Chicago Blackhawks, Brent Seabrook Should Part Ways At NHL Draft

Letting go of a three-time Stanley Cup champion is no easy task, but it’s something the Chicago Blackhawks should consider doing with defenseman Brent Seabrook this summer

An offseason full of question marks began late Thursday night for the Chicago Blackhawks, after they were swept from the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ first round by the Nashville Predators. Among the queries lobbied by fans: What will the Blackhawks’ roster look like next season?

Well, there’s no doubt it will be at least a little different. The expansion draft is due this summer to fill up the Vegas Golden Knights’ first-ever roster. And the Blackhawks have contract decisions to make on the following: Tomas Jurco, Richard Panik, Andrew Desjardins, Dennis Rasmussen, Johnny Oduya, Brian Campbell, Michal Kempny and Scott Darling.

Of course, guys who are locked into contracts with the team heading into 2017-18 aren’t necessarily safe either. And that’s especially true after consecutive first-round postseason exits, which the Blackhawks have suffered.

With that thought in mind, I present the idea the Chicago Blackhawks should try to move defenseman Brent Seabrook during the 2017 NHL Draft.

Time is right for a change

The Blackhawks defense in particular was exposed as very, very slow during the recently-finished first-round loss against Nashville. Seabrook is one of the slower guys in that group, carrying around a hefty frame (6-foot-3, 220 pounds), and the league just keeps getting faster.

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Seabrook is also on the wrong side of 30 — he saw his team eliminated from the postseason on his 32nd birthday Thursday — and pretty clearly has his better days behind him.

Seabs struggled to keep up with plays moving down the ice this season and last, had a lot of trouble winning board battles and was a positional mess throughout the last two seasons — in large part due to his inability to move quickly.

This shows in his statistics, as the possession rates he posted the last two seasons were among the three worst of his career (his rookie season being the third). Additionally, his three goals this regular season marked his lowest total in a campaign, while his plus-5 rating was his second-worst in the last six seasons.

Things are just going south for Seabrook right now, which is natural for a guy with three Stanley Cup wins and multiple international tournament appearances. It’s a lot of miles to put on a bigger guy, and it’s starting to catch up to Seabrook.

The Blackhawks need to get younger and quicker at defense sooner rather than later, and with Seabrook’s struggles the most severe among the big three of Seabs, Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson, it makes sense to shift him elsewhere.

Contract also a concern

On top of this, the Blackhawks will be looking to bolster their current roster for perhaps one more Cup run with the current core — if general manager Stan Bowman sees that as possible. And that’s going to be hard to achieve with the lack of salary cap space.

Seabrook’s contract is among the biggest detriments to Bowman aiding the team by spending money. Seabs’ contract is the squad’s third-biggest at a $6.875 million cap hit — for another seven seasons. It’s the biggest deal among all Chicago defensemen.

Chicago Blackhawks

If you’re Bowman and you see Seabrook’s abilities deteriorating in this way, especially with how big his contract is, you have to see if you can find a way to move him. Especially if you want to keep this team competitive while guys like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Keith, Hjalmarsson and Corey Crawford go on the wrong side of 30 (some are already there).

Seabrook is the most replaceable of the current core, and there’d also be a market for him among NHL teams. Sure, his contract would be a major issue to get past, but one that Bowman would no doubt be able to finagle around. The GM’s successes have more often seemed to come in offseason efforts versus mid-season trysts.

It’s important, though, that the Blackhawks try to move Seabrook at the entry-level draft if they look to do so at all. Exposing him at the expansion draft gets him off the books, sure, but it gets you nothing in return (not to mention he isn’t eligible to be in the expansion draft, due to the no-movement clause in his contract).

The Blackhawks would likely be able to get something for Seabrook, even with his large contract, at the entry-level draft. While Seabrook’s performance has fallen, it’s not as though he should be retiring after this season. NHL teams still have use for a guy like Seabrook, and he still has game to give to the league.

Building for the future

The Blackhawks have multiple guys they could try to slot in at defensive roles moving forward to see what sticks. Bowman, meanwhile, can go out and draft some defensemen or try to find a diamond in the rough on the cheap in the offseason.

Keith and Hjalmarsson would still be around, in this scenario. Gustav Forsling and Trevor van Riemsdyk can fill slots. Kempny will hopefully be re-signed and can be a more mobile version of Seabrook with more playing time and NHL seasoning. Ville Pokka, Erik Gustafsson, Carl Dahlstrom, Nolan Valleau, Dillon Fournier and Viktor Svedberg are among youngsters you could look ahead to.

Chicago’s offense was a letdown in this latest playoff series, there’s no doubt. But a lot of offense starts from your defense, and that’s been very true with Chicago during its recent era of success. The defense was a major letdown the last two seasons, and a shakeup may be required.

Some would seem more inclined to trade Crawford and re-sign Darling to make him the starter in goal, another way to free up money this offseason. However, I think Crow is still in the prime of his career and worth the money he’s receiving. Strong, proven starting goaltending is hard to find in the NHL, and it’s important the Blackhawks still with the strong starter they have until they’re given a reason not to.

Next: 5 Thoughts After Shocking First-Round Loss

They’ve already been given reasons not to stick with Seabrook any longer. And with the team in need of some improvements to get over this recent first-round playoff hump, it may be time to say goodbye to the three-time champ.