Blackhawks players and coach “shocked” by “discouraging” Hagel trade.

On Friday the Chicago Blackhawks shocked many pundits around the National Hockey League when they pulled off a highly unexpected trade, dealing away relatively young forward Brandon Hagel to the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The move signaled to both fans and players in Chicago that the team is now officially moving towards a teardown of their current roster and looking towards their long term future, but there are very real questions about how the move has been received so far. Since the trade was made we've now heard from two of the leaders of the team in the form of Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and Blackhawks head coach Derek King, and if their comments are any indication of the feeling in the Blackhawks locker room, it isn't a positive sign.

In speaking with Blackhawks insider Mark Lazerus following the trade, Toews openly admitted that the move was a discouraging one for him personally. As the organization's leader in the locker room you would have to believe that this is a feeling that is shared by many other players on the Blackhawks roster as well.

"Now all of a sudden you realize no one on our team is safe and we could all be going in different directions in the near future — it’s pretty discouraging," admitted Toews as per Lazerus. "I’ll leave it at that for now."

When speaking with members of the media on Saturday, Derek King shared a sentiment that appeared to echo what Toews felt about the matter. King stated that many of his players were emotional about the move, while also adding that it had seemingly caught them off guard.

"Great teammate. Players, I think, are emotional about it, shocked, and you’re never ready," said King. "Especially a player like that, you don't want to lose. But again this is a business and we have to move forward."

King also stated that the move had caught the coaching staff off guard as well.

"I was very shocked," admitted the Blackhawks head coach.

There have been rumblings that this could be just the beginning of a major teardown for the Blackhawks ahead of the upcoming NHL trade deadline. Both fans and players in Chicago may want to brace themselves for what is to come over the course of the next 48 hours or so.