The disassembling of the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup-winning roster continued Wednesday night when general manager Stan Bowman sent versatile winger Kris Versteeg to Toronto.

Versteeg and the rights to speedy forward Bill Sweatt were traded to the Maple Leafs for Viktor Stalberg, Philippe Paradis and Christopher DiDomenico.

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. -- Restricted free agent Andrew Ladd received a qualifying offer late Saturday night from the Hawks, a source confirmed.

Ladd, Antti Niemi, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jordan Hendry are the four Hawks that are restricted free agents. The deadline to qualify restricted free agents is Monday.

If you haven't seen them yet ... here are the NHL 2009-10 All-Star teams:

LAS VEGAS -- Just after midnight, it became official.

Dustin Byfuglien, restricted free agent Ben Eager, veteran defenseman Brent Sopel and prospect Akim Aliu were traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for the 24th overall pick in the NHL draft (which starts Friday), the 54th overall pick, veteran forward Marty Reasoner, winger Joey Crabb (who has starred in Chicago with the Wolves) and promising prospect Jeremy Morin.

The holdup? Some contracts Atlanta had to get off their books.

Hawks GM Stan Bowman and Thrashers GM Rick Dudley each spoke with the media early Thursday or late Wednesday, depending what time zone you were in.

Here are some of the highlights with Bowman's 12:30 a.m. conference call: I did find it interesting that Bowman referred to Jack Skille and Bryan Bickell as players the Hawks are looking for to step up in place of Byfuglien, a star in the playoffs. Skille and Bickell are restricted free agents and still need to be signed.

LAS VEGAS -- A source confirmed Wednesday that Dustin Byfuglien has been traded to the Atlanta Thrashers.

According to various internet reports, Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and prospect Akim Aliu were traded to Atlanta for the 24th overall pick in the 2010 draft, the 54th overall pick, Marty Reasoner and Jeremy Morin.

No official announcement has been made by the Hawks or the Thrashers. More to come.

The Hawks will open the 2010-11 regular season at the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 7. They will host the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 9 at the United Center. The full schedule will be released on Tuesday.

HOME OPENERS ... per the NHL.

ANAHEIM - Wednesday, Oct. 13, Vancouver
ATLANTA - Friday, Oct. 8, Washington
BOSTON - Thursday, Oct. 21, Washington
BUFFALO - Saturday, Oct. 9, NY Rangers
CALGARY - Sunday, Oct. 10, Los Angeles
CAROLINA - Wednesday, Oct. 27, Washington
BLACKHAWKS - Saturday, Oct. 9, Detroit
COLORADO - Thursday, Oct. 7, Blackhawks
COLUMBUS - Friday, Oct. 15, Blackhawks
DALLAS - Thursday, Oct. 14, Detroit
DETROIT - Friday, Oct. 8, Anaheim
EDMONTON - Thursday, Oct. 7, Calgary
FLORIDA - Saturday, Oct. 16, Tampa Bay
LOS ANGELES - Tuesday, Oct. 12, Atlanta
MINNESOTA - Thursday, Oct. 14, Edmonton
MONTREAL - Wednesday, Oct. 13, Tampa Bay
NASHVILLE - Saturday, Oct. 9, Anaheim
NEW JERSEY - Friday, Oct. 8, Dallas
NY ISLANDERS - Saturday, Oct. 9, Dallas
NY RANGERS - Friday, Oct. 15, Toronto
OTTAWA - Friday, Oct. 8, Buffalo
PHILADELPHIA - Monday, Oct. 11, Colorado
PHOENIX - Saturday, Oct. 16, Detroit
PITTSBURGH - Thursday, Oct. 7, Philadelphia
ST. LOUIS - Saturday, Oct. 9, Philadelphia
SAN JOSE - Saturday, Oct. 16, Atlanta
TAMPA BAY - Saturday, Oct. 9, Atlanta
TORONTO - Thursday, Oct. 7, Montreal
VANCOUVER - Saturday, Oct. 9, Los Angeles
WASHINGTON - Saturday, Oct. 9, New Jersey

It's official now. About a week after the cover was leaked and displayed by Yahoo's popular Puck Daddy blog, EA Sports announced that Hawks captain Jonathan Toews will be on the cover of NHL 11.

Patrick Kane was the cover boy of last year's video game, which continues to win awards.

Here's Toews on the cover:

Believe it or not, next year is right around the corner. The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks just released their preseason schedule for 2010.

Wed, Sept. 22 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at MTS Centre (Winnipeg), 7:00 P.M.

Fri, Sept. 24 at Detroit Red Wings, TBD

Sat, Sept. 25 vs. Detroit Red Wings, TBD

Tues, Sept. 28 at Pittsburgh Penguins, 6:00 P.M.

Thurs, Sept. 30 at St. Louis Blues,TBD

Fri, Oct. 1 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, TBD

Sun, Oct. 3 vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD

PHILADELPHIA -- There was Patrick Kane skating wildly away from the play. Patrick Sharp gave chase. Brian Campbell and Andrew Ladd looked lost.

Oh my gosh, I thought. Kane just won it.

PHILADELPHIA -- Most of the Hawks took part in the pre-game skate. Most of the Philadelphia Flyers did not.

During it, the Hawks tried to remain loose -- and young. They shared laughs during drills and joked around with some spectators in the stands.

But as much as they would love to approach Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday as just another game, they all know it isn't. The Stanley Cup is on the line.

PHILADELPHIA -- Andrew Ladd has a pretty good idea of how Flyers coach Peter Laviolette motivates and prepares his teams. Ladd played for him as a rookie with the Carolina Hurricanes when the won the Stanley Cup in 2006.

PHILADELPHIA -- From a premature tweet on Twitter from the Flyers to coach Peter Laviolette's strong statements, all signs point to Michael Leighton starting in goal for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Hawks at the Wachovia Center.

Told that Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger was on the ice for every goal scored by the Blackhawks, Dave Bolland's eyes lit up and his jaw dropped.

Brent Seabrook's favorite player growing up was Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. He simply idolized the way he played.

But how about now?

Hawks captain Jonathan Toews was very blunt Sunday before Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It's time for the Hawks to step up and take control of the series, which is tied at two wins each.

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette took exception to Brian Campbell's hit on Ville Leino in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals.

"'It was a bit dangerous," Laviolette said. "It was from the blind side. That's just my opinion.''

PHILADELPHIA -- Winger Andrew Ladd and defenseman Nick Boynton are in the lineup Friday for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Flyers.

Ladd last played in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks. He suffered an injury early in the game during a collision.

Boynton has been a scratch since April 9. The game on Friday was his first this postseason.

Adam Burish and Jordan Hendry were scratches.

PHILADELPHIA -- It's no longer status quo for Andrew Ladd.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Ladd is a game-time decision for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Philadelphia Flyers Friday at the Wachovia Center.

Hawks tough guy Ben Eager called Game 2 ''a step in the right direction.'' The physical intensity and post-whistle shoving and jawing were all up his alley.

A special thanks to Twitter follower Stacy Lymber for passing this along. Enjoy.