The Chicago Blackhawks sign a decent center for depth

The Chicago Blackhawks have been busy. They need people to play for them in the 2022-23 season as they have traded or let go of most of their top forwards. Now, it is about rebuilding this group. They still need some stopgaps and now they are getting them.

Earlier in the day, they signed both Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou to one-year deals. Both of them are going to get three million dollars and a chance to raise their value before the trade deadline. Both sides are getting something good from these deals.

They weren’t done there. A little bit later, it came out that the Hawks were bringing in Colin Blackwell. Instead of getting a one-year deal, he is getting a two-year deal with an average annual value of 1.2 million dollars.

Blackwell is going to be the team’s fourth-line center for as long as they have him. They can trade him at either trade deadline too which is a nice reason to bring him in. He is the perfect player to surround a bunch of kids trying to make their way in the league.

The Chicago Blackhawks are making some low-key moves in free agency.

Along with Domi and Athanasiou, Blackwell is perfect for what Chicago is trying to do. Players that are hard to play against or guys who are really fast will be perfect role models on this team and Blackwell can help with some of that.

Blackwell is a former Harvard player that was a seventh-round pick. He started his playing career with the Nashville Predators before making his way to the New York Rangers. He had some success there before being selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft.

Seattle traded him to Toronto during their first season as a part of a big trade involving Mark Giordano. He had a nice finish with them before becoming a free agent after this year. Now, he has earned himself a nice little contract with Chicago.

As mentioned before, this is a good deal for both sides as they are each getting something they need out of it. Blackwell can make some money playing hockey while trying to prove himself worthy of another deal. For the Hawks, they are getting a depth piece that plays the right way and could get them assets later on.