The Blackhawks have many ways to improve, but this should take priority

So, the Chicago Blackhawks are in trade rumors for a couple of star NHL forwards, mainly Jason Robertson and Matthew Knies, with Knies being the main target thanks to his size, skill, and willingness to take the body as a true power forward. Maybe an offer for Pavel Dorofeyev is in the works, thanks to his performance in the playoffs on a cash-strapped Vegas Golden Knights team. However, I think the Blackhawks should consider the next method:

Prospect Swapping

An example would be Josh Norris for Dylan Cozens between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres. I will admit, it would be much easier to consider the improvement of the Blackhawks if they didn't have the opportunity to draft Ivan Demidov, Matt Boldy (2019), Beckett Sennecke, and more, but this is the reality of the NHL draft.

There are many young players in the NHL, and I doubt many of their GMs would ignore offers for them. The Blackhawks' defense and bottom-six need some work. I would love to see them attempt to make a move for Carolina's Jackson Blake and Los Angeles's Brandt Clarke. Both are young and would make immediate impacts for the Blackhawks, and the Blackhawks have similar assets to move to make the trade happen.

I also think there's a need for more diversity within the group; they all play the same way at the moment. There's no noticeable "energy" or "vocal" guy on the team like Andrew Shaw in 2012-2017 (AJ Spellacy could be this guy), but the Blackhawks need a bit more "umpf" in their forward and defense groups. Skilled guys, but also guys who find joy in hitting the opposition, like Zach Benson and Ryan Leonard. There are likely options the Blackhawks could move for players like that, as well.

Additionally, I always harp on the Blackhawks' lack of size in the forward group, and I still think this needs to be addressed. Some may say that size doesn't matter in the NHL anymore, but the Blackhawks dropped like flies in the regular season due to various injuries. They will need to become much more durable if they want to survive in the postseason, so building a playoff-quality roster could include acquiring more size to the roster without compromising skill. The Blackhawks have a lot of options in the bottom-six within their own system, but flipping them for guys who have proven they can play in the NHL would be better than waiting and hoping.

While it is highly likely that the Blackhawks make a huge move for a star forward (I would prefer Knies), I would also like to see them consider swapping their own young players for others to address weaknesses. I will always be disgruntled with the first three years of the Connor Bedard era of the Blackhawks due to their idleness in acquiring more talent when they were clearly not good enough.

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