3 Things the Chicago Blackhawks need to do before 2020-21

Draft A Top 4 Defensemen

The Chicago Blackhawks are in an interesting spot this draft. They’re right in the middle of things, as they were last year. As written about on other draft articles, the Blackhawks are likely to draft around the ninth spot in the 2020 NHL Draft.

At that spot, Justin Barron, my favorite player coming out of the 2020 NHL draft will certainly be there. Barron was a top prospect that missed most of the season due to a blood clot. That raised red flags for scouts and threw him to the bottom of the first round.

If the Blackhawks are somehow included in the playoffs, due to 24 teams making it instead of 16, Barron still is a possibility no matter where the Blackhawks end up.

He’s the type of player that I wouldn’t trade up for because I believe he will fall anywhere from 20-25, maybe even further. If the Blackhawks have a top pick and can get one of the top prospects like Alexis Lafreniere, you take them.

If they’re hovering around the nine or 10 mark, they could potentially trade down and add draft picks. Trading down and selecting Barron, while gaining draft picks in the process, is a huge steal for the Blackhawks.

Chicago has some solid defensemen in their system, some who I believe will be stars in the league. I still think they could add one more player to that role. If they’re adding a top defensive prospect to the lineup, it has to be Barron.

In a perfect world, the Blackhawks get rid of Calvin de Haan for draft picks, buy out Brent Seabrook with the possible compliance buyout, and trade down and draft Barron.

They get rid of two defensemen, they save a lot of money, they add draft picks, and they draft a guy that could play at a top-level in the NHL for the next 10-15 years.

Duncan Keith only has a few more years left in the NHL. Connor Murphy, 27, and Adam Boqvist, 19, are two players who I could see in Chicago for a long time. I’m not fully solid on Olli Maatta, but he is still young. Ian Mitchell has the potential to be very good, which we could even see next season.

We can’t forget about Slater Koekkoek, Nicolas Beaudin, or Lucas Carlsson as the final defensemen on the roster.

Still, Keith will need a replacement in the near future. His replacement needs to be Justin Barron.