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Chicago Blackhawks Win 2023 NHL Draft Lottery

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One of the most highly anticipated nights on the NHL calendar has finally arrived as the annual NHL Draft Lottery was held to determine which team would have the honor of selecting first and second overall at the 2023 NHL Draft. The 16 teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs all had a chance to win the lottery, though teams can only move up a maximum of ten slots, so the bottom 11 teams in the NHL standings all had a chance of landing the top draft pick.

The results are now in and the Chicago Blackhawks have won the first overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. They had the third best odds entering the night, but jumped ahead of the Anaheim Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets to win the top pick. The Ducks won the second overall pick and will now step to the podium second at the draft after entering the lottery with the best odds at winning the first overall pick. The Blue Jackets had the second best odds of winning the lottery, but have dropped to third overall.

The now official order of the first 16 picks in the 2023 NHL Draft will go as follows:

  1. Chicago Blackhawks
  2. Anaheim Ducks
  3. Columbus Blue Jackets
  4. San Jose Sharks
  5. Montreal Canadiens
  6. Arizona Coyotes
  7. Philadelphia Flyers
  8. Washington Capitals
  9. Detroit Red Wings
  10. St. Louis Blues
  11. Vancouver Canucks
  12. Arizona Coyotes (via Ottawa Senators)
  13. Buffalo Sabres
  14. Pittsburgh Penguins
  15. Nashville Predators
  16. Calgary Flames

The prize for winning the first overall pick is a big one this season. Connor Bedard is slated to go with the top selection at the 2023 NHL Draft and he promises to be an exceptional NHL player.

Bedard will not turn 18 years old until July, but he did lead the WHL in goals, assists and points this past season. He scored 71 goals, 72 assists and 143 points in just 57 games. He was away from the team for a few weeks around Christmas to suit up at the World Juniors where he brought his world-class skills to the biggest stage yet. He was named MVP of the tournament after scoring nine goals and 23 points in just seven games, helping Canada claim a gold medal.

Adam Fantilli is likely to be the second player off the board at the draft, but he is an exceptional consolation prize. He won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey during his freshman season. Fantilli scored 30 goals and 65 points in just 36 NCAA contests, showing he is ready to take the next step to the NHL immediately after being drafted.

The 2023 NHL Draft will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on June 28.

A Case For Chicago To Give Ian Mitchell One More Chance With Blackhawks

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  • Things haven’t gone as planned for Blackhawks defenseman Ian Mitchell. He has shown some promise in spurts but hasn’t been able to produce consistently and has dealt with some injury trouble, resulting in him frequently being out of the lineup.  Despite that, John Dietz of the Daily Herald argues that Chicago should give one more chance to the 24-year-old pending restricted free agent.  Even with other blueline prospects looking like they could be ready for a bigger role next season, there isn’t much risk to giving Mitchell a one-year, two-way deal.  If things don’t pan out, they can waive him and try to get him back to Rockford but if he’s able to lock down a spot in Chicago, he’ll be worth the low price tag he’ll ultimately cost.  His qualifying offer checks in at just under $875K but he could take less than that in exchange for a higher AHL salary.

Offseason Checklist: Chicago Blackhawks

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those that were eliminated quickly.  It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Chicago.

The fact that the Blackhawks struggled this season should have come as no surprise.  They unloaded several key players last summer and continued that at the trade deadline before announcing they won’t be trying to re-sign Jonathan Toews for next year and beyond.  GM Kyle Davidson has largely a blank canvas to work with but with the team still firmly committed to the rebuild, the to-do list isn’t the biggest beyond adding more future assets.  Even so, there are some decisions that will need to be made in the coming months.

Decide Athanasiou’s Fate

When Chicago signed Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou to one-year, $3MM deals mere minutes into free agency back in July, they both seemed like strong candidates to be moved elsewhere at the deadline.  While that was the case with Domi, that didn’t happen with Athanasiou.  Instead, he stayed with them and did well down the stretch while sometimes playing alongside one of their top prospects in Lukas Reichel.

Accordingly, would it be worth it for the Blackhawks to look into extending the 28-year-old on a short-term deal?  They’re not going to be able to ice a lineup of strictly youngsters as there is a cap floor to be met (more on that later) and if Athanasiou is comfortable with the situation in Chicago, perhaps he’s someone worth keeping around.

However, with 20 goals and 20 assists, Athanasiou has likely built up enough value to command at least a two-year deal somewhere this time around.  With that in mind, giving Athanasiou another contract might take him off the table for being traded, at least in the short term, especially if they have to give him a bit above market value to convince him to avoid going to a team that is more interested in short-term success.

Assess Murphy’s Market

The list of proven veterans that the Blackhawks have moved out over the last year is quite impressive to the point where it’s fair to wonder if they have anyone left that could realistically be traded.  Seth Jones and his $9.5MM contract likely won’t be in play due to his contract.  However, another veteran blueliner could realistically find himself in trade talks, Connor Murphy.

The 30-year-old signed his current contract just over a year and a half ago with the hopes that Chicago would be looking to push for short-term success.  Clearly, that’s not the plan now.  Murphy has three years left on that deal with a $4.4MM cap hit, a reasonable price for someone that typically logs around 20 minutes a game, kills penalties, and plays a steady, defensive role.  Frankly, there’s a role for him on the Blackhawks to work with some of their younger blueliners but in a defensive market that isn’t the deepest in terms of free agent or trade options, Chicago should be looking into what they can get for him, especially with right-shot players being in high demand.

Back at the trade deadline, Chicago picked up a first-round pick for Jake McCabe, a blueliner who carries a similar cap hit as Murphy with term left on his deal.  It took them eating half the contract but considering they don’t have many tradable assets with high price tags at the moment, it could be defensible for them to consider doing so here as well, especially if it helps them land another quality draft pick.  One option available to Chicago now that might not be during the season is the ability to take back a pricey contract which could also help defray the cost of Murphy’s deal if the Blackhawks don’t want to retain any money.

It’s not a foregone conclusion that they have to move Murphy this summer, assuming they can overcome his 10-team no-trade protection.  Perhaps the smarter play is to wait until the trade deadline and try to do a McCabe-like deal again.  At a minimum, Davidson needs to see what trade options are out there for the veteran defender over the next couple of months.

Goaltending Decisions

On the surface, it seems like Chicago’s goaltending situation is sorted out.  Petr Mrazek, by virtue of his contract, will be one of the netminders with one of Arvid Soderblom or Jaxson Stauber serving as the backup.  But with how much Mrazek struggled this season, not to mention how things went for him in Toronto, should he really be guaranteed a roster spot for 2023-24?

Alex Stalock was one of the feel-good stories around the NHL this season, recovering from myocarditis that limited him severely the last two seasons to post a .908 SV%, an above-average rate on a team that wasn’t exactly a model of defensive play.  He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer and with the need to get at least one of their youngsters some NHL action, it’s understandable to think he won’t be back.  But if Mrazek isn’t in the picture anymore, would that change things?

Chicago knows they can easily bury Mrazek’s deal in the minors as his struggles will deter any team from picking him up off waivers.  But with the other of Soderblom and Stauber in the picture plus prospect Drew Commesso, would they want Mrazek with Rockford taking away playing time?  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them consider buying him out, a move that would free up about $3MM in cap space next season while adding just under $1.5MM in 2024-25, a price tag that should be of no concern to them given their cap situation.

Are they better off parting ways with Mrazek this summer to try to keep Stalock around or to sign a different veteran netminder that can handle some starts altogether?  It’s a choice they’ll want to make by the late-June buyout deadline.

Spend, Spend, Spend

At the moment, the Blackhawks have over $40MM in cap space for next season, per CapFriendly, assuming that the cap goes up by $1MM as planned.  And that space would only go up with a Mrazek buyout.  Now, you might be thinking to yourself that Chicago won’t be a cap team and you’re probably right.  But there is a Lower Limit to the cap that everyone has to get to.  They are presently around $20MM below what that mark is likely to be next season.

Yes, they have a few roster spots to fill with that money and if they re-sign Athanasiou, that will take up a chunk of it.  But even with that, they have a long way to go and filling those spots with low-cost prospects isn’t going to get them close to the minimum spending.  While they’re clearly a team that isn’t gearing up for a playoff run anytime soon, they’re effectively going to be buyers to an extent.

Davidson has two possible avenues to work with here.  He can do like he did with Domi and Athanasiou last summer, signing them to ‘sign and flip’ deals that will see them moved at or around the trade deadline for futures.  Alternatively, with so many teams expected to be tight to the Upper Limit, Chicago is well-positioned to take on an unwanted contract or two (or more) while adding draft picks and prospects for doing so.  While we know they’ll be sellers next February, expect the Blackhawks to be adding some veterans to their roster in the coming months to help get them cap-compliant while setting themselves up to add future assets as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blackhakws Reassign Buddy Robinson, Joey Anderson

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  • The Chicago Blackhawks reassigned forwards Buddy Robinson and Joey Anderson to their affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. The IceHogs are in pole position to claim the final playoff spot in the Central Division and can still feasibly catch the Iowa Wild for the number-four seed. Robinson, 31, is coming off an impressive two-game stretch with the Blackhawks where he scored three points, including his first goal of the year in Tuesday’s stunning 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Anderson, 24, was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Jake McCabe trade and scored six points in 24 games with Chicago.

Chicago Blackhawks Will Not Re-Sign Jonathan Toews

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Tonight will be the last game of Jonathan Toews’ Chicago Blackhawks career. General manager Kyle Davidson officially announced that the captain would not be re-signed, releasing the following statement:

I’ve had a number of conversations with Jonathan throughout the season about his future with the Blackhawks, and recently, we had the difficult conversation that we won’t be re-signing him this offseason. Tonight will be his final game as a Blackhawk, and it was very important to us to be able to provide the proper send off for Jonathan and our fans.

He has done so much for this organization, and no matter where he plays next, we’re excited our fans get the chance to show Jonathan exactly how much he means to them. 

After the last few years have brought the departure of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and most recently, Patrick Kane, Toews was the final piece standing from the core that brought three Stanley Cup championships to Chicago.

While his game has deteriorated in recent years, Toews was, at one point, considered one of the greatest two-way centers in history. He won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP at age-22, was a Selke Trophy finalist four times (winning once), and was included as part of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017.

With career-highs of 35 goals and 81 points (both reached in 2018-19), his offensive game was never the reason for excellence in Chicago. Instead, a commitment to defense and a reputation as one of the best leaders in the sport drove his greatness for the Blackhawks. He would routinely tilt the ice in his team’s favor by controlling play, and was captain of one of the most dominant groups in recent NHL history.

Toews’ eight-year, $84MM contract will expire at the end of this season, and it is unclear what the future will bring for the veteran center. He’ll be 35 before the month is up, and has been limited by serious health issues the last few years. Toews missed all of 2020-21 with Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and was kept out of the lineup this year with it again.

Limited to just 14 goals and 30 points in 52 games, it would have been difficult to work out a soft landing like the one Davidson found Kane at the deadline. Those numbers, and recent health issues will likely limit the market for him this summer, though if he wants to continue playing, teams should be willing to give the Blackhawks legend a chance.

This is the last symbolic move for Chicago away from the old regime. Davidson will now have a relatively clean slate to build a team, though it may still be several years until he can put together a competitive group.

Just two players—Seth Jones and Connor Murphy—are signed to one-way contracts past 2023-24, giving Davidson a blank canvas to work with. Even next year, the team has only $37.3MM in salary commitments, meaning there will be plenty of cap space to try and coax extra assets out of contenders.

It’s been a difficult season for Blackhawks fans, watching the team tank and trade away one of the greatest offensive talents in NHL history. Now, they’ll be forced to say goodbye to the last part of the previous era, and look forward to whatever comes next.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Blackhawks Extend Jarred Tinordi

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Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks have signed Jarred Tinordi to an extension for the 2023-24 season. The deal will only be a 1-year extension, and Tinordi will make $1.25MM next year.

In his first season in Chicago, Tinordi has provided a bit of value to the rebuilding Blackhawks. Throughout this season, Tinordi has played in a total of 44 games, scoring eight points in total, and also throwing 139 hits, a career-high in that category.

Since the 2015-16 season, Tinordi has played for six different organizations, and only seeing playing time in the NHL for five of those. Tinordi has come a long way since being drafted 22nd overall in the 2010 NHL Draft but has seemed to have found a place in Chicago for the time being.

After eight seasons in the NHL, this will actually be the first time in his career that Tinordi will be making over $1MM in a season. It is widely expected that the Blackhawks will once again be rebuilding next year, and Tinordi will at the very least provide a stabilizing presence for them on the back end.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Drew Commesso

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The Chicago Blackhawks are adding an impressive goaltending prospect to the organization. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Drew Commesso will turn pro and sign his three-year entry-level contract. Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago confirms that the deal will start in 2023-24.

Commesso, 20, just finished his junior season with Boston University, helping lead the Terriers to the Frozen Four. In 34 appearances this year, the 2020 second-round pick posted a 24-8 record and .913 save percentage, continuing what has been an incredible few years.

In 2021, Commesso was included on the US World Championship squad as the extra goaltender, taking home a bronze medal without appearing in a game. He played at the Olympics the following year, posting a perfect 2-0 record with a .964 save percentage.

As a prospect, he ranks among the game’s best in net, and immediately gives the Blackhawks a legitimate “goalie of the future” to develop. With the complete teardown still in progress, it will be years before Chicago is expected to contend. That gives Commesso plenty of time to hone his skills in the minor leagues, where he’ll likely spend all of next season.

Chicago Blackhawks Reassign Lukas Reichel And Alex Vlasic, Recall Buddy Robinson

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The Chicago Blackhawks have shuffled their roster, sending two young players (forward Lukas Reichel and defenseman Alex Vlasic) to the AHL while recalling a veteran (forward Buddy Robinson) to the NHL.

The move allows two of the team’s more promising young players to join the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs as they look to fend off a push from the Chicago Wolves for the final playoff spot in the Central Division, paving the way for the two to play a major role in any playoff series the IceHogs qualify for.

Since the Blackhawks have three games remaining on their schedule, though, an NHL replacement was needed, so the player chosen as the recall is Robinson, who was reassigned to the AHL by the Blackhawks on March 26th.

The biggest name of this group is Reichel, a 20-year-old German winger who was the 17th overall pick at the 2020 draft. While some of his fellow 2020 first-rounders have already played more than 100 games in the NHL, the rebuilding Blackhawks were more patient with Reichel’s development, and that patience seems to have paid off.

Reichel was drafted so high on the back of a strong draft season playing pro hockey in the DEL for Eisbaren Berlin, where he scored 12 goals and 24 points in 42 games. While it was ten points less than third-overall pick and current Ottawa Senators star Tim Stutzle managed that same year, it’s still an impressive feat for any draft-year player to be a productive regular in a professional league playing against grown men.

The Blackhawks opted to have Reichel spend 2020-21 with Berlin, and that choice paid off as Reichel scored 27 points in 38 regular-season games and five points in nine DEL playoff games.

That successful sophomore season in Germany’s top pro league gave the Blackhawks the green light to bring Reichel across the Atlantic, and they allowed him to spend most of his year in the AHL, save for some brief cameos at the NHL level.

Reichel was a star AHL rookie, scoring 57 points in 56 games, an extremely strong number for a player who spent most of the season still in his teens.

This season, knowing that their roster was unlikely to provide Reichel the most comfortable developmental environment, the Blackhawks opted to keep Reichel in the AHL, and he scored well yet again, potting 46 points in 51 games.

A three-point performance in an overtime victory over the Calgary Flames likely gave Chicago increased confidence that Reichel might be ready for a more extensive stretch in the NHL, and they gave him just that in the month of March. Reichel began growing into more of a go-to option for head coach Luke Richardson, and he now likely finishes his season with a strong 15 points in 23 games.

If he can help Rockford go on a deep playoff run, or at least put some finishing touches on what has been a successful sophomore season, Reichel will likely enter next year’s training camp with his spot on the team’s NHL roster virtually guaranteed.

As for Vlasic, he’s spent almost the entirety of the season with the IceHogs, save for the past two weeks or so that he’s been on the NHL roster. The 21-year-old is a hulking six-foot-six blueliner who turned pro last season after three years at Boston University.

While there isn’t a ton of offense to speak of (he scored 20 points in his NCAA career and has 17 in 52 AHL games this year) Vlasic is an imposing physical force with serious crease-clearing potential. He’s been utilized as a top-pairing blueliner for the IceHogs, and the organization is hopeful that he can soon develop into an NHL option.

As for Robinson, he’s a 31-year-old minor league veteran who has 60 NHL games on his resume. The six-foot-six crash-and-bang winger last played in the NHL in a March 25th, 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild and has not yet registered a point in seven NHL games this season.

With 20 points in 50 AHL contests, any NHL games Robinson can skate in during the remainder of the Blackhawks’ season will be an important opportunity as his one-year league-minimum two-way deal is set to expire, meaning he’ll want to put some quality play on tape before he possibly lands on the open market in a few months.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Taylor Raddysh Out For Regular Season

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  • Since the separate trades that sent forward Patrick Kane to the New York Rangers, and Max Domi to the Dallas Stars, the Chicago Blackhawks have a new leading point-scorer in Taylor Raddysh. Having an above-average season since his trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, the forward has 20 goals and 17 assists in 78 games for the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, that will be his final point total, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Raddysh has a groin injury that will keep him out of Chicago’s remaining regular season games.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Jonathan Toews Undecided On Playing Future

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It was suggested last month that Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews was leaning towards retirement as he continues to battle lingering symptoms of Long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome.  However, the veteran told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (subscription link) that he remains unsure of his playing future at this point:

Right now, you ask me that question and the honest answer is, I got no idea. No idea whether I return to play for the Blackhawks next year, or play for another team, or I decide to move on to other things.

The 34-year-old was able to return to the lineup last Saturday after missing more than two months due to the symptoms which took away any possibility of Toews being moved at the trade deadline.

To his credit, Toews has had a decent season given the circumstances as he has 14 goals and 16 assists in 49 games so far.  While those numbers are certainly below his career averages, they’re still pretty strong for a player on a bad team playing through lingering challenges.

But the key word here for Toews is lingering.  These symptoms cost him all of 2020-21 and had him at far from his best last season.  The fact they continue to exist in 2023 suggests this will continue to be a challenge for him; he acknowledged that he hasn’t truly been 100% healthy since 2020.  Knowing that, is it worth trying to carry on?  That’s the decision he’ll be weighing over the next little while:

But at this point, I’ve realized there’s no point in continuing to stomach this struggle. So if it’s not a hell yeah, then it’s a hell no.  There’s more to life than hockey, so it’s a weighing of my options and what feels right,” he said. “All these years, hockey’s been the One Thing. There hasn’t been much else in my life. And part of me is seeking some balance. So I guess we’ll see.

Toews, a 15-year veteran, has spent the entirety of his career with Chicago after being the third-overall selection back in 2006 and ranks fifth in games played and sixth in points.  It’ll take a little before he decides if he tries to move up higher on those leaderboards or if the time is right to hang up his skates.

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