Constructing the Best Roster of Former Chicago Blackhawks Still Playing

The Chicago Blackhawks have lost a lot of talent over the past ten years, and both of the general managers during that time, Stan Bowman and Kyle Davidson, are responsible. Some players were lost when the Hawks were competing for Stanley Cups. The team needed to move on from talent it couldn’t afford to retain, and it had to surrender premier prospects at the trade deadline to acquire immediate talent to compete in the spring.

Others were moved due to the rebuild. Some players were dealt to pave the way for upcoming prospects, and others were let go for nothing so the team would have a weaker roster and thus higher draft lottery odds (hello, Connor Bedard).

With that being said, I believe it is a fun exercise to construct the best possible roster of former active Blackhawks. Note that the players must be currently signed to an NHL team (so no Jonathan Toews). I am not including any players currently on IR (so no Kirby Dach). I have included how the players were acquired, how they left, and some comments along with what they did after leaving the Hawks on each player. All contractual information, trade information, and NHL rosters for this article were found on capfriendly.com.

The Roster:

Forwards

First Line: Panarin – Danault – DeBrincat
Second Line: Hagel – Strome – Kane
Third Line: Teräväinen – Schmaltz – Hartman
Fourth Line: Duclair – Domi – Saad
Extra: Lafferty

Defensemen

Forsling – Boqvist
Gustafsson – Zadorov
Leddy – Määttä
Extra: Jones

Goalies

Fleury
Lankinen
Emergency: Raanta

NHL Salary Cap: $83,500,000
Total Cap Hit: $83,484,524

Artemi Panarin
How he was acquired: 2015 free-agent signing.
How he left: traded to Columbus along with Tyler Motte and a 2017 sixth-round pick for Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg, and a 2018 fifth-round pick.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: An absolute gem of a signing out of the KHL by Stan Bowman, Panarin had two tremendous years as Patrick Kane’s running mate before he was traded to Columbus. He then broke out into a superstar with the Rangers.

Phillip Danault
How he was acquired: Drafted 26th overall in 2011 by Chicago.
How he left: Traded to Montreal along with a 2018 second-round pick for Dale Weise and Tomáš Fleischmann.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: The Hawks had high hopes for Danault when they picked him in 2011, but his slower development and Bowman’s desire to win a fourth Stanley Cup led to his departure in 2016. A change of scenery was what he needed as he has developed into a remarkable two-way center for the Kings.

Alex DeBrincat
How he was acquired: Drafted 39th overall in 2016 by Chicago.
How he left: Traded to Ottawa for 2022 first and second-round picks and a 2024 third-round pick.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: One of Bowman’s best draft picks, the diminutive DeBrincat made 29 other teams look foolish for passing on him as he grew into a bona fide sniper. Kyle Davidson shipped him to Ottawa at the 2022 Draft as he deemed “The Cat” would not be part of the rebuild. To Davidson’s credit, the deal did land the Hawks cornerstone defenseman Kevin Korchinski. He continued to score goals for Ottawa and is now with the Red Wings.

Brandon Hagel
How he was acquired: 2019 free-agent signing.
How he left: Traded to Tampa Bay along with 2022 and 2024 fourth-round picks for 2023 and 2024 conditional first-round picks, Taylor Raddysh, and Boris Katchouk.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Left unsigned by Buffalo, Hagel was scooped up out of the free agent pool in 2019 by Bowman. His tenacity and versatility garnered interest from many contenders in 2022, leading to Tampa GM Julien BriseBois striking a deal for the winger. Hagel became a core member of the Lightning upon his arrival.

Dylan Strome
How he was acquired: Traded from Arizona along with Brendan Perlini for Nick Schmaltz.
How he left: Free agency
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Failing to live up to his draft status (3rd overall in 2015), Strome needed a fresh start. Reunited with his linemate from juniors (DeBrincat), Strome found his game immediately, producing 51 points in his first 58 games in a Hawks sweater. Like DeBrincat, Strome was not considered a part of the rebuild and was not re-signed in 2022. He is scoring goals for the Capitals.

Patrick Kane
How he was acquired: Drafted 1st overall in 2007.
How he left: Traded to the New York Rangers for a conditional 2023 second-round pick, a 2025 fourth-round pick, and Andy Welinski.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: A man who needs no introduction to Hawks fans, Kane was a star in Chicago for 15 years, leading them to three Stanley Cups. He has the second-most points in franchise history and is regarded by many as the greatest American player ever. The sure-fire Hall of Famer wanted a chance at the Cup last season and was dealt to the Rangers in March of 2023. Following hip surgery, he signed with the rival Red Wings.

Teuvo Teräväinen
How he was acquired: Drafted 18th overall in 2012
How he left: Traded to Carolina along with Bryan Bickell for a 2016 second-round pick and a 2017 third-round pick
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Once the Hawks’ top prospect, Teräväinen performed well in his brief stint in Chicago, helping the team raise the Cup in 2015. He was dealt to offload Bickell’s contract and has since become a nice top-six contributor in Carolina, achieving a career-high 76 points in 2018-2019.

Nick Schmaltz
How he was acquired: Drafted 20th overall in 2014.
How he left: Traded to Arizona for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Another skilled offensive prospect with a short but productive career in the Windy City, Schmaltz was sent to Arizona for Strome. In Tempe, Schmaltz grew into a capable top-six center and leader for the young Yotes squad, as evidenced by the alternate captaincy he was awarded this season.

Ryan Hartman
How he was acquired: drafted 30th overall in 2013
How he left: traded along with a 2018 fifth-round pick for a 2018 first-round pick, a 2018 fourth-round pick, and Victor Ejdsell
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: After being traded for a haul at the 2018 trade deadline, Hartman continued his hard-nosed, agitating play and modest offensive production before landing in Minnesota. In the State of Hockey, Hartman blossomed into a genuine offensive threat, potting a career-high 34 goals and 65 points in 2021-2022.

Anthony Duclair
How he was acquired: traded from Arizona along with Adam Clendening for Richard Pánik and Laurent Dauphin
How he left: free agency
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Duclair struggled to find enough offense in Chicago, and he was not re-signed following the 2017-2018 season. He rediscovered his game in Ottawa, making the 2020 NHL All-Star Game before a nice stint in Florida.

Max Domi
How he was acquired: Free-agent signing in 2022.
How he left: Traded to Dallas along with Dylan Wells for a 2025 second-round pick and Anton Khudobin.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Like Duclair, Domi, another highly skilled forward, struggled to find a long-term home in his career. Domi had a productive run in Chicago (49 points in 60 games) as their No. 1 center before being shipped to Dallas at the Deadline.

Brandon Saad
How he was acquired: First, he was drafted 43rd overall in 2011 by Chicago. Then he was reacquired when he was traded from Columbus along with Anton Forsberg and a 2018 fifth-round pick for Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte, and a 2017 6th round pick.
How he left: The first time, he was traded to Columbus along with Alex Broadhurst and Michael Paliotta for Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, and a 2016 fourth-round pick. After he returned to the Hawks, he was later traded to Colorado along with Dennis Gilbert for Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: The Man-Child” was an integral piece to two Cup-winning Hawks teams in 2013 and 2015. After a brief stay in Columbus, Bowman re-acquired Saad to fill the two-way void left in the lineup by Marián Hossa and his early retirement. When it started to become clear the Hawks were no longer contenders, he was dealt to Colorado. He is now on the Blues where he has 11 goals on the season.

Sam Lafferty
How he was acquired: Traded from Pittsburgh for Alex Nylander
How he left: Traded to Toronto along with Jake McCabe and 2024 and 2025 conditional fifth-round picks for a conditional 2025 first-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick, Joey Anderson, and Pavel Gogolev.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: When he was acquired from Pittsburgh, Lafferty infused energy, grit, and physicality into the Hawks’ bottom six. His reliable play in 2022-2023 made him a coveted deadline target, and Davidson was able to get a nice return from Toronto for Lafferty and Jake McCabe’s services. He is now with Vancouver and has 10 goals.

Marc-André Fleury
How he was acquired: Traded from Vegas for Mikael Hakkarainen.
How he left: Traded to Minnesota for a conditional 2022 second-round pick.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Bowman believed the Hawks could make a playoff push in 2021, so he made a move for the Pittsburgh icon. Fleury performed adequately behind a weak Chicago team and was moved to Minnesota at the 2022 Deadline. Petr Mrazek has been solid in goal this year, but Fleury keeps climbing up the career wins list.

Kevin Lankinen
How he was acquired: 2018 free-agent signing.
How he left: Free agency
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Lankinen struggled to demonstrate consistent play during his time in Chicago and signed with Nashville in 2022. He has been star Juuse Saros’ backup ever since. He would be a much better backup option right now than Arvid Soderblom.

Antti Raanta
How he was acquired: 2013 free-agent signing.
How he left: Traded to the New York Rangers for Ryan Haggerty.
What he did after leaving the Blackhawks: Raanta had a stellar career in Chicago but ultimately could not beat out Scott Darling for the backup job. The Hawks flipped him to the Rangers where he backed up Henrik Lundqvist for several years before becoming Arizona’s starter. He has spent the past three seasons in Carolina.

Looking over this roster, this is a very solid team.

The only true superstar upfront is Panarin, but the majority of NHL teams would love to have this level of forward depth. The backend is mediocre but has a plethora of defenders who could run a power play. The goaltending is a bit shaky, given the trio’s subpar play this year, but the offensive talent would more than makeup for its shortcomings.

As a Hawks fan, it is painful to imagine this is what the team could look like right now, but hindsight is always 20/20. If Bedard and Co. can bring a Stanley Cup or two to Chicago in the next 15 years, the pain will be worth the reward.