The March 3 trade deadline is less than two months away, and Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will steal all the headlines in Chicago and across the league leading up to it. Rightfully so.
To a much lesser degree, there might be another unexpected Blackhawks name that could garner legitimate interest: Alex Stalock.
On Sunday, Stalock started his third consecutive game and he was terrific yet again after stopping 44 of 47 shots for a save percentage of .936 in a 4-3 overtime over Calgary. He's earned the net and hasn't skipped a beat since missing more than a month and a half with a concussion.
Stalock now has the fifth-best save percentage among qualified goaltenders at .923. He's also recorded a quality start in nine of 12 starts this season for a percentage of 750, which ranks No. 3 among goaltenders with at least 10 starts, according to Hockey Reference.
(A quality start is defined as a game where a goaltender finishes with a save percentage that's above the league average or at least an .885 save percentage in games with 20 or fewer shots).
Aside from stopping pucks, Stalock is also one of the best puck-handling goaltenders in the league. Former 2015 Stanley Cup champion and current NBC Sports Chicago analyst Scott Darling earlier in the season called him the best puck-handling goaltender since Marty Turco.
It's a small sample size, but Stalock has been great this season and he's just as important to the team off the ice as on it. He's a gamer and is as likable a player in the Blackhawks' locker room as anyone. They feed off his energy when he's in the net.
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"He’s awesome," Jake McCabe said. "He’s really loud up there, communicating. You guys can probably hear him up in the press box, which is great for a defenseman. He’s our eyes back there and he’s a great puck-handler. The teams dump the puck and a lot of times it’s a third defenseman out there and we get out of our zone a lot easier.
"He’s been phenomenal. We missed him when he was out, not only on the ice but off the ice. He’s a great dude. He’s been around. Just a great presence. Can’t say enough good things about him."
Perhaps the biggest reason why Stalock's name might pop up on the radar? His cap hit is $750,000, which is the league minimum. It's that low because Stalock appeared in only one game in three years after dealing with myocarditis. The Blackhawks took a chance on him, and it has paid off.
If the Blackhawks do trade Stalock, I'm sure they'd look to acquire a veteran in return. It wouldn't make sense to promote Arvid Soderblom to be the backup for whatever is left of the season and take him away from Rockford, which has aspirations to make a deep playoff run in the AHL.
The Blackhawks haven't had many bright spots this season, but Stalock is one of them.
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