Blackhawks answer Wild by bringing back Johnny Oduya

What makes Joel Quenneville a successful coach is that he has trust issues when it comes to his defensive corps.

He has always been picky about who he accepts on his defense, and that’s the simplest explanation of why the Chicago Blackhawks are always strong defensively. That also explains why the Blackhawks re-acquired defenseman Johnny Oduya from the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night in exchange for Mark McNeill and a conditional fourth-round pick. It becomes a third-round pick if the Blackhawks reach the Western Conference Final and Oduya plays 50% of his team’s games.

Oduya played for the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup championship teams in 2013 and 2015 before signing with the Stars as a free agent.

Quenneville always had confidence in Oduya, but the Blackhawks were forced to let him go because of the salary cap concerns.

That’s not an issue now because he is player with an expiring contract, and his pro-rated salary fits into the Blackhawks' salary matrix.

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Chicago’s top five defensemen are now Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brian Campbell and Oduya. That’s a 12-Stanley Cup fivesome. If you factor in spare defender Michal Rozsival, it’s a 14-Cup defensive corps.

The Wild are leading the Western Conference, but this deal is a reminder that the Blackhawks do have a good shot at winning their fourth Stanley Cup since 2010.