Blackhawks' trade deadline should impact the IceHogs

The Chicago Blackhawks have made significant strides in their rebuild this year in many ways regarding the young players. Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis, who started the year with the Rockford IceHogs, are getting better every game. Artyom Levshunov is leading the Blackhawks' defensemen with 19 points on the season. Spencer Knight has shown that he can be an NHL-caliber starter. Even though the wins haven’t been piling up, individual growth has been a common theme this season.

Unfortunately, that can’t be said about the IceHogs. They have gone through many roster changes due to call-ups and injuries. Moore and Lardis, as stated above, are currently with the Blackhawks. Paul Ludwinski is out for the season after injuring his knee in mid-October. Jackson Cates missed over a month with a concussion. It seems like they can’t catch a break regarding injuries. With the NHL trade deadline two months away, the Blackhawks should continue to look to the future while helping the IceHogs.

They Need Offensive Help and NHL Players to Make the Playoffs

The IceHogs have played most of the year with an extremely thin roster. They have 28 players on the team, but only 16 are NHL-contracted players, including all three goalies. This has certainly been apparent, looking at the stats for this season. Only two players, Lardis and Brett Seney, have broken the 10-goal mark. They have 94 goals in 33 games as of the afternoon of January 4, 2026, with 29 of those goals coming from Lardis, Moore, and Seney. Over one-third of their goals are coming from those three players, and two of them aren’t with the team right now.

The IceHogs traded for Rem Pitlick last month, which has definitely helped the team, especially after Dominic Toninato’s call-up and Seney’s departure for the Spengler Cup. But with the Texas Stars one point away from leapfrogging them in fifth place, they need to do more. The IceHogs are no stranger to strengthening their team through trades. In recent years, Anders Bjork, Hunter Drew, Pitlick (on an NHL deal at the time), and Andy Welinski have all been players traded on NHL deals that have helped the IceHogs in their playoff pushes.

The Blackhawks have a strong relationship with the IceHogs, as evidenced by the player and coaching development in years past. Many current and former Blackhawks once played in Rockford as they developed into the NHL players they are today. Anders Sorenson, Derek King, and Jeremy Colliton were IceHogs head coaches before being chosen to coach the Blackhawks. It’s clear that when things look rough in Rockford, management always has a plan in mind to fix it. Unfortunately, that is the state of the IceHogs right now, with a thin roster and little offense.

With two months left until the NHL trade deadline, a lot of eyes will be on the IceHogs. Yes, there will be reinforcements as usual during late March and early April from juniors and the NCAA. But there’s a lot of hockey played between now and then, and a few weeks separating the deadline and their arrival. That’s a lot of time for things to go wrong. With the Stars winning and getting players back from call-up and injury, their season might turn around quickly. Making the necessary moves at the deadline to help Rockford now and the Blackhawks in the future is the right thing to do to save their season from disaster.