Chicago Blackhawks Trade Deadline Preview

Happy 2/22/22 Day!

There are 27 days until the 2022 NHL trade deadline. We’ve already seen a couple moves made in the last week with Tyler Toffoli traded to Calgary and Ilya Lyubushkin traded to Toronto. They certainly won’t be the last moves we see. 

While we still don’t know who the general manager will be on March 21, the Blackhawks are expected to be sellers at the deadline. They have six UFAs on the main roster they can move and some players with term if the return is substantial enough. Though this deadline won’t make or break their future, getting draft picks and prospects for players who won’t be on the team next year is super important.

What do the Blackhawks need?

Draft picks and prospects. You're probably not going to be able to recoup the first round pick you traded for Seth Jones, but there's a good chance they might acquire some second round and third round picks. Come draft day, the Blackhawks can use those draft picks to potentially move into the first round if they really want to. You also won't get a high-end prospect, but I think about someone like Ryder Rolston, who was acquired for Carl Soderberg last deadline, a prospect who doesn't have super high upside, though has had an nice year in college. Continue to restock the cupboard.

As of February 22, the Blackhawks have a little over 4.6 million dollars in cap space for the trade deadline, according to CapFriendly. Have to wonder if they'll use that room to take back some less than ideal contracts in order to potentially obtain a first round pick or high-end prospect.

Most likely to move

Calvin De Haan, 30 year old d-man | 1 year left at $4.55 million (UFA)

De Haan is the most likely to move because he’s a veteran defenseman who can block shots. Buying teams at the deadline will highly value that and it’s not out of the question the Blackhawks could fetch a second round pick for him, especially if they retain some of De Haan’s 4.55 million dollar cap hit.

Stats (*as of February 22*)

GP: 48 | G: 1 | A: 4 | Pts: 5

Dominik Kubalik, 26 year old winger | 1 year left at $3.7 million (RFA)

Kubalik has struggled mightily this year and even going back to the old regime, this organization has never really been high on him. I think it’s clear he doesn’t really have a future in Chicago. Even if they don’t get a huge haul for Kubalik, it’d be better to trade him than let him walk to free agency for nothing.

Stats (*as of February 22*)

GP: 52 | G: 10 | A: 9 | Pts: 19

Marc-Andre Fleury, 37 year old goalie | 1 year left at $7 million (UFA)

Fleury is a very interesting case because goalies rarely get moved at the deadline, especially elite ones, and when they do, teams usually don’t give up first round picks or high-end prospects for them because they don’t really have much goaltending problems to begin with. Fleury also has a 10 team no trade list the Blackhawks have to honour. There’s a lot of factors to be taken into consideration.

Stats (*as of February 22*)

Record: 16-18-4 | GAA: 2.80 | SV%: .912 | SO: 4

Brandon Hagel, 23 year old winger | 3 years left at $1.5 million (RFA)

Hagel is probably the most intriguing player on this list because he’s the only Blackhawk outside of Alex DeBrincat that you could net a significant return for. That’s due to his cheap contract, age, production, and work ethic. While the Blackhawks, at least Kyle Davidson, want to keep him as part of their future, it’d be hard to say no to an offer that may include a first round pick, high-end prospect, plus another asset.

Stats (*as of February 22*)

GP: 46 | G: 14 | A: 13 | Pts: 27

Ryan Carpenter, 31 year old forward | 1 year left at $1 million (UFA)

I don’t think you’ll get much for Ryan Carpenter, but you could potentially get a mid round pick from a buying team that wants to shore up their depth.

Stats (*as of February 22*)

GP: 48 | G: 1 | A: 6 | Pts: 7 | FO%: 51.1

Honorable Mentions

Dylan Strome: With each passing day and how he’s been performing, I think it’s unlikely Strome gets moved, and ultimately, I think he stays in Chicago. Just my personal feeling.

Erik Gustafsson: If Gustafsson does get moved, it won’t be for much, as last year he was traded from Philadelphia to Montreal for a seventh round pick.

With the trade deadline getting closer, we’ll be staying up to date with the latest news, rumours, and trades.