The 5 Players That Make Up The Future Blackhawks Core

The Chicago Blackhawks championship core group for the future is not going to be made up of a long list like it did in years past. The names like Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjlamarsson, Patrick Sharp, and Duncan Keith are no longer with the team, and Toews and Kane very well could be done winning championships with the Blackhawks.

Winning multiple Stanley Cups, and just being competitive year after year involves having a winning championship core. The Blackhawks seem to already have a number of those players in place for the future.

With the core group I mentioned above, the Blackhawks had seven guys on all three championship teams. This iteration of the Blackhawks might have a few less pieces in place, but I think they have room to fill it out with another name or two in the future.

A new general manager or president of hockey operations could come in and change a lot of things around the current Blackhawks. A lot of different players are definitely trade options for the team, but the five players I mention in the following positions I believe to be off the trade market regardless of who is in charge of the team.

So let's jump in with the five players that make up the Blackhawks future core.

2. Brandon Hagel

Maybe it is still a little bit of an over reaction to call Hagel a member of the future core of this team. But I really do not think there is a case to be made to call Hagel a piece of the future for a while.

Hagel signed a three year 1.5 million dollar contract this past offseason keeping him in Chicago through the 2023-24 season. Amongst forwards, that is the longest length of a contract for the forward group.

Hagel and Tyler Johnson are the only two forwards on contracts worth more than a million that are signed for more than two years. A lot of the forward group is done at the end of this season or next.

Hagel is only 23 and has shown what he can do at the NHL level. As the talent around him gets better he is only going to be a better player. No matter who has been his coach - Derek King or Jeremy Colliton - he has quickly become a favorite of both the coaching staff and the fans as he is used in so many different situations.

The 23 year old forward is fourth on the league in pints and second in goals with eight on the season. He is also the best when it comes to corsi percentage when looking at players that have played more than one game. He has a corsi percentage of 53.4 on the year thus far.

3. Kirby Dach

Kirby Dach has left a lot to be improved so far, but when watching the former third overall draft pick play no one can deny he does have talent. Dach might not be scoring a lot of goals or doing a heck of a lot so far this season, but he has shown flashes of what he can be in the NHL.

Look no further than this goal he scored earlier in the year:

Dach has a great shot - when he uses it. He has a long reach that he can use to his advantage, and he has skills with the puck. There are a lot of areas he can improve on like his all around play, face off abilities, and confidence in shooting the puck, but I think he is going to be a long time member of the Blackhawks core group.

Dach is the only player on this list to not have a contract after this season, the funny thing is the next player on the list is the player with the longest contract within the entire organization.

4. Seth Jones

Seth Jones signed a massive deal with the Blackhawks this past offseason keeping him in Chicago through the 2029-30 season. Just imagine where the team could be at that time. Jones is only 27 year old and is going to have a lot of great hockey ahead of him with the team.

While I know most are still not the biggest fans of his contract and the trade that brought him here, I think that is not going to be an issue in a year or two. Jones has time to his advantage if he can continue to prove he was worth the price it cost to add him to the team. Sure, having the first round draft pick would be nice especially if the team was going to be in the lottery conversation, but at least one member of the team's core for years to come is in place.

Even the current group of Blackhawks have talked about how much they have enjoyed playing with Jones so far. Here is what Kane had to say today after practice via Charlie Roumeliotis:

"Seth is just an unbelievable player. I knew he was a good player but he’s exceeded my expectations as far as his all-around game and what he brings to the team when he’s on the ice."

Jones has the contract that is making him apart of this core group of the future. Let's face it, even if the team wanted to, chances are they are not finding a trade partner for Jones right now. But I do think even if they could they wouldn't want to. Jones is an elite defensemen and those do not fall into organizations that often. Chicago is lucky to have two within their organization.

5. Connor Murphy

Yeah I said two elite defensemen. Connor Murphy is an elite defenseman the team has under contract for a long time. The Blackhawks re-signed Murphy this offseason to a 4.4 million dollar contract that runs through the end of the 2025-26 season. That is four more years of hockey with Murphy after this season and one would imagine that is all going to be played in Chicago.

The Hawks defenseman is already the alternate captain of this team, and he really took a home team discount when he took the contract extension only going up less than a million from the 3.85 he makes right now.

Murphy is not the flashy star defensemen that is putting up points every night, but he is the reliable player the Hawks need - like Niklas Hjlmarsson in the past.

Murphy is signed for the second longest amount of time within the entire organization behind only Seth Jones, and the two are going to be working together on the blue line for a long time.

What do you think of this list of five? Obviously some more names are going to be introduced in the coming years - and we could have another addition or two as the season progresses.

Lukas Reichel is one player to keep an eye on, but honestly he has not even played a game yet at the NHL level so putting him on a list like this just seemed too soon even if he has been great in the AHL.