Trade Deadline Primer: Chicago Blackhawks

With the 4 Nations Face-Off break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite a litany of veteran additions this summer, the Chicago Blackhawks have once again found themselves competing with the San Jose Sharks for dead-last in the NHL. It’s been a stressful season for the team’s young stars, with 19-year-old Connor Bedard playing the most minutes among Hawks forwards, while Landon Slaggert and Frank Nazar fight to step up and support the third-lowest scoring team in the NHL. Chicago’s Trade Deadline will focus on building the support around those burgeoning prospects, as they try to craft a roster that can climb to long-term success.

Record

16-31-6, 8th in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$10.23MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention spots used, 42/50 contract spots used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: CHI 1st, TOR 1st, CHI 2nd, DAL 2nd, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, NYR 4th, CHI 6th, CHI 7th
2026: CHI 1st, CHI 2nd, NYI 2nd, TOR 2nd, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, OTT 4th, CHI 5th, CHI 6th

Trade Chips

Another down year has put the Blackhawks’ veterans at the center of trade attention. It seems any of their aging options could be available for the right return. That rings particularly true for alternate captain Seth Jones, who’s been tasked with holding down the Chicago blue-line for the last four seasons. The Blackhawks acquired Jones alongside a first and sixth-round pick (turned into Nolan Allan and Dominic James) in exchange for Adam Boqvist, two first-round picks, and a second-round pick (turned into Cole Sillinger, David Jiricek, and Aleksi Heimosalmi) in the summer of 2021. They signed Jones to an eight-year, $76MM extension on the same day, setting him up for to seemingly ride out the rest of his career in the Windy City.

Jones brought his patented all-offense, no-defense style with him – with his 51 points in the 2021-22 season marking the most a Hawks defender had scored since Erik Gustafsson potted 60 points in 2018-19. But Jones has been on a gradual decline ever since then. He scored 37 points in the 2022-23 season, and fell to 31 in the year after – as he struggled to produce on a vacated Chicago offense. He’s improved a bit this year – with 24 points in 36 games, a 55-point pace across 82 games. That could be the turnaround needed to convince teams to take on his daunting $9.5MM cap hit. But that price tag still stands as the wedge between Jones and a likely move. The Blackhawks will almost certainly need to retain a heavy chunk of Jones’ cap in a move – a move made challenging by the fact that they only have one retention spot available after facilitating the Mikko Rantanen trade. A high cost will also likely limit the return the Hawks are able to receive for their high-scoring defender, even if he does offer the potential to play on a top pair.

Should those factors dissuade teams from looking into Jones, Chicago should also have a heap of veteran forwards available. Centerman Ryan Donato tops that list on the back of a red-hot scoring season. He has 32 points, split evenly, through 51 games this year – a full-season pace of 51 points. Donato also ranks third among all Hawks forward with 87 hits. He’s managed those numbers despite a middling role in the Blackhawks lineup, and minimal ice time with the team’s star prospects. The Trade Deadline is often about finding the hot hand rather than the best asset – and Donato’s consistent scoring on a muddling team suggests he could bring a lot to a playoff hopeful.

Chicago can also offer a lofty physical presence through wingers Pat Maroon or Ilya Mikheyev. Maroon has continued to serve in the diligent, fourth-line role he’s carried through tenures with four teams over the last three seasons. He has just 11 points in 47 games, while averaging 11:32 in ice time. But he’s a veteran presence with multiple Stanley Cup rings, and could offer a cheap way for Cup hopefuls to add more size to their lineup. Mikheyev could offer the same, with a bit more scoring and defensive prowess to boot. The Russian winger has 16 points in 51 games, but he’s worked his way into a top-six role alongside Jason Dickinson and Teuvo Teravainen. Mikheyev’s $4.04MM cap hit could pose problems for hopeful – but those issues could be mitigated by a cheap return or added sweeteners.

Other trade chips: Philipp Kurashev, Craig Smith, Alec Martinez, T.J. Brodie

Team Needs

1) Future Capital: The Blackhawks have a lot of options to move this Deadline, but none seem poised to bring in a massive return. Even trading Jones would require strategic negotiating from Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson, as he tries to convince teams to take on a lofty salary cap. With seemingly light trades on the horizon, Chicago’s focus will need to be on continuing to build out their future through the acquisition of draft capital and low-grade prospects. Plenty of teams seem one addition away from pushing for playoff, or even Stanley Cup, contention – and Chicago could find a trade partner with plenty of expendable future capital in a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, or even the Detroit Red Wings. All three teams are within sparring distance of the Eastern Conference’s second wild card, and could be convinced to spend a bit more to round out their lineup and hedge their bets.

2) A Binding Center: If Chicago is looking for roster players on the open market, they should be looking for more support down the middle. Both Luke Richardson and Anders Sorensen have awarded veteran center Jason Dickinson prime minutes this season, largely thanks to his ability to win faceoffs and hold down the defensive zone where young players like Bedard and Nazar struggle. But Dickinson has recently fallen to injury, and even then – his 16 points in 53 games are at the core of Chicago’s struggles to score. Finding another veteran center who can fill middle-six minutes and support Dickinson would go a long way in giving Bedard, Nazar, and Slaggert a sturdier platform to perform from. Philadelphia Flyers center Scott Laughton seems a sure bet to bring modest offense, defense, and leadership to a Hawks lineup in need – though the Flyers have previously said they’d need a hefty return to move Laughton. Should Chicago get priced out, they could also turn towards the Nashville Predators, who have options like Thomas Novak, Michael McCarron, or Colton Sissons up for grabs. All three players have faced their own unique struggles this year, but would again bring an air of physicality and gumption to a Chicago lineup lacking in both regards. Adding a center, even if he may retire before Chicago reaches their next prime, could prove the rich lineup support the team needs.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.