Chicago Blackhawks: Anthony Duclair Still Remains Contractless

The Chicago Blackhawks are rebuilding right now because of a lack of young 23 through 25-year-olds on the team ready to start stepping up in the NHL. One player who fits the description is still a free agent and spent time with the ‘Hawks.

Anthony Duclair only spent 23 games with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2017-18 season, but could the team potentially bring him back this upcoming year?

While Chicago is trying to maintain salary cap flexibility, they could be better off with another young forward on their team to see what he can do for the organization. Duclair isn’t as inexperienced as some pieces in the Blackhawks organization, and after a 40 point season last year, he definitely could follow that up with another great experience.

Duclair is only 25 years old, and he is coming off a 1.65 million dollar contract he signed with the Ottawa Senators last offseason. Duclair has only gotten better each year he has been in the NHL, but he hasn’t stuck with one organization thus far.

Take a look at his stats over the course of the six years Duclair has been in the NHL.

I have always been a big fan of Duclair. I believe he has a lot of speed and skill that could help anyteam win games. Chicago might have to offer him two million a season for two or three years to get him to join the ‘Hawks, but that wouldn’t be too bad considering he very well could factor into their top six.

More from Blackhawk Up

• Blackhawks: Three Noticeable Improvements in Comeback Win vs Blues
• Blackhawks: Key Takeaways from 3-2 win over the Blues
• Blackhawks: Grading Connor Murphy and a position comparison
• Blackhawks: Shuffling the lines to try and spark offense at 5 on 5
• These Lineup Changes could Solve the Blackhawks’ Scoring Problem

While it might not be the best time to sign a free agent, hockey will be back at some point, and having a player like Duclair on Chicago’s roster would be a great thing. I never really liked that Chicago let him walk in the first place after his first stint with the team.

Bowman talks now about making sure you secure an asset on trades and how the team is suffering because they do not have any of those young players ready to take bigger steps in the NHL. Well, he let a player like Duclair walk in the first place.

Even if Chicago does not pick up Anthony Duclair, I am excited to see where he ends up next season, along with a lot of other free agents that remained unsigned.