8 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks start to the offseason
By Todd Welter
It was the right call for the Chicago Blackhawks to move on from Kirby Dach.
Dach was sent to the Montreal Canadiens for a first-round pick. Davidson was not going to move Dach unless he got a top-15 back.
The Blackhawks are listening on offers for Kirby Dach. The sense is it would have to be a top-15 pick to get them to really consider it.
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) July 7, 2022
He ended up getting pick 13 and drafted a younger center prospect. Pulling the plug on the Dach experience was the right call. He was the poster boy for how the Bowman regime rushing prospects to the NHL can derail a player’s career.
A thought from yesterday: Kirby Dach is way better than what he's shown.
— Matt Larkin (@MLarkinHockey) July 8, 2022
Think about what he's been through in his NHL career: freak injuries, constant coach turnover, horrific team scandal that predated his time there.
New environment + Marty St. Louis will work wonders.
A change of scenery will help his career and Davidson got a chance to get a prospect that fits his preferred player profile. It looks like the Blackhawks got a talented prospect with the 13th pick.
Nazar manipulates the D better than anyone out here and not just because of his speed. Lures D to him by changing his angle of attack and then creates space/lanes. He’s going to be special
— Chief (@BarstoolChief) July 15, 2022
Now, who is the centerpiece for the rebuild?
DeBrincat, Dach, Strome, and Kubalik are all gone. Hagel was traded at the deadline. Those were five players with loads of potential.
Normally, those are players you can build up a playoff contender team around. The Hawks did not get much winning in the limited time those five were together. Poor defense is one reason but also a dried-up prospect pool did not help.
That is why they had to go. Now it leaves a gaping hole at who exactly is the main building block of this rebuild.
Defenseman Seth Jones is being paid like a superstar player. He is 27 and had a really good season coming over from the Columbus Blue Jackets. His contract dictates he will be a part of the rebuild but he is not a franchise-altering player. The defense can be built around him but not the entire franchise.
Lukas Reichel has loads of potential. Defenseman Ian Mitchell has plenty of talent. Arvid Söderblom has the size and skills to be an elite goalie.
All three of this year’s first-round selections possess exciting talent. Kevin Korchinski has the potential to be a really good two-way defenseman. Sam Rinzel is just starting to scratch the surface of his talent.
The Hawks first have to sign them before they can be considered to be legit foundational pieces. All three probably still need another year or two of playing at the junior hockey or college level.
Right now, the Chicago Blackhawks are lacking a true budding superstar in their farm system. There is not a legit prospect in the system that you can point to and say is a player that will be the foundation of the next great Blackhawks team.