Blackhawks missed out on accelerating rebuild timeline thanks to division rivals

The Chicago Blackhawks sent shockwaves throughout the NHL this week in the hours leading up to the draft. Holding the No. 4 overall pick, the Blackhawks opted to trade it to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram. The trade was viewed as an overpay, considering the Blackhawks have to negotiate a new contract with Byram, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer. But given the lackluster free agent market this year, it has led to a variety of huge trades at high prices.

Even though the Blackhawks didn't have a draft pick, they were looking to make a splash in the trade market again. The Sportsnet broadcast before the first round of the NHL Draft noted that the Blackhawks were in the mix for Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish. The early buzz was that the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues were in the running for the scoring center. Could the Blackhawks pull off a trade to give star Connor Bedard some assistance and help pull Chicago out of their rebuild and back into playoff contention.

Well, on Friday night, the rival Blues sent the Ducks the No. 15 and 29 overall picks in this year's NHL Draft in exchange for McTavish.

Blackhawks miss out on Mason McTavish trade to rival Blues

It was hard for the Blackhawks to beat that kind of offer from the Blues. Let's not forget that St. Louis had four first round picks at their disposal on Friday night. They used the No. 11 pick on Tynan Lawrence and the No. 16 selection on Maddox Dagenais, two center prospects. With the No. 15 and 29 picks, they turned that into McTavish, helping bolster their center depth for their retool. It does sting that the Blackhawks watch one of their trade targets end up in their own division.

McTavish isn't exactly a superstar, but he can score. One thing that does work against him is his slow skating speed. But, he has been a consistent 40-point-plus scorer in the previous four seasons. The thing is, he was averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time per game in that stretch. One has to imagine his ice time will increase in St. Louis.

For the Blackhawks, they do need to try and get out of this rebuild soon. They had promise early on last season before completely collapsing into last place in the Central Division. Their 72 points are the best they've had in a season since Bedard entered the NHL in 2023. Yet, only good enough for last place.

Bedard is due for a new contract, so trying to build out a contending roster must be a priority for general manager Kyle Davidson. He obviously felt like Byram would help them out defensively. But when it comes to scoring, they still don't have the quality help behind Bedard. One has to wonder if they will target another scoring forward this offseason. But if the first round of the NHL Draft showed us anything, it's that the options are dwindling, especially with Pavel Dorofeyev going to the New York Rangers and J.J. Peterka getting dealt to the Boston Bruins.

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