"There's no immediate help on the horizon for the struggling Blackhawks.

Before dropping their season-high fifth consecutive game, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Flames on Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, general manager Stan Bowman said he was not close to any trades that could help the Hawks turn their fortunes around.

Specifically, he has nothing going to shore up a defense that has been consistent only in its inconsistency.

"I think (any GM) who says they're close to a trade is kind of full of it at this point," Bowman said before the Hawks fell to 0-2-1 on their nine-game trip. "There's just nothing happening. I talked to some GMs (on Friday) and (one) said, 'What are you hearing?' And I said, 'Nothing.' He said, 'I know, there's nothing going on other than teams looking to get players.'

"There's nobody giving them up. It's a big log jam. Until teams fall more out of the race, we're not going to see anything happen."

That means barring something unexpected, the Hawks will continue their season-long journey with the players they had in the organization when they began it Tuesday night in Vancouver — which is just fine with coach Joel Quenneville."