Sitting near the bottom of the standings again this year with a handful of veterans in the final/only year(s) of their contracts, the Blackhawks are in pretty clear sell mode. They’ve already traded Taylor Hall to Carolina and have a handful of other players being watched on a nightly basis by scouts from other teams.
The Blackhawks do have some guys who will go. And they do have some more young guys who will want to get a taste of the NHL when their college seasons end (Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, Sam Rinzel).
But there’s also a case to be made for improving the stopgaps around the young core in the next year from the attempt at filling the gaps this year (that has failed). I have made the case for the Blackhawks to keep Ryan Donato thru the deadline and extend him for a couple years. He’s the kind of player young guys should try to emulate — and he’s producing. So why not maybe look to add one or two more of those guys?
Should the Blackhawks… trade… now?
The Blackhawks will reportedly go big game hunting this coming summer (even if general manager Kyle Davidson wouldn’t show his hand on Monday). On Thursday, Greg Wyshynski at ESPN wrote a lengthy piece about the aftermath of the Rantanen trade and included the Blackhawks among the teams that will open their checkbooks for him if he hits the UFA market:
They’re expected to be in on every player they can this offseason in an attempt to quickly build a contender around young star Connor Bedard. The 19-year-old phenom has shown some discontent at dwelling in the Central Division cellar in the first two seasons of his NHL career. Putting a top five scorer like Rantanen on his wing would certainly put a smile on his face. Needless to say, Chicago has the money and the cap space to attempt it — if not the competitive team that Rantanen might be compelled to join.
To further the speculation offered by Wyshynski, earlier this week Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus at The Athletic wrote about the Blackhawks’ plans for this summer and included the following:
Davidson can even take a page out of St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong’s book and attempt to offer sheet a pending restricted free agent, perhaps someone such as Dallas’ Wyatt Johnston, Minnesota’s Marco Rossi or Toronto’s Matthew Knies. Or he can put together an enticing package of futures to land a star forward via trade. Armed with two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and Chicago’s own early third-rounder it got back from Carolina in the Rantanen trade, Davidson can be as bold as he wants to be. And he’s shown he can be bold — or, at least attempt to be — with his aggressive offer to Columbus to try to land a second top-five pick and draft winger Ivan Demidov last June. It was closer than fans likely realize.
However, as Davidson pointed out, you can’t guarantee that any free agent will pick the Blackhawks — or that the right guys will ever actually hit the market (which is why Davidson wouldn’t commit to anything in late January).
You know one way to make sure you get the right guys without the perils of a big bidding free agent market?
A trade.
A couple sources have indicated the Blackhawks are in the market not only to sell; they’re also keeping tabs on forwards with some term — read: no more than 2-3 years (including the rest of the 2024-25 season) — who could add more to their lineup in the interim while the next wave of prospects matures in Rockford.
Possible Blackhawks trade targets
So what if the Blackhawks looked to buy — even if only short-term — before the deadline to replace some of the veterans who are undoubtedly leaving town before the clock hits zero on March 7? I looked at the list of players who will hit UFA in 2026 for some modest options that could be on the Blackhawks’ radar if they do look to bolster the top half of their forward group.
New York goal!
Scored by Anders Lee with 15:49 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Brock Nelson and Tony DeAngelo.
New York: 1
Colorado: 0#COLvsNYI #Isles #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/AxMu9OvvJG— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 29, 2025
Anders Lee, Islanders
Lee, 34, is the Islanders’ captain and has a $7M cap hit thru the 2025-26 season. With the exception of the COVID season in 2020-21, Lee has scored at least 20 goals in every campaign since 2016-17. He’s a power forward who plays in front of/around the net — the kind of guy who could teach Colton Dach a lot. He’s a Notre Dame product and brings the leadership the Hawks’ front office values. The Blackhawks have expressed interest in him in the past. I will note that Lee’s cap hit is $7M next year but his real base salary is only $4.5M.
Convincing Lee to waive his no-trade clause to spend more than one full season in Chicago would be the tricky proposition. That, and the Islanders would finally need to accept their fate; they’re the hottest team in the entire NHL right now (8-2-0 in their last 10) but that only improves them to… 7th in the Metropolitan.
Scott Laughton evens things up in Toronto! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/2NMrP8Usjd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 6, 2025
Scott Laughton, Flyers
Laughton, 30, has a $3M cap hit thru the 2025-26 season. If he’s made available, there will be a robust market for him at the modest cap hit with term remaining. If the Blackhawks were willing to mortgage draft capital (likely at least a first-round pick), he might be a rental that could be in play to re-sign after next season.
ALEX TUCH
— Crossing Swords ⚔️ (@CrossSwordsPod) January 25, 2025
EARLY SABRES LEAD
NOTHING WILL GO WRONG pic.twitter.com/MHeVsn21rC
Alex Tuch, Sabres
Tuch, 28, has a $4.75M cap hit thru the 2025-26 season. He’s a little more expensive than Laughton in AAV but he’s a proven scorer who plays a physical game. The question is what the Sabres would want in return, and if they’re ready to start moving veterans with term to shake up their roster quite yet.
I will also note that Tuch is among the league leaders in blocked shots by forwards again this season. He’s a solid all-around option.
Michael Bunting caps off the pretty power play passing setup for a goal, Penguins within 1!#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/wPhL23Q4NA
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) January 24, 2025
Michael Bunting, Penguins
Bunting, 29, has a $4.5M cap hit thru the 2025-26 season. The Penguins are a mess and will likely look to jump start their rebuild process quickly around Sidney Crosby if/when they decide to start moving players. He played his most productive hockey in Toronto with more skilled players, so the selling point here might be getting him to ride shotgun with the Blackhawks’ young forwards.