The Chicago Blackhawks need to try trading their captain

The Chicago Blackhawks are having a big week. They just announced a new head coach as Luke Richardson is going to be the guy replacing Derek King in 2022-23. They are going to rebuild now and it is time that they actually do it the right way again.

A lot of the trade speculation seems to surround Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. That makes sense as each of them has one year left on their current deals. They are also the two best players on the team right now.

However, they should also be doing everything they can to trade Jonathan Toews. He is one of the franchise’s all-time great players that has been the captain for all of these years. Unfortunately, it seems like his time in Chicago is up.

Like Kane and DeBrincat, he only has one year left on his deal. He isn’t as productive as those guys anymore but he can still bring a lot to a winning team which the Hawks will not be in 2022-23. An elite team might be able to work out a deal.

The Chicago Blackhawks might need to trade Jonathan Toews before 2022-23.

Obviously, Toews would have to approve of a trade thanks to his no-move clause. He might be willing to do so based on his comments from last year. He doesn’t really seem too interested in playing on a rebuilding young team. A guy with that mindset has to go.

With a 10.5 million dollar cap hit for the year, the Hawks might have to retain some of his salary for a team to be able to add him. If it means that they can get more for him in return, it is a no-brainer. This team has a long way to go and Toews won’t be there when they are elite again.

There is literally no point in hanging on to Toews. They are not going to the playoffs next year with or without him next year and then his contract is up. He can be good enough to keep them from being in contention for the number one overall pick which is obviously bad.

It is time to tear it down and start doing everything with the future in mind. Developing the young kids and gaining future assets should be the number one priority and letting Toews go could help with that task.

It is unfortunate because of the memories but everyone’s time to move on comes and it is here for the captain. If they can find a way to get a fair deal done involving Toews, they should.