Chicago Blackhawks: Keeping half of iconic duo helpful to organization’s future

The rumor swirling the Chicago Blackhawks all season has been that they will deal both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane come the Trade Deadline on March 3rd.

Dealing Kane will prove beneficial for the club, but a deal involving Toews would be counter intuitive.

Besides the ridiculous contracts, and the amount the Hawks will need to retain across dealing both Kane and Toews, keeping the lesser of the two production wise, Toews, makes sense.

16 years in the NHL, three Stanley Cups, one sexual assault scandal, and an injury plague that has sidelined him from the league for a mix of time across multiple seasons.

The Hawks aren’t getting any older roster wise, and neither is any team in the league.

Keeping a veteran presence around, in the form of a player that will bring in a worse return, and won’t get you a deal with a team willing to part with a high pick for Toews, makes the most sense.

Kane’s deal will be a monster, and come as no surprise to anyone, but will be the second biggest trade to Jakub Chychrun’s departure from the Arizona Coyotes.

Despite the 2023 NHL Draft class being the most expansive, and deep in regards to the talent level, since we have seen since 2015, a late pick, could be costly to the Hawks.

Toews getting dealt to a team on the verge of the playoffs, may land a late teens to mid twenties pick, and a few low level prospects the Hawks may never see through developmentally.

Dealing Jonathan Toews is a detriment to the organization, and the building of the future for more Cup runs in the city of Chicago. See the season through on his contract, pay him what you owe him, and let him walk away, unscathed at the end of the season to someone that is willing to pay for him (which is few to no teams FYI).