Panthers’ 2026 First-Round Pick Traded To Blackhawks Is Top-10 Protected
The Florida Panthers acquired defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2025 Trade Deadline. In return, the Blackhawks received goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional 2026 first-round pick. At the time, the reported condition was that the pick would become Florida’s 2027 first should the Panthers find another trade involving their 2026 pick. It was revealed on Friday – nearly a full year after the deal – that the pick also carries top-10 protection, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli.
That condition was later confirmed by Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, who adds that Chicago has been aware of the protection since the trade occured.
This news will diminish the Blackhawks’ chances of landing two top-10 picks in a strong 2026 draft class. Chicago currently sits with the sixth-worst points percentage, while Florida holds the 10th-worst. Wielding both first-round picks, with no protection, could have nearly doubled Chicago’s chances at landing the first-overall selection.
Instead, the Blackhawks will have to watch where Florida falls before they can start planning for the next two drafts. The Panthers have faced consistent challenges this season and enter the Olympic break with a 4-6-0 record in their last 10 games. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions seem headed for a postseason miss, pending a surge in the second-half.
While a chance at double-dipping in the top-10 is always enticing, the Blackhawks’ prospect pool will move forward relatively unaffected. Draft pundits have agreed that top-10 value could fall into the teens of this year’s draft, while the 2027 class is believed to be another loaded year. Chicago has spent the last eight years building one of the best prospect pools in the league and are now entering a phase where promoting young talent will become more important than adding it. That could push the Hawks to consider moving out draft capital for some veteran rivets, an approach argued for by Kyle Bokota of Blackhawk Up.
Chicago seems headed for a high pick regardless this season, and still hold outside odds to land first-overall. Their scouting room will be as busy as ever, looking to land another value pick to join Anton Frondell and Vaclav Nestrasil Jr. from their 2025 class.
Blackhawks Reassign Sam Rinzel
2/5/2026: The Blackhawks reassigned Rinzel back to Rockford today, returning him to the AHL in time for the Olympic break.
Rinzel played in three NHL games during his most recent recall, tallying one goal. Notably, his ice time was up considerably from his last NHL stint. In his final game of his recall, against the Blue Jackets yesterday, he played nearly 26 minutes.
1/30/2026: The Chicago Blackhawks have made a move to fortify their blue-line. Top prospect Sam Rinzel has been recalled to the NHL, putting him on the Blackhawks roster for the first time in 2026. This move comes amid a quiet spell for fellow top youngster Artyom Levshunov, who was on the ice for five goals against in Thursday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Attention will hone in on which young defender Chicago decides to roll out with three games left on their schedule before the Olympic break. Levshunov has struggled through much of January. In 15 games since the new year, he has been on the ice for 16 goals-against, while only posting three points of his own. The only Blackhawk to see more goals is Levshunov’s defense partner, Wyatt Kaiser, who has been on the ice for 17 goals-against.
Levshunov has recorded 21 points and a minus-27 in 52 games on the year. His scoring is up, but his plus-minus is down, from the six points and minus-13 that Levshunov recorded in 18 games last season. Even with the pit he’s in, Levshunov has still averaged 19 minutes of ice time each game, emphasizing that Chicago hasn’t lost faith in their former second-overall talent.
With this move, Chicago will open the door to potentially resting Levshunov for the short-term, while giving Rinzel another chance to stamp his spot in the NHL lineup. The Blackhawks assigned Rinzel to the AHL after he scored just eight points in 28 games to start the season. His first stint in the minors got off to a roaring start – with Rinzel scoring seven points in his first four AHL games – but it has quieted down as of late. Rinzel has scored only three points in his last 15 games, bringing his totals with the Rockford IceHogs up to 10 points and a minus-10 in 19 games. It’s another cold spell that Chicago is hoping to snap with this roster move. Rinzel scored five points in the first nine games of his NHL career at the end of the 2024-25 season. He has shown strong sparks that could help lift Chicago out of their recent four-game losing streak.
Blackhawks' Wyatt Kaiser, Colton Dach Leave Due To Injury
As the dust settles from today’s blockbuster in which the Rangers dealt Artemi Panarin to the Kings in exchange for top prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round pick, more details on the other suitors have emerged.
It was noted yesterday by TSN’s Chris Johnston on Insider Trading that a team had offered as much as $40MM, and the mystery club may now be revealed. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Seattle Kraken made a strong effort to acquire the superstar, offering him an extension in the 3-4 year range, worth what Pagnotta said is “north” of $12MM per year. The contract could have doubled term compared to what Panarin promptly signed with Los Angeles, a two-year extension worth $11MM each year.
Despite proving not enough to sway Panarin into waiving his no-trade clause to head up to Washington, the effort is commendable from Kraken GM Jason Botterill as his team is in Wild Card range, hungry to make a splash to earn their second playoff berth in their fifth season as a franchise. It’s curious to imagine if former fourth overall pick Shane Wright could have been off to New York. One week ago, it was reported the Kraken were open to dealing him for a “dynamic top-six scoring winger”, and the “Breadman” certainly fits the bill.
Additionally, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan mentioned the Hurricanes, Lightning, and Capitals as among the “several teams circling at the end”, however, Panarin told management that he was set on Los Angeles. Crossing off another major city in his career after stops in Chicago and New York, Panarin’s preference limited Rangers GM Chris Drury’s trade leverage considerably. He has caught criticism for the return, but as noted by Kaplan, the Rangers feel they plucked the Kings’ best prospect in Greentree, and time will tell.
The break is nearly upon us, and although Panarin’s new team plays tomorrow night in Vegas as their final pre-Olympics action, Kings Manager of Editoral Content Zach Dooley confirmed that he won’t be rushed into duty. It seems likely he could make his highly anticipated debut in their first game back, at home for a Golden Knights rematch on February 25.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Chicago Blackhawks have had a rough go tonight in Columbus, as first the team announced that defenseman Wyatt Kaiser wouldn’t return, followed by forward Colton Dach, both due to injury. Kaiser’s status is concerning, as Zach Werenski of the Blue Jackets landed in his knee area awkwardly. The 23-year-old has yet to miss a game this season, averaging 19:28 a game across 56 so far. It’s still a work in progress for Kaiser, who doesn’t stand out on the stat sheet, however the lefty already plays a top four role for Chicago as his game develops. Meanwhile, Dach was pinned to the boards by Erik Gudbranson, and it’s not as immediately clear what happened to injure the grinder, who has nine points in 51 games this year.
- Shortly before tonight’s game against the soon-to-be short benched Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda shared that Kirill Marchenko would miss his second straight game due to illness. The 25-year-old leads all Jacket forwards with 46 points in 50 games, continuing to emerge as a star after last year’s 74 point breakout. Marchenko will utilize the Olympic break to get healthy, but in the meantime, Columbus has maintained their surge under new Head Coach Rick Bowness.
Blackhawks Giving Artyom Levshunov A Reset
According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Blackhawks have healthy-scratched defenseman Artyom Levshunov tonight. Pope added that the Blackhawks have put Levshunov into an internal program to fix some “foundational” parts of his game, and he likely wouldn’t play until the league resumes after the Olympics.
Scott Powers of The Athletic added some specifics, reporting that the Blackhawks wanted Levshunov to focus on his play with the puck, defensive fundamentals, and shooting technique. Rather than move Levshunov to the AHL, as they did with fellow prospect Kevin Korchinski, Chicago hopes that their current skills coaches can correct some of Levshunov’s flaws.
Levshunov is having a significantly better season than last year, but he still hasn’t met the Blackhawks’ expectations after being selected with the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He is the team leader in scoring among defensemen, with two goals and 21 points in 52 games. His even-strength Corsi For percentage stands at 47.4%, and he has an on-ice save percentage of 88.3%, along with a -27 rating.
- Staying in Chicago, the team is without their captain tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Before tonight’s lone NHL contest, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reported that Nick Foligno is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. The 38-year-old veteran has played in 17 games for the Blackhawks since returning from a longer-term injury in late December, scoring two goals and four points.
Chicago Blackhawks Reassign Nick Lardis
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that forward Nick Lardis has been reassigned to the club’s AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.
While Lardis has performed admirably in his first two months as an NHL player, he finds himself returning to the AHL as a result of the wider numbers game that gets played when planning an NHL roster.
Lardis, 20, has been able to maintain his spot on Chicago’s NHL roster, in part, because of how many injuries the Blackhawks were facing up front. But with veteran Teuvo Teravainen set to return to the lineup tomorrow after a six-game absence, Lardis found himself the odd one out in Chicago’s forward picture.
While one could certainly make the argument that Lardis has played better than some of the forwards who remain on the Blackhawks’ roster, the fact of the matter is he’s a rookie still navigating his first year in the pro ranks.
The Blackhawks’ interest in maximizing Lardis’ development likely outweighs their interest in making marginal improvements to the bottom half of their NHL lineup at this point. Lardis’ development is almost certainly better served playing a key role in the AHL rather than a role as a fourth-liner or even spare forward at the NHL level. A veteran such as Sam Lafferty (who has been a recent healthy scratch) or even an older prospect with more pro experience like Colton Dach are better fits for that kind of role.
Consequently, Lardis finds himself back in Rockford after a solid first stint in the NHL. The former OHL star was able to flash his signature qualities (competitiveness, fearlessness, instincts as a goal-scorer) at times during his first recall, finishing with five goals and seven points in 21 games. With Rockford mired near the bottom of the AHL league standings, Lardis will get the chance to lead a turnaround and try to help spark a push for an AHL playoff spot.
Chicago Blackhawks Activate Frank Nazar
Jan. 22nd: As expected, the Blackhawks have officially activated Nazar, per a team announcement. Chicago did not make a corresponding roster move.
Jan. 21st: The Chicago Blackhawks are on the precipice of having a fully healthy forward core. According to The Athletic’s Scott Powers, the Blackhawks expected youngster Frank Nazar to return to the lineup tomorrow, meaning he’ll be activated from the injured reserve.
Chicago has an open roster spot, so they won’t need to make a corresponding roster move. Still, they already have 14 forwards, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Blackhawks swap a depth forward for a defenseman in the AHL.
Nazar, 22, has been absent from the Blackhawks’ roster for a month. After taking a puck to the face, he broke his jaw in Chicago’s December 20th matchup against the Ottawa Senators. He has been skating for the last few days and will make his official return tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Before the injury, Nazar was having a solid junior campaign. Registering six goals and 21 points in 33 games, Nazar remains only five points away from matching last year’s totals, which took 53 games to reach. Being one of the best offensive forwards on the team, he’s earned a huge bump in ATOI this season, going from 15:52 last season to 18:15 this year.
Still, Nazar was clearly slowing down in the lead-up to the injury. The Detroit, MI native had scored five goals and 13 points in his first 17 games of the year. In the next 16 games, in which the Blackhawks had recorded a 3-11-2 record, Nazar had only registered one goal and eight points. Since he exited the lineup in late December, Chicago has improved, managing a 7-6-1 record in his absence.
Regardless, despite missing a month of action, Nazar remains tied for fourth on the team in scoring. He’s largely considered the highest-upside forward option for the Blackhawks behind Connor Bedard, and the team will hope that he can maintain his health through the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign.
Nazar To Be Full Participant In Practice Sunday
- Blackhawks center Frank Nazar took part in the morning skate today and is expected to be a full participant in practice tomorrow as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, notes WGN Radio’s Charlie Roumeliotis (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has impressed in his first full NHL season, picking up six goals and 15 assists in 33 games while seeing his playing time push past 18 minutes per night. Originally expected to miss four weeks due to the injury, Nazar appears to be pretty close to that recovery timeline although he’s still a few days away from returning.
Teuvo Teravainen Out Day To Day
- Teuvo Teravainen, a key veteran forward for the Chicago Blackhawks, has suffered an upper-body injury and won’t be available to play in the team’s game tomorrow against the Calgary Flames. Per head coach Jeff Blashill, Teravainen is also questionable to play in the team’s game on Saturday as well. The 31-year-old hasn’t produced at quite the same rate as last season, with 21 points in 45 games. He scored 15 goals and 58 points in 2024-25. He’s nonetheless been one of the more reliable Blackhawks forwards, and is tied for fourth in scoring on the team. He’s also a useful forward on the penalty kill, ranking third among Blackhawks forwards in shorthanded time on ice per game.
Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teravainen Leaves With Upper-Body Injury
The Chicago Blackhawks lost a key winger early in Monday night’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Teuvo Teravainen was ruled out of the game due to an upper-body injury after the first period per a team release. There was no noticeable play where Teravainen was injured. Head coach Jeff Blashill emphasized postgame that Teravainen was injured – not a victim of the flu bug going around the Blackhawks – and that the team will know more about his status on Wednesday per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Teravainen will move forward with an unofficial day-to-day injury designation. With Chicago’s next game not until Thursday, there is a chance he won’t need to miss any time. That will be the outcome Chicago hopes for, as they’re already down Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard due to injury and illness respectively. Teravainen takes his reps right alongside those young stars, often serving as the veteran stop gap behind them. That role has earned Teravainen nine goals, 21 points, and a minus-12 in 45 games this season.
The 31 year old ranks fourth on the Blackhawks in total scoring. He finished third on the team in scoring last year – his first in Chicago – when he totaled 15 goals and 58 points while playing in all 82 games. Before his time in Chicago, Teravainen was a core piece of the Carolina Hurricanes’ top-six, where he challenged 60 points in scoring every season.
Losing Teravainen to injury would deal yet another blow to a Blackhawks lineup that seems to change every game. The veteran played off of rookies Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis on Monday, bringing an important bit of experience to the high-skill line. If Teravainen can’t go on Thursday, the Blackhawks could move veteran Tyler Bertuzzi into that role, and hope that Bedard can return to his top-line spot next to Ryan Greene and Andre Burakovsky. If Bedard is still under the weather, Chicago will have to bring Sam Lafferty down from the press box. Lafferty has two points in 17 games this season and would take on a bottom-line role.
Central Notes: Bedard, Wild, Blues
Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard will not play tonight against Edmonton, as noted by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, as the star is dealing with the flu.
The bug has ravaged the team of late, as several players have been affected, most notably both goaltenders, Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom, leaving Chicago with AHL call-up Drew Commesso to handle a back-to-back last week. He managed to steal a game, shutting out Nashville on Saturday, but now the face of the franchise has to sit out tonight in a big home game against the Oilers.
Bedard leads the Hawks with 46 points, despite playing in 33 of their 45 games. He has surpassed the point-per-game mark for the first time in his young career, as well as avoiding a sunk +/- rating as the Hawks have had success this season. The hope is that he will be feeling better by their next game, Thursday against Calgary. In the meantime, grinder Colton Dach slots back into the lineup on the fourth line, who has posted eight points in 44 games on the season.
Elsewhere across the division:
- Joel Eriksson Ek and Zach Bogosian skated earlier today, as shared by Michael Russo of The Athletic, but neither are playing tonight against the Devils. Eriksson Ek was injured against Seattle last Thursday, missing Saturday’s contest against the Islanders, the first time he was unable to go this season. The center plays a vital role on both ends of the ice, with 32 points in 45 games, and hopefully can return by Thursday against Winnipeg. On the other hand, Bogosian is on injured reserve. The 35-year-old hasn’t played since January 3, dealing with an undisclosed ailment.
- St. Louis Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery told reporters, including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, that Robert Thomas is “probable/questionable” for Tuesday against Carolina. Thomas has a lower-body injury, missing practice today as a result, but he hasn’t lost any game time, posting a goal and an assist on Saturday. Playing in 42 of the club’s 46 contests so far, Thomas leads the Blues in scoring by a wide margin, with 33 points. Losers of three in a row, St. Louis currently ranks dead last in goals scored, in obvious need of their top center to try and make the postseason this spring. Meanwhile, teammate Mathieu Joseph is also day-to-day with an elbow infection, as reported by Rutherford. Joseph has 10 points in 35 games as a bottom six forward.