Blackhawks: Buyout Window Day 1, No Moves For Chicago

The Chicago Blackhawks are rumored to buyout or at least get rid of either Zack Smith or Olli Maatta. After day 1 of the buyout window, no one has left Chicago.

The Chicago Blackhawks find themselves in such an interesting situation. They have to move some salary cap to keep Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik, so who is going? The overall consensus and acceptance by fans was Olli Maata and/or Zack Smith.

Brandon Saad’s name has been put in there, but it would be a mistake to let him go. Saad is a free agent next season and likely will re-sign for less money. If the Hawks can get him for around $4,000,000 AAV, keeping Saad is way better than losing him.

After one day of the buyout window, we’ve seen just Bobby Ryan leave. Would he be an interesting signing in Chicago? Yes, but they don’t have the salary cap for him. They have to move the cap to re-sign their own guys before looking at anyone else.

How soon. can we expect news of a buyout from the Hawks? It’s likely to see them wait until the draft. The draft is in 11-days and really, there’s no need to rush this decision. If they can draft a player at the 17th spot that can fill a role that they’d be losing by buying out a player, they win that. If they cannot find a replacement, they might look to trade to save some money.

Someone is being bought out of Chicago this season. We don’t see it often here but it’s happening this offseason. They’re backed into a hole too deep, but luckily, they’ll be in a better spot next season. If they can get past this offseason and the 2021 NHL season, they’ll have money to spend for 2021-22.