Chicago Blackhawks: 3 Nashville Predators free agents to snatch

Erik Haula would make a great addition to the 2021-22 Chicago Blackhawks.

Erik Haula, like Granlund, started his career with the Minnesota Wild. They selected him in the 7th round of the 2009 NHL Draft and has carved out a really nice NHL career so far. He was a part of an expansion draft trade with the Vegas Golden Knights and his career has been interesting since that point. He spent two years with the Knights, including a trip all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Since then, he became somewhat of a journeyman.

He spent some time with the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers before making his way to the Nashville Predators this past season. He played in 51 games for the Predators in 2020-21 and had nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points. That is not bad for a really nice third-line player. If you slipped that level of production into the Blackhawks lineup, they would be a much better team.

Haula is heading into his age-30 season so you know that there is plenty of good hockey left in him. He can play both the center and on the wing so you know that there are many spots to use him for the Hawks. They are not deep at forward at all which would make an addition like this look really nice. If they can get him for a year or two, it would improve their depth.