The Chicago Blackhawks’ priority in the offseason will be “adding a quality defenseman,” writes Scott Powers of The Athletic. There has been some belief that Chicago might be aggressive in pursuing a young top-six winger who can partner with franchise center Connor Bedard, and that still may be on the table, but Powers writes that the Blackhawks are likely to seek defensive help to stabilize a blueline that featured several young defensemen last season.
According to Powers, the Blackhawks are hoping their young defensemen, such as Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel, are able to take steps forward, but also acknowledge that they “need some support.” Don’t look for the Blackhawks to prioritize right-shot defensemen, though. Powers would “be surprised if” Chicago was looking for a right-shot blueliner to compete with Rinzel and Levshunov, who will be all but assured spots in the opening-night lineup barring some sort of steep unexpected decline in form.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- The Minnesota Wild may be forced to choose between veteran fourth-line centers Nico Sturm and Michael McCarron over the next month, write Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic. The Wild traded a second-round pick to acquire McCarron, a pending UFA, from the Nashville Predators. McCarron indicated in his end-of-season media availability that he will be seeking to maximize his financial security with his next contract. If the Wild decide to pay the market price for McCarron, they could be forced to move Sturm. The 31-year-old has one more year left on his deal at a $2MM cap hit.
- The Blackhawks “are preparing for the possibility” that the upcoming draft’s top three forward prospects (Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Caleb Malhotra) aren’t available at No. 4, writes Powers. Such an outcome would put the Blackhawks in a position where the next few top-ranked players are all likely to be defensemen. Chicago has already invested a recent top pick in a right-shot defenseman (Levshunov, the 2024 No. 2 pick) so according to Powers, they could be hesitant to pick someone such as OHL defenseman Chase Reid. The top left-shot options expected to be on the board are WHL blueliner Carson Carels and Latvian international Alberts Smits.
Carson Carels would be a great pick, Alberts Smits wouldn’t be a bad choice given the Blackhawks already have a few 6’6 or taller Defenseman but could be had trading a couple picks down, Carels probably more ideal given he is like 6’4 and is pretty nasty to play against which would be great for postseason hockey
Would a Knies and Carlo for the 4th, a 2nd, Lardis, and Mustard or Nestrasil work? I’d like Rinzell coming back but I doubt Chi adds him even if you remove Lardis and one of the two youngsters. Maybe put Greene in instead of Lardis?
Teams on or near the bottom rung rarely trade those firsts, because their timelines don’t match up often with the players being offered & it cuts into their financial flexibility should they exit the rebuild stage intact. That said, Knies is very attractive as a possible fit with Bedard, who could apply internal pressure on mgmt to be buyers. More likely Chicago & San Jose settle as draft pick dance partners…
Knies isn’t worth all that. Not even half of that. Hawks don’t need Carlo either. Hawks won’t take Malholtra either because he’s not better than guys they already have. I don’t know what they’ll do with 4, But a young D Man wouldn’t be out of the question. I don’t know what D men are available for trade this year because that would take a bunch of Research on Teams Cap room and other things but the best name I’ve heard that might be available is Bowen Byram. He’d be perfect. But even he won’t take #4. Korchinski might solve the whole problem by himself. The Hawks D men really haven’t played enough to be sure of what they are yet but an older stabilizing guy wouldn’t hurt. If the Hawks do take a D man at 4 it will probably be the youngest one so he won’t be needed right away so he can develop at his own pace. I wouldn’t be surprised if their first 3 picks of #4 and 3 2nds weren’t all D men. They have been dealing off some depth lately. Time to restock.
Levshunov was pretty inconsistent and really doesn’t have a great shot. If Reid is there, take him.
Or, alternately, Chicago could trade down on the pick. Bet they’d have a lot of takers.