Brandon Manning “Open” To Trade Out Of Chicago

Usually as the trade deadline approaches in the NHL, 28-year old defensemen with a history of success aren’t readily available. Ones that pack a physical punch and are signed to a reasonably low cap hit are usually even more rare, and can generate bidding wars that can get out of hand. Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brandon Manning checks all those boxes, but his struggles this season have made him unwanted on the market and by his current team. There have been reports for weeks that the Blackhawks were looking to move one or both of Manning and Jan Rutta, and today Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (subscription required) checked in with the former to see how he feels about the situation.

Manning is very clearly not demanding a trade out of Chicago, but the fact remains that he has been scratched repeatedly under new head coach Jeremy Colliton. In fact he hasn’t played at all since December 12th, and even then only saw 13:20 of ice time—a total far lower than the 18 minutes he averaged over the last two seasons in Philadelphia. Those two seasons were where Manning had made his mark as a physical defenseman for the Flyers who could move the puck reasonably well. Those two seasons are also what earned him a two-year contract with the Blackhawks that carries a $2.25MM cap hit, but they aren’t enough to generate much interest from around the league. Lazerus writes that Chicago “surely would have to retain up to half of Manning’s salary in order to move him.”

It’s that retained salary that might make a Manning trade even more difficult for the Blackhawks to pull off, and why they might decide to just bury him instead. Every team in the NHL is allowed only three retained salary transactions at a time, and using one of them on a player who is unlikely to generate any return doesn’t make much sense. Chicago knows they might have to blow things up soon and start a true rebuild, and if they ever want to get out from under some of their long-term contracts they would almost certainly need to retain salary. Even at a cost of just $1.125MM per season, no team is going to hand over a viable asset for Manning right now.

Getting him off the books would help if he’s not going to play—especially given his contract runs through 2019-20—but sending him to the minor leagues would also reduce the cap hit by $1.025, nearly as much as a 50% retained salary trade anyway. He’d have to clear waivers in order to be sent to the AHL, but that poses little risk at this point. More likely, the Blackhawks are looking for a soft landing spot for Manning where he can actually get an opportunity to play. Where that will come from is anyone’s guess.