Johnny Oduya won't re-sign with Blackhawks, according to agent

There was never a doubt the Chicago Blackhawks would be a different team next season than the one that won the Stanley Cup in June. How different was the unknown.

That variable continued to be answered on Tuesday as defenseman Johnny Oduya became the latest player to depart the Blackhawks' 2014-15 Stanley Cup team. Oduya's agent, Don Meehan, said Tuesday that Oduya will not return to the Blackhawks and will sign with another team.

The Blackhawks have already parted ways with Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad, Brad Richards and Antoine Vermette from last season's team. Sharp was traded to the Dallas Stars and Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Richards signed with the Detroit Red Wings and Vermette with the Arizona Coyotes as unrestricted free agents.

Oduya and Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman had been keeping the window open for Oduya's return, but that became less likely when the Blackhawks acquired veteran defenseman Trevor Daley from the Stars last week. The Blackhawks currently have about $900,000 of cap space and still are expected to re-sign Marcus Kruger. Oduya signed a three-year, $10.125 million contract extension with the Blackhawks after the 2011-12 season.

Oduya was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Winnipeg Jets for second- and third-round picks in February 2012. He played a top-4 defenseman role in the Blackhawks' 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cups. He had nine goals, 34 assists, was a plus-31 and averaged 20:37 of ice time in 219 regular-season games for the Blackhawks. He also played in 71 playoff games.

The Blackhawks have six NHL defensemen signed for next season. In addition to acquiring Daley, the Blackhawks return defensemen Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brent Seabrook, Trevor van Riemsdyk and David Rundblad from last season's team.