Chicago Blackhawks: 3 trades to make with West playoff teams

The Chicago Blackhawks only played in the new-look Central Division during the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season. The worst part about it was the fact that some of their normal Central Division rivals played in the West for one season. The Hawks weren’t able to play against a lot of their most fierce rivals which wasn’t fun but it will be back to normal soon enough. The new-look version of the division was very good and fun to watch all season long.

The San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and Arizona Coyotes were the unlucky group that missed the playoffs from that division. All of them had pretty good stretches throughout the season but ultimately fell short. You might notice that all four of those teams are normally in the regular non-COVID Pacific division.

The Chicago Blackhawks can look at some of those playoff teams for trade opportunities.

The teams that did make the playoffs from this division are as elite as they come in the NHL. The worst one was the fourth place St. Louis Blues and they are the only one who has won the Stanley Cup with their current core. Ahead of them were the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and Minnesota Wild. It is a very strong group of teams that believed they could be in the mix for the Stanley Cup going into the postseason.

If the Blackhawks are going to try and retool their roster, there might be a few trades possible with some of these playoff West teams. None of them believe they are going to take a step back any time soon and they shouldn’t. Three of the four compete in the normal Central Division which is a tough scene but the Hawks need to do whatever they can to rebuild.