NEWSLETTER
The folks at The Fourth Period do a great job with their summer trade watch list, including teams who have been linked to specific players. They updated their list on Monday and the Blackhawks are tied to four fascinating players on their list: Toronto’s Mitch Marner, Carolina’s Martin Nečas, Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras and the Islanders’ Oliver Wahlstrom.
I’ve previously written about a potential Blackhawks fit for three of those four names. And the fourth is certainly intriguing.
Blackhawks & Mitch Marner
I’ve written about the Marner rumors a few times already. There are some fatal flaws for both sides which has poured plenty of water on the Marner-Seth Jones talk from earlier in the summer, but the Blackhawks still needing to spend around $10M — coincidentally Marner’s cap hit — to get to the floor for the 2024-25 season keeps Chicago in the mix here. There are other insiders who think Marner will still be in Toronto to start the season.
With only one year left on his contract at this point, the return Toronto would get might underwhelm their fans… even if many of them irrationally want to run Marner out of town. If the Blackhawks went in big on Marner, one would hope they would get to work quickly on an extension. I like the player, but not as an uber-expensive rental for one season.
Blackhawks & Martin Nečas
Nečas might be the second-favorite non-Chicago hockey player on this site after either Ivan Demidov or Artyom Levshunov (depending on which you prefer at No. 2 in the draft). And he should: he’s only 25, has been a productive player on a team with championship aspirations the last few years and has performed well in the postseason. The catch: he’s a restricted free agent this summer who wants the bag, and Carolina might not be able to pay him (and Seth Jarvis and all of their other internal UFAs and RFAs).
Here’s the second catch in this hypothetical: Carolina is now reportedly also shopping the rights to UFA-to-be Jake Guentzel. It appears he’s going to at least test the market, if not leave. And the Blackhawks have been tied to him, too. If Guentzel walks, the Canes might need to keep Nečas and make a stronger push to retain him. This is going to be a wild summer to watch in Carolina.
Blackhawks & Oliver Wahlstrom
Back in early May when I identified some buy-low trade targets, Wahlstrom was one of the names I highlighted. I went back to that well a few weeks later when we discussed a few teams that might need to move on from their RFAs because of cap issues; the Islanders are reportedly looking to move money off their books (which may have been a factor in their trade with the Blackhawks).
Wahlstrom feels like the Islanders’ version of Lukas Reichel to me. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and showed some signs of being a guy early in his career, but the last two seasons have been impacted by injuries. After posting just six points in 32 games this past season, the 24-year-old winger is asking for a fresh contract that the Isles might not see as a priority — or, they see him as an asset that could help them get someone who can help them more/better immediately.
I’m still interested in a potential Blackhawks fit here, and the cost should be significantly lower than any of the other three names mentioned by TFP.
Blackhawks & Trevor Zegras
Zegras is an intriguing name to tie to the Blackhawks. The 9th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, he’s a highlight reel waiting to happen; he pulled off a “Michigan” goal on the same night Connor Bedard did this past season. If you slotted him in the same forward group as Bedard and Frank Nazar… that’s damn sexy, y’all.
But….
His 2023-24 season got off to a slow, late start because of lengthy contract negotiations with the Ducks that landed him a three-year deal at “only” $5.75M AAV. After consecutive 23-goal seasons to start his NHL career, many felt that was an underpayment. Zegras then dealt with injuries all year and contributed only 15 points in 31 games for the third-worst team in the NHL.
I would imagine the asking price here would be more in line with the cost to get Nečas out of Carolina. And, unlike the other three names above, Zegras has a contract with more than one season remaining on it. At only 6-0 and 185, he isn’t a big forward, either.
Zegras can score. And he can skate. And the two years remaining on his contract perfectly fit the Blackhawks’ roster build timeline. If he earns a next contract in the next 24 months, that would be great. And he’s young enough that he could be an exciting player here. My personal preference would be a bigger forward who plays a little defense occasionally. But Zegras would be fun.
