Steve Ott Could Be A Good Fit For Blackhawks
After a hot start, the Dallas Stars now find themselves floating around the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture, struggling to hang within reach of one of those last couple of spots. As each game passes, it’s looking more and more like they’ll be sellers before next week’s trade deadline.
Of the players that they could opt to shop, one of the more intriguing names for the Blackhawks is Steve Ott.
Ott is one of several names that Stars have floating out on the market, but he’s also the name that Darren Dreger labeled as his most likely candidate to be traded before the deadline on NHL Live this week.
Of course, Ott isn’t the only Star that has been linked to the Hawks recently, as there have been whispers of the team being interested in bringing back former Blackhawk Adam Burish. Obviously Ott would make a more substantial impact in the lineup, though, should the Hawks go out and acquire him.
Ott has 27 points on the season, including eight goals. However, the focus for Ott isn’t the points he puts on the scoreboard, it’s the physical presence he brings to the ice.
His 201 hits rank in the top five in the league. He’s obviously a bruiser and an agitator, which is something the Hawks could use in the lineup. However, his 115 penalty minutes are something that they cannot use, even if the penalty kill has been improved of late.
One added benefit of a guy like Steve Ott in the lineup, though, is the fact that he also wins faceoffs. The Blackhawks could certainly use some help in that area, and Ott is a damn good guy in the middle. He’s taken over 700 draws on the year, winning them at a 57 percent clip, among the best in the league. And he’ll be one of the first to tell you that.
Ott still has a couple years left on his deal that carries a $2.95 million cap hit, which isn’t a brutal hit, but would the Hawks be willing to pay that, or are they looking for more of a rental type to add to the forward lines?
Add him to the list of names that the Hawks could consider before next Monday. Ott could be a good fit, as his physical, gritty style, as well as those faceoffs, would be welcome. But are the Blackhawks going to consider a guy with a couple years left and who racks up the penalty minutes like few others in the league can?
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