NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Blackhawks are near the bottom of the NHL standings, and have been for a couple years. The past couple seasons have seen the NHL’s trade deadline as an exodus in Chicago, with general manager Kyle Davidson getting busy working to accelerate an aggressive rebuild. And those deals have been successful on a number of levels, leading to the team landing Connor Bedard in the 2023 NHL Draft.
But this year feels like it’s going to be very different for the Blackhawks. Two of the veterans who would have been popular names on the trade market — Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson — have already signed two-year extensions to stay in Chicago and continue leading the rebuild’s next stage. With those two off the market, it looks like this could shape up to be a relatively quiet few weeks before the March 8 deadline.
That might not be the case, though. And it isn’t because the Blackhawks are necessarily still in position to continue stockpiling draft assets.
Crowded Blackhawks’ Roster
Entering Wednesday, the Blackhawks are already at the maximum 23-man NHL roster. And that’s with six forwards still on IR, five of whom might be back at some point this season.
If we assume that Bedard, Foligno, Tyler Johnson, Anthony Beauvillier and Andreas Athanasiou (a legit question mark) come back at some point, the Blackhawks will need to find somewhere to put five of the forwards on their NHL roster. Last time I checked, that’s almost half of the 12 they dress on a nightly basis.
Compounding that is the potential of the Blackhawks adding some prospects with contracts after their college seasons come to an end.
After the trade deadline, the roster can expand beyond the 23-man limit if the team has cap space (the Blackhawks likely would), but there’s still the issue of getting everyone ice time and not wasting the last month of their regular seasons.
Landon Slaggert is a senior at Notre Dame and the Blackhawks have tried to sign him previously. I think we all hope he signs when his collegiate career ends. That could be a PTO with Rockford for the rest of the season and a two-year entry-level deal that begins next year, but it’s more likely that he’ll want to get his professional contract start this season.
Frank Nazar is playing so well for Michigan after a stellar showing at the World Junior Championship that he could be in line for a contract as well. The Blackhawks would likely take a similar course with Nazar as they have with Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser out of the college ranks, signing him and burning the first year of his deal on the last few games in the NHL before he possibly heads to Rockford for professional seasoning (if necessary).
The Hawks also might be interested in signing Ryan Greene out of Boston University. He has college options left — he’s still just a sophomore — so he might get a PTO and head to Rockford or stay in school for another year. I would like to see him turn pro before next season, however. The Blackhawks could use the center depth and he’s a good one.
If the Blackhawks want to see Slaggert and Nazar in the NHL even briefly later this season, they would need to have room for them on the roster as well. Which means there will inevitably be a few bodies that will need to move either via trade or to Rockford to accommodate the additions from IR and potential prospect signings.
Blackhawks Who Might Be Available
So which Blackhawks might be on the market? I think we can probably focus on guys whose contracts expire at the end of this season. But that cuts the list to… still, most of the forwards. Here are the players who might have some level of interest from teams around the league:
Petr Mrazek — I think many of us see a path to a two-year extension here because he’s been really good, likes it here and the players like him. If he doesn’t get an extension, he could be a very popular name on the market.
Lukas Reichel — change of scenery candidate? He’s an RFA after this season and, while the coaches haven’t gone as far as to say they’re frustrated or disappointed with his performance, we’re getting to the point that he needs to find “it” or…
Colin Blackwell — with only a $1.2 million cap hit and a pending UFA, he’s been a great source of energy for the Blackhawks since he joined the lineup. A contender might view him as an affordable bottom-six guy who has played in the postseason before.
Taylor Raddysh — still only 25 and with a cap hit of only $758,333, he scored 20 goals last year and has been a nice penalty killer this year. He’s an RFA after the season. However, the still outstanding results of the investigation into the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team might limit the market for him and Boris Katchouk.
Isaak Phillips — this one would pain me because I really like how he’s developed over the past couple years. And he’s still only 22 years old. But with the Blackhawks having Vlasic and Kevin Korchinski on the left side in the NHL and Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan coming in Rockford, he might be a tempting asset for a team looking to add young defense depth. He’s an RFA this summer.
Zach Sanford, Jaycob Megna, Rem Pitlick — the Blackhawks added these three out of necessity and it only cost them a conditional seventh-round pick (for Pitlick) and a couple waiver claims. They might all be waiver/AHL assignment guys because there simply might not be a market for them.
