After back-to-back post-trade deadline losses against the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche, many fans wonder if trading top-six defenseman James Wisniewski to the Anaheim Ducks for injured checking center Samuel Påhlsson was worth the sacrifice. The Blackhawks are banged up enough; do they really need a player in the locker room who has not played since mid-January?

With Wisniewski out of the lineup, additional pressure is put on Duncan Keith and the slumping Brian Campbell. Keith is consistent as always, and Campbell continues to put points on the board in the form of assists, but his defensive play is lacking. The rest of the defense needs to pick up Campbell’s slack and compensate for Wisniewski’s absence. This is a lot to ask in the final stretch of the season.

The Rockford IceHogs’ Niklas Hjalmarsson, who has played three games for the Blackhawks this season after Sunday’s loss, now fills Wisniewski’s role. As the Hawks watch their once-comfortable fourth place spot in the Western Conference disappear, can their defense hold up with an inexperienced player carrying such a large burden?

Wisniewski’s absence has already been felt; the Hawks have given up 10 goals in the last two games, a first this season.

Not only will his role have to be filled on the ice, but off it, as well. Wisniewski’s influence went further than his play; he was a known presence in the locker room and a “face” of the Blackhawks, often doing interviews and promotional spots. Jonathan Toews may be the team captain, but often other players are, for lack of a better term, “spiritual” leaders. Wisniewski was one of those; he was known for keeping the atmosphere light and always a loudmouth with smart comments. This is an often-overlooked position on a team, and its importance is underappreciated.

The Western Conference playoff race is a tight one. Fans have long felt the Blackhawks were a shoo-in for the playoffs, with home ice advantage. The Vancouver Canucks are now only five points behind the Hawks; six teams are within four points of each other fighting for the final four spots: the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Wisniewski’s new home, Anaheim). No team is more than 11 points behind the Hawks. With just over one month of hockey left to play, anything can happen. The Hawks are short Nikolai Khabibulin, Patrick Sharp, Brent Sopel, Påhlsson, and possibly, Martin Havlat (he left the ice in the first period against Colorado on Sunday and did not return to the game). When your top goalie and two leading goal scorers are out, the playoffs are no longer a certainty.

In May, the Wisniewski trade may be looked back upon as an unnecessary shake-up ruining the Blackhawks’ cohesiveness and rhythm. They do not have an easy schedule ahead; they face the New Jersey Devils twice, the Detroit Red Wings twice, Nashville twice, Columbus four times, the Montréal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver—not to mention the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues, who have given the Hawks trouble all year. The road ahead is rocky, and if they continue their lackluster game play, their season may end in disappointment on April 12.

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