3 last minute trades that the Chicago Blackhawks should make

The Chicago Blackhawks enter the NHL Trade Deadline at 22-32-9. Those 53 standings points are good for third to last in the NHL’s Western Conference. They have a significantly better chance at winning the 2022 Draft Lottery than they do making it to the postseason.

That means that they are sellers at the deadline as they try to prepare for the future. They should be all in on getting this thing right for the future because they have a long way to go. If they keep trying to add pieces to the current team in attempts to win, they will continue to be bad with no future.

Kyle Davidson has a lot of work to do on his first deadline day. He seems committed to building it the right way after he took over Stan Bowman’s mess. It all starts on this day that should see plenty of movement across the National Hockey League.

Typically, the players on expiring contracts are at the front of the line to be traded. That will certainly be of consideration for the Hawks as they try to gain future assets. Without making moves like that, they won’t leave today with a brighter future than yesterday.

The Chicago Blackhawks have some last-minute trades they need to make.

1. Marc-Andre Fleury

The Chicago Blackhawks were lucky to have Marc-Andre Fleury for the short time that they did. He is one of the greatest goalies who ever lived and has been amazing in Chicago. Unfortunately, his services are being wasted on this horrible team.

Fleury deserves to be on a winning team going into the playoffs. He has won the Stanley Cup three times in his amazing career and it would be cool to see them give him a chance to win a fourth. That can only come by trading him to a legit contender that needs a goalie.

2. Other Expiring Contracts

Dylan Strome, Kirby Dach, Dominik Kubalik, Caleb Jones, and Philipp Kurashev are all younger players on expiring contracts of the RFA variety. They maintain their rights beyond this year but need to get them signed.

There is no need to trade any of them if the Blackhawks don’t want to but the option is there if they don’t want to extend them in favor of gaining other assets for them. Some of them are likelier to stay than others

Then, there are the unrestricted free agents that can go wherever they want when the year is over unless they are extended. Fleury is one of those but he is a star that deserves his own attention. Erik Gustafsson, Kevin Lankinen, Calvin de Haan, Sam Lafferty, and Ryan Carpenter are the others that are RFAs and could (should) be moved.

3. Stars

If the Chicago Blackhawks get a good offer for Patrick Kane or Alex DeBrincat, they need to take it. It is hard for people to accept but this team is going nowhere while these guys are big money players so they might as well collect major assets while they can.

Each of them has the rest of this year and all of next year on their current deals so they are a little more than a rental. The Hawks could really advance their rebuild if a move like this is made before the deadline.

It is unclear if any of this stuff will actually come true. It is certainly possible but other teams across the league need to be involved as well for this stuff to come true. Hopefully, regardless of what happens, the Hawks have a better future for it.