Should the Chicago Blackhawks be Sellers or Buyers at the deadline?

The Chicago Blackhawks could go either way, but one option looks to be better than the other.

We all know about the Chicago Blackhawks’ recent slump, where they did not play to their abilities and were not able to keep the leads that they kept, notably their two-goal lead vs Florida that they lost to lose 6-3.

With the current playoff format, the Chicago Blackhawks don’t have a great road to the conference finals. They would have to first get past the first seed of their division, then play yet another top team in the league to make it to the conference finals. They have struggled against these teams in the regular season,

Maybe they can pull off the impossible and win the Stanley Cup, though highly unlikely. At the current state of this team, and the possibility of them not getting back to form, the question stands: Should this team be sellers or buyers at the deadline?

I think there are two more categories here, which are: Conservative buyers or sellers.

What is a conservative buyer/seller?

You are adding pieces for depth without giving up too much, or you are sending role players (Such as Ryan Carpenter) to other teams for a small return. No stars or promising youngsters are transferred. With the Chicago Blackhawks holding a plethora of promising youngsters for the future era of Blackhawks hockey, I think they should go down the “Conservative Buyer” route.

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As a conservative buyer, the Chicago Blackhawks will hold on to their young guys and send out players like Brad Morrison or Evan Barrett and late draft picks for one to two additions who fit the Blackhawks’ system on the bottom six as the top six looks to be completely set.

They won’t give up something higher than a third-round pick in the draft and will add depth and, hopefully, size and physicality to their forward group. Maybe Austin Watson as a fourth-line winger who will step up when one of the stars gets picked on. Watson is a HUGE maybe, just an example of the type of player the ‘Hawks need.

The last few winners of the Stanley Cup had size and physicality to their lineup, with Pittsburgh being the last team with a small, skilled team in 2017. The league looks to be shifting yet again to a bigger, stronger blueprint and the Blackhawks need to catch up.

The Hawks also need to address their lack of players who are defensively reliable and their woes at the face-off circle. Maybe adding Luke Glendening to the roster could help them in that regard. Though he’s not very big at 5’11” and 191 lbs, he’s great at the face-off dot which is the Blackhawk’s most glaring weakness. He could win those key face-offs for the team, and secure important regulation wins.

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To conclude, the Chicago Blackhawks should play it safe and be a conservative buyer, who will not be giving any valuable assets in order to add role players to the team to address their face-off concerns and their lack of size and physicality. The team doesn’t need a massive addition, only one or two cheap additions to help them where they are lacking.