Don't forget about Jordan Greenway

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson took a swing for the fences when he acquired defenseman Bowen Byram from the Buffalo Sabres on June 23. He paid a hefty price to get his No. 1 defenseman, but it will be worth it if he is the player both Davidson and Byram believe him to be. But Byram wasn’t the only player acquired in that trade who will help the Blackhawks this season.

The Forgotten Piece

While Byram was the focal point of the trade that sent the fourth-overall pick in this year’s draft, along with a second-rounder and Louis Crevier, to Buffalo, Jordan Greenway was part of the return, as well. The 6’6 forward brings some serious beef to the bottom six, which is desperately needed. He plays big and he will make opponents think twice about taking runs at any of the Blackhawks’ talented young players.

“He’s a big, physical forward,” Byram said of Greenway. “He plays the game hard. He’ll fight. He hits. He protects the puck really well down low. It’s a good addition. I feel like the team can use some size and grit, as well as other aspects of the game that Greener brings.”

After the trade, we had Joe Yerdon on the CHGO Blackhawks Podcast to discuss the two newest Blackhawks. Yerdon has covered the Sabres for years for NHL.com, Bleacher Report, and his own site, Noted Hockey. He covered all of Greenwood’s 158 games with the team.

“He’s going to be a really-good-in-room guy,” Yerdon said. “He keeps everything pretty light. He’s a chirper. But he loves laying people out. Some of the biggest hits we saw from Buffalo in the playoffs came from Greenway catching somebody napping, coming through the zone, or along the walls.”

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Much Needed PK Help

The Blackhawks had one of the best penalty-kill units in the NHL last season. Once the team picked up on Jeff Blashill’s system, it was a well-oiled machine by November. Davidson has to rebuild that unit after trading away Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, and Nick Foligno last March. The Blackhawks’ best penalty killer, Ilya Mikheyev, signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1.

Greenway will be a nice addition to the penalty kill. He led all Buffalo forwards in shorthanded time during their postseason run.

“When it comes to the PK, he was kind of like the on-ice coach for a year or so,” Yerdon said. “When things were really down a couple of years ago, he was the guy who was like ‘Listen, we’ve got to do some things differently here.’ He helped out when things were getting really grim.”

Greenway and free agent signings Cole Smith and Ian Cole will help fill the void left by the departed penalty killers. If Byram is going to be a true No. 1 defenseman, look for him to have a greater presence on the penalty kill. Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, and Ryan Greene will all get chances to increase their shorthanded time as well.

Injuries in the Rearview Mirror

One of Greenway’s biggest problems in recent years has been staying on the ice. He has been hampered by a core muscle/sports hernia injury since 2024. The issue caused him to miss 88 games over the past two seasons. He underwent two procedures to fix the problem that just didn’t work for whatever reason. Luckily, the third time was the charm, and he was back to full health by the end of the season.

Just before his return to the lineup in late March, he told Buffalo Hockey Beat that he was finally skating with zero pain.

“I wish I had the answer on why this worked and other things didn’t,” he said. “I’m just as shocked as maybe everyone else, just because you know there weren’t a lot of answers for a while.”

If you watched any of the Sabres’ playoff run, you saw what a healthy Greenway brings to the lineup. He won’t bring a ton of offense, but he shores up the fourth line and makes the Blackhawks much harder to play against.

“You’re getting a smart guy and a physical presence,” Yerdon said of Greenway. “Players love him. He’s a great dude, and he’s a leader. He didn’t wear an A in Buffalo, but he was one of those guys who didn’t wear a letter but was a leader of this group.”

While we all love the dynamic top-six forwards and stud two-way defensemen, the most successful NHL teams have guys like Greenway down the lineup happily doing the dirty work.

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