3 Blackhawks Who Won't Survive the Trade Deadline

The Chicago Blackhawks will be sellers at this year's NHL trade deadline, which should be surprising to no one. After all, the Blackhawks continue to dwell in the basement — much like they have throughout the 2023-24 campaign — sitting dead last in the league with a 15-38-3 record as of Feb. 21.

The Blackhawks have several trade chips at their disposal to bring in future assets that can help with the rebuild. While some potential trade bait could wind up staying in the Windy City, others are likely as good as gone once 3 p.m. ET rolls around on March 8.

Let's take a look at three Blackhawks who won't survive the deadline in Chicago.

1. Tyler Johnson, C

If any playoff-bound team is looking to add to its forward depth, Tyler Johnson is the perfect player for the job.

Johnson, 33, isn't as productive as he was in his prime, but he still has 11 goals and 17 points through 41 games this season. He plays about 15 minutes per night and can be deployed in both even strength and special teams situations. That's without mentioning how he's a two-time Stanley Cup winner, which is the type of experience contenders look for before making deadline deals.

Johnson is an unrestricted free agent in the summer and it doesn't make much sense for him to stick around in Chicago. With that in mind, the Blackhawks should try to unload him ahead of the deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing to the open market. He does carry a $5 million cap hit, however, the Blackhawks have over $8.1 million in space (per Spotrac), meaning they could retain some of his salary to receive a bigger return from any interested suitors.

Considering how there isn't a reason to believe that Johnson is interested in re-signing, it's best to move on from him before it's too late.