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Should The Chicago Blackhawks Trade Colin Blackwell At The NHL Trade Deadline?

He is one of the few players the Blackhawks have that could attract trade interest from a contender. The problem is the Hawks may not get much back.

By Todd Welter |
/ Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago Blackhawks are having a quiet NHL trade deadline as compared to last year.

General manager Kyle Davidson completed nine trades before last year's trade deadline. Patrick Kane, arguably the franchise's greatest player, was among those players dealt when he requested a trade to the New York Rangers.

A lot of those deals had to take place to finish the roster teardown portion of this extensive rebuild. Now the Hawks are in the early stages of collecting talent to build around Connor Bedard.

Davidson is off to a good start with two drafts improving the team's prospect pool to the seventh-best according to the Athletic's Scott Wheeler. The Hawks still need to add more talent through the draft and they have 16 picks in the first three rounds over the next three drafts.

Still, it would be nice to have more picks with the trade deadline being another avenue to add more draft capital or a prospect. The problem is the Blackhawks do not have many players teams would be interested in like they had last year.

Tyler Johnson is a player that makes sense to be dealt. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner who can still produce some goals for a contender's third line. If the Blackhawks retain 50% of his salary, there is a chance they could fetch one a decent draft pick.

Colin Blackwell is another player who is rumored to be getting interest from contenders.

The veteran forward may not produce a lot of offense, but he does all the little things you want a bottom-six wing to do.

He plays hard. He is willing to go to the boards to win a puck battle. He will deliver a powerful hit when necessary. He has shown when he gets on that rare odd-man rush, he can put the biscuit in the basket.

Plus, he will be an unrestricted free agent who has a $1.2 million cap hit and will be 31 at the end of the season. The Hawks might as well get something for him as the team has plenty of forward options in their system who can fill Blackwell's role.

The problem is Blackwell will likely not fetch much of a return.

The Hawks at best are probably going to get a late-round pick. While the team could use one in this year's draft, they only have a sixth-round pick after the third round ends, those picks usually end up being nothing more than organizational depth pieces.

Plus, Blackwell wants to be here. That is right. He wants to stay during the losing part of this massive rebuild.

The main reason the Hawks do not have a lot many desirable veteran players on the trade market is because they extended them this season. The Hawks gave short-term extensions to veterans Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, and Petr Mrazek. The main reason they were retained was to be bridge players and provide veteran leadership.

Blackwell has a case to be a veteran bridge player too.

Blackwell also fits that description when it comes to having a player who can help head coach Luke Richardson establish the locker room culture.

The man plays hard, especially in the five-on-five game. His CF-relative percentage in five-on-five is 5.9. His advanced numbers in helping out the defense are good.

Sure the Hawks could go the cheap route with say Landon Slaggert once he signs his entry-level deal. Slaggert's ceiling could see him on the top line. Also, it would be nice to give him some time in Rockford to get acclimated to the pro game.

It is not like Davidson does not have a history of not trading a player for the sake of getting something back. He did not Andreas Athanasiou before the deadline last year because the offers were not great.

Davidson turned around and brought Athanasiou on a one-year deal. He can do the same thing for Blackwell.

The way Blackwell plays hard every night while doing all the little things well and serving as a bridge player on the bottom lines is a reason Davidson should entertain extending him instead of trading him.

It is not like the Hawks are in a salary cap crunch. Extending Blackwell can help get them to the salary cap floor.

On the flip side, at some point he will be taking up ice time for a younger, cheaper player who will actually be a part of the next good Blackhawks team.

The case for keeping and moving on from Blackwell are both compelling.

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