Rumor: Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad once again becoming a trade target.

The Chicago Blackhawks have been an interesting story this season due in large part to the fact that they appear to be a team that is moving in two different directions. On the one hand with players like Brent Seabrook being shut down for the season and an aging core of players it at times feels like the Blackhawks are a team that now needs to start looking towards the future, however with big time talent like Patrick Kane at forward and newly acquired goaltender Robin Lehner in net the Blackhawks have managed to remain competitive and could potentially be a playoff team this season.

No one knows in which direction Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman will trend this season and it seems fair to suggest that a great deal of that could hinge on his teams performance down the stretch. That being said the Blackhawks currently sit 6 points back of the Vancouver Canucks for a playoff spot and it sounds like there may already be rival teams viewing Bowman and the Blackhawks as a team likely to be selling prior to the National Hockey League's trade deadline in February of 2020. Recent comments made by Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman suggest that Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad has been drawing interest from teams around the league, and wouldn't it be something to see Bowman trade Saad for a second time during his tenure as general manager of the Blackhawks.

"The Blackhawks announced Brandon Saad was out for about 3 weeks yesterday but I think there is some interest there and quite possibly when he's healthy I think there are gonna be some teams taking a look at him even though he has got 1 year remaining on his deal."

Saad has of course been traded twice already in his career and should this trade materialize it would be his third time on the move. The veteran forward was traded the first time when he reportedly refused to take a more team-friendly deal as a restricted free agent, prompting Stan Bowman to trade him to the Columbus Blue Jackets in what many felt was a clear message to Saad and the rest of his players. Saad would eventually be traded back to the Blackhawks and is now in his third season with the team since rejoining their ranks. 

In his 36 games played this season Saad has 11 goals and 8 assists for a total of 19 points, and currently boasts a plus minus rating of -2.