Chicago Blackhawks: Three forwards to trade for defense

The Chicago Blackhawks have some young centers ready to go. Dylan Strome is one of them but there are a few reasons to believe he could be on the market to trade. He is on an expiring contract that leaves him as a restricted free agent. Only the Blackhawks can extend him but things get tricky with Strome’s price tag. He has all of the potential to be a very good offensive centerman but has been inconsistent.

Strome should make it in the 4-6 million range by the time he gets his new deal done. If the Hawks would rather use that money to pay a defenseman instead, they could trade Strome to another team who would pay a pretty good second-line center. Strome was the third overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes in 2015 so you know the potential is there.

If the Blackhawks traded him for defense, they have a clear plan to replace him. Them drafting Kirby Dach with the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft gave them some high-end skill at the center position for what they hope is a very long time. Now, Dach has a very long way to go in his development but he will get there. Strome could probably fetch a pretty good defenseman in the process.