Chicago Blackhawks: Three players to trade during 2020 NHL Draft

The Chicago Blackhawks and Brandon Saad have had a very interesting relationship. When they drafted him and had their first go-around with him, he was awesome. He helped them win a couple of Stanley Cups early on and was considered to be one of their best players. He became a player that was clearly going to be highly paid and the Hawks dealt him to the Columbus Blue Jackets. When he went there, he got even better.

He was their go-to scorer over there in Columbus but they decided to make a brilliant move. The Blue Jackets gave Saad back to the Hawks in exchange for Artemi Panarin. Saad is a very good player but Panarin is an all-world hockey player. It was a franchise-altering trade for the Hawks in the most negative way possible.

Now, they might be willing to trade Saad again. They could probably get something of value from him, depending on what they believe they need. Some teams might be willing to trade a middle-pair defenseman for him and if they are, the Hawks should jump on it. There also might be a team that is a depth winger away from winning it all that overpays for him. These are all possibilities for him as we enter the draft floor.

Saad had 21 goals and 12 assists for 33 points in 58 games. His assist total isn’t anything to brag about but the 21 goals in 58 games are really nice. That is fairly close to a 30 goal pace over a full 82 game season. If he can play on a good team, he could absolutely push that number again. He has been in the league for so long but he still hasn’t even reached his 28th birthday yet. Hopefully, if they do move him, they will get fair value.