goals and 26 points with the Habs and was second on the Canadiens with 108 hits this season.

“I think when you look at the opportunity just to get a chance to win when you play for the Chicago Blackhawks, you look at their roster – adding Andrew Ladd, adding Tomas Fleischmann – I just think the roster, they look unsafe right now”, said Weise. “I am very pleased to have him join our organization”, Montreal’s general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement.

It’s Stanley Cup or bust for Chicago.

The Montreal Canadiens announced they acquired forward Phillip Danault from the Chicago Blackhawks via trade Friday. With the Montreal Canadiens going nowhere this season, several players knew they were on their way out. He and Fleischmann will both become unrestricted free agents in the summer. They also had great chemistry when they played together early in the season. Danault was the 26th overall pick by the Blackhawks back in the 2011 draft and has enjoyed success at the QMJHL level but has had some trouble adjusting his game to the minors. A strong skater and an active player in all three zones, he is not expected to be a big point producer in the National Hockey League but his work ethic and compete level should earn him a shot at that level.

Stan Bowman is all in.

Chicago still has some concerns on the back end, but that was also true last season and it didn’t matter.

It’s hard to believe, given all of the team’s complications with the salary cap figures this year and having to dump so many pieces from last season’s championship team to clear space, that the Blackhawks are able gear up like this for what should be another deep playoff run. One guy that comes to mind is Dale Weise.