Brian Campbell: 'I'll Take A Discount To Play' With Blackhawks
(CBS) When the Blackhawks made the somewhat perplexing moves recently of trading Teuvo Teravainen in a salary dump with the Hurricanes and then shipping out Andrew Shaw to the Canadiens, they did so with a goal in mind.
Freeing up money to improve their blue line.
As the start of free agency approaches Friday, it's clear who Chicago's top priority is on the open market: defenseman Brian Campbell.
A former Blackhawk who was part of the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team, Campbell acknowledged his desire is to return to Chicago.
"A lot of people know it's my No. 1 place I'd like to play," he told the Chicago Tribune. "So I'll wait and see and hopefully it all works out."
Campbell is so set on playing for the Blackhawks that he would take a discount -- to an extent.
"I will take a discount to play here in Chicago," Campbell said, according to the Tribune. "But it's got to be something I can be comfortable with. Now I just have to wait to Friday to get something done."
The 37-year-old Campbell is a four-time All-Star, most recently in 2012. He's continued to be a dependable defenseman as he's played the past five seasons for the Florida Panthers. He had 31 points (six goals, 25 assists) in 82 games last season.
A lack of depth on the blue line was one of Chicago's weakness last season, when it fell in seven games to St. Louis in the first round.