Chicago Blackhawks: Redrafting Core Players Since 2002

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Nov 5, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) and goalie Corey Crawford (50) celebrate the win over the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Blackhawks defeat the Stars 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Do you ever wonder what could have happened to the Chicago Blackhawks had they not drafted as well as they did?

While the Chicago Blackhawks continue to retool and reload their supporting cast each season due to salary cap concerns, the core has mostly stayed intact. And a majority of that core was drafted by the Blackhawks brass.

Patrick Sharp was a trade acquisition from Philadelphia, though he’s now in Dallas. Marian Hossa signed as a free agent in 2009. Beyond that, however, the Blackhawks have drafted their entire core group.

But what if the Blackhawks had drafted differently? Who might have ended up wearing the Indian Head … or struggling to make it to the big leagues altogether?

Today, I’m going to take a look at possible different draft choices for reach of the Blackhawks’ core pieces who were selected by the team: Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Corey Crawford, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marcus Kruger.

Each redraft will be done in a vacuum, per say. So when I do Keith’s redraft, we’ll assume everyone else was drafted as planned by the Blackhawks. With that in mind, let’s begin.