The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of tough questions to answer in the coming months. From different players on expiring contracts, to different prospects to bring up or move, the team has a lot to decide in the coming months.
Any decision that is going to be made needs to be done by someone who is in it for the long haul. Basically anyone making a trade during the coming months needs to be done by someone without the world interim by their job description.
The Blackhawks might like Kyle Davidson be general manager for their team, but if that is the case then they might as well give him the full time title right now so that teams around the league know they are dealing with the full time guy right now, not someone looking to make a splashy move to get a favorable position.
When I talk about getting someone in charge I do not necessarily mean the general manager, more so I am talking about the president of hockey operations. That is the position this team needs covered as soon as possible. Here are just a few of the question marks the team needs to figure out:
What number to re-sign Alex DeBrincat at?
Should the team re-sign a player like Kevin Lankinen this offseason, if so for how much?
What should the team do with Dominik Kubalik and Calvin de Haan?
Is this franchise considering this year to be a bump in the road, but still views itself as a contender?
Is Kirby Dach still someone they can build their team around?
And the list does not stop there. The Blackhawks have a lot of questions they need to figure out, and they cannot do that until the people making those decisions are in place. This seems like a very critical time for the franchise, and the only way they are going to find some success in the next few years is if they bring in someone to head the charge as president of hockey operations.
I am not going to pretend to name people that can take on the role. I really do not think it matters a lot in the grand scheme of things. Whoever the team brings in is going to do their best to right the ship. All I am saying is the organization needs someone in that position as soon as possible as their are a lot of critical decisions to be made.
The Blackhawks cannot go on autopilot for another month and just let the season ride out without any regard for the future. The organization has guys like Fleury, Kubalik, and de Haan all on expiring deals. They don't have a first-round draft pick and are going to need to recoup some assets by making a few deals at the deadline with some rentals.
Hopefully, the organization can put someone in the President Of Hockey Operations role as soon as possible because the clock is clicking on the 2021-22 season. The Vancouver Canucks already made their move bringing in Jim Rutherford as their president of hockey operations, that is a big candidate off the board. Let us know who you think the team could bring in.