NEWSLETTER
As we continue patiently waiting for the Stanley Cup Playoffs to run their course and the offseason for the entire NHL to begin, Blackhawks fans are making their lists and checking them twice for who the front office should add to the mix to improve next year.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said at the conclusion of the regular season that there needs to be improvement next year, and he is looking to create healthy competition for roster spots. But we need to keep in mind that he is still committed to his long-term plan of drafting and developing the next generation of Blackhawks skaters to take the team back to the mountain top — and stay there. He has preached not only adding winners, but also creating a system that is built to sustain success when they get there.
With all of that in mind, it’s clear the Blackhawks are going to go shopping this summer. But within the confines of their long-term plan. They need to add to their top nine up front, a competitor for the backup spot in net and could use some help/depth on the right side of their blue line. So who’s available?
On Thursday, the good folks at Daily Faceoff published their initial Top 50 Free Agents list. What I like about their list is it includes contract projections provided by AFP Analytics. They note that the contract projections they include in this initial list are based off statistics and models from January and have not yet been updated for the summer. But it’s a good starting place to consider.
Using their contract projections and the Blackhawks’ needs, who are some names we might entertain as UFA targets for the Blackhawks? As a reminder, after Seth Jones and Nick Foligno talked about the Blackhawks needing to add “identity” forwards, I wrote about a few they might consider. I’m including the two of those players on their Top 50 list in my considerations below; Warren Foegele was not included in their list.
Forwards
Age: 28
Projected Contract: 5 x $6M
My Thoughts: DeBrusk has been really good at times for the Bruins. I’m not a huge fan of the five-year term, and that might be too long for the Blackhawks. But he would be a better top-line LW option than Taylor Hall for the next 3-4 years with Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev.
Age: 34
Projected Contract: 3 x $6.25M
My Thoughts: he’s on the older side, which is why the three-year term makes sense (and I like that). He’s scored 100 goals over the past three seasons in Vegas and won the Conn Smythe when they won the Stanley Cup; he’s a winner who plays the game the way Chicago wants to play. If you’re looking for an “identity” guy who can play in the top-six, this is your guy. And the Blackhawks can afford that cap hit with ease.
Age: 28
Projected Contract: 3 x $3M
My Thoughts: I wrote about Joshua as one of the “identity” pieces the Blackhawks could/should target, and I like the 3 x $3M term on a potential deal. He’s still young enough that there could be more to his game than he’s been able to show in Vancouver and he plays a physical game up front.
Age: 30
Projected Contract: 4 x $4.2M
My Thoughts: I wrote about Wennberg previously. I like him as a fourth-line center option. But I liked where he landed on this chart from their first-round playoff beating of the Caps.
Age: 30
Projected Contract: 2 x $2.6M
My Thoughts: he averaged 14:56 per game in Vancouver and won 53.1 percent of his faceoffs. He also picked up 43 blocked shots and 98 hits, so he would be a more physical bottom-line center option to help take some of the load off Jason Dickinson‘s shoulders on PK and in the defensive zone faceoff role.
Age: 32
Projected Contract: 2 x $2.8M
My Thoughts: he averaged 14:39 per game in Carolina and scored 14 goals. Importantly, he appeared in all 82 games; health has to be a concern for the Blackhawks after this past season. The low-cost contract projected for a character guy might make sense for a fourth-line role, though he might not be enough of an upgrade from Landon Slaggert‘s potential next two years to be worth the buy.
Right-Handed Defensemen
Age: 30
Projected Contract: 3 x $2.7M
My Thoughts: Carrier had 27 assists and was on the All-Rookie team three years ago in Nashville, but his ice time had some down in the two seasons since his first full NHL season. He average 18:48 per game this season for the Preds. He’s a smaller guy who might pair well with a bigger LHD like Ethan Del Mastro.
Age: 28
Projected Contract: 3 x $2.7M
My Thoughts: he isn’t a big defenseman and he’s really only played two full NHL regular seasons in Carolina, so this would be a potential buy-low candidate. He put 90 shots on net for the Canes this season and might be a nice low-cost option to pair with Del Mastro on the third pair.
Age: 28
Projected Contract: 2 x $1.4M
My Thoughts: he piled up 135 hits and 122 blocked shots while averaging 15:44 per game in Edmonton this year. He would be a physical addition to the back end who could compliment a player like Kevin Korchinski or Wyatt Kaiser well.
Goaltenders
Age: 29
Projected Contract: 2 x $2M
Age: 28
Projected Contract: 2 x $3M
My Thoughts: both of these guys would be healthy competition for the Blackhawks’ backup situation at reasonable cap hits. They both have NHL experience and the two-year term aligns with the deal the Blackhawks gave Petr Mrazek. And they’re both young enough that, if Drew Commesso is ready to take the job at the end of Mrazek’s contract, they could be back on short-term deals to continue backing him up in their early-30s.
