Chicago Blackhawks: Need to be smart with the Seattle Kraken
The Chicago Blackhawks need to be smart with the Seattle Kraken expansion draft.
On Thursday afternoon we learned that the National Hockey League’s 32nd franchise is going to be called the Seattle Kraken. They are going to begin to play in the 2021-22 season. That means that next summer will see them in the NHL Draft and more importantly an expansion draft. The reason that is more important is that it will affect every team in the NHL to some degree. The Chicago Blackhawks need to be smart with this draft otherwise it could be a problem for them.
Things could be different for the Hawks a year from now because we don’t know who will be running the hockey operations. Right now, Stan Bowman is in charge but it doesn’t seem like he is anywhere near a lock to be that guy a year from now.
Back in 2017, the Blackhawks left Trevor van Riemsdyk unprotected in the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft and they took him. It was a tough loss for Chicago but they really didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. They were a good team that could only protect so many players and that is who Vegas wanted to take. Nobody really faulted them at the time for letting that happen. With that said, they are in a way different spot for this upcoming expansion draft.
There is likely going to be scenarios where teams are able to make trades with Seattle to get them to take on a contract. For example, if they wanted to give away a good prospect for the Kraken to take Brent Seabrook‘s contract, that is something that will be allowed. It sounds nice in theory, but it is a strategy that has not worked out well for the Hawks in recent memory. This might be different but it also worked out badly for other teams around the NHL in the Vegas draft.
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If anything, the Blackhawks need to be very careful when this event comes around. It is an important time in their franchise’s history right now as they try to retool themselves back into contention. They have five or six all-time franchise players on their roster but it is very top-heavy. Losing a good player would really hurt so they need to make sure they handle this as properly as they can. It is still early but it is never to early to have these conversations.