The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin today. It’s the most exciting time of year for 16 cities in the NHL because every one of them — yes, even the Islanders and Capitals — have a chance to win it all. Remember what that was like? Yeah, I do. And I can’t wait for the Blackhawks to get back there. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are cleaning out their lockers and having their exit interviews on Saturday morning. I’ll be there.
Matt and I made our picks for the first round on Friday. What are your predictions for the first round series? Let us know!
Speaking of predictions, I dropped a freshly updated, two-round 2024 NHL Mock Draft on Saturday morning. We now have the top half of the draft — meaning, in the first round, the draft lottery odds — locked in. So why not have some fun with how the picks might come off the board? That’s five selections for the Blackhawks in the first round to discuss.
Taylor Hall showed up at the final morning skate of the season, which was a bit of a shock. He has been skating for a while before the rest of the team and took part in some rushes without contact over the past week or so, but he hadn’t been on the road with the team since having knee surgery. Ben Pope wrote about how he’s progressing from his ACL injury. It would be really nice if he could give the Hawks most of a season next year.
Hey! Colton Dach scored a goal last night! He also had two assists. A late season push from Dach into a healthy summer and good training camp would be huge.
The No. 1 thing general manager Kyle Davidson needs to do this summer is figure out the immediate future of Alex Vlasic. He’s becoming one of the better defensive defensemen in the entire NHL — a building block for the future. And, by the way, he’s only turning 23 in June. I would love to see him get a long-term deal done. Cost certainty is huge.
I am fascinated to see what the approach is with Lukas Reichel this summer. He’s an RFA who disappointed and underwhelmed this season. Is he going the Kurashev qualifying offer route? Is he trade bait as the Blackhawks look to mix things up?
The other RFAs I’m interested to watch are Isaak Phillips and Louis Crevier. They’re both big, young defensemen with some NHL experience. But they’re also both appearing to get further buried on the organizational depth chart more with every call up. Last summer, Davidson traded two RFA defensemen — Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula — to Boston in the deal that landed Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall. The Hawks could also bring one of them back on a one-year deal as depth (because, you know, that’s desperately needed).
What do you want the Blackhawks to do this summer to improve? Like… I know everyone loves to point fingers at the usual suspects (Jarred Tinordi, Arvid Söderblom, the coaches) but let’s get some specifics in the comments. Trade? Free agency? Who are you circling on the list of Must Haves this summer?
This one sucks for the Blackhawks because Sean Behrens is a really good defenseman and that’s the last thing the Avalanche need.
Finally, the Bulls put their fans out of their misery I MEAN saw their 2023-24 season come to a close last night in Miami. They got their tails whupped by the Heat and now get to embark on a summer that is hopefully not status quo. Shoutout to Eli for a long, hard season. At least with the Blackhawks we know there’s a direction and meaning behind the tough losses… and see a future. The Bulls are an aging team that isn’t working.
NEWSLETTER
