3 Blackhawks players who should be gone by the end of the month

We can all agree that the Chicago Blackhawks are a different team than they were last season, even if they’re roughly one year away from transforming into a top-16 group. That said, Chicago should still find itself in a ‘selling’ mentality when it comes to certain players. 

While they need to keep their youngsters, even those who may have underperformed in the past, in the Windy City, moving some veterans makes sense while this team continues to formulate. So, which three players would I move, or at least try to trade elsewhere, by the end of the month?

Let’s check out a pair of forwards and one blueliner. This may be an unpopular opinion, but since I’d still be focused on the future if I were general manager Kyle Davidson, I’d have no problem trading away the following three players. 

Ryan Donato

Right now, the Blackhawks need to focus on keeping three types of players around: Their young core, which is the obvious answer; middle-aged players who are producing; aging veterans there to provide mentorship roles. Yet others, like Ryan Donato, fit none of the above categories. 

Still, in his age-28 season, the Blackhawks would be better off handing Donato to another team and letting him factor in as a lower liner slash extra. With 10 hits, Donato has proven to be a physical player, so he would fuel the lower lines of a potential playoff contender as an asset unafraid to land body checks.

Andreas Athanasiou

I got Andreas Athanasiou in the same category as Ryan Donato, so he’s another player who I wouldn’t just like to see the Blackhawks move, but would rather them move on from him sooner than I would Donato. He’s someone who, despite providing little value to the Hawks since 2023-24 started, could factor in as an incredible depth scorer with a potential contender. 

For that, I’m pointing to 2022-23, when Athanasiou scored 20 goals and 40 points in 81 contests, averaged 16 minutes of ice time, and logged a solid 58 takeaways. Overall, this is what you call sound, albeit unspectacular, play that contenders should crave before the playoff race begins to really shape up. 

Connor Murphy

Connor Murphy is yet another one who could provide a solid depth piece elsewhere but on the blue line. Through six games, he has just one assist, but I’m looking at his seven body checks and 14 blocks heading into Monday night and I cannot help but think of how good of an asset he would make on a potential contender’s third pairing. 

If Murphy were just five years younger, I’d love to keep him in Chicago, where he’d prove to be a solid asset for the young core. And while you can argue he has produced somewhat defensively, a team like the Hawks that is still building could probably send a blueliner like Murphy elsewhere for a higher price because of the value he brings.