The Blackhawks can learn something from a big division rival

The Chicago Blackhawks want to take a step forward this offseason, to do that they may need to think outside the box.

Last August, the St. Louis Blues sent offer sheets to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway of the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton lacked salary cap room and was working to sign both players to team friendly deals, and the Blues took advantage of that.

The Blues signed Broberg to a two-year contract at $4,580,917 per year and Holloway to a two-year contract at $2,290,457 per year. Both contracts were the max under the NHL's compensation for a second and third round pick respectively.

After the offersheet was announced, the Oilers decided not to match and were awarded a 2025 second-round pick, a 2025 third-round pick and in a separate transaction the Blues sent the Oilers a 2028 third-round pick and unsigned 2023 fifth-round draft pick Paul Fischer for future considerations.

Both Broberg and Holloway took on big roles in St. Louis. Holloway was third on the team in points with 63 in 77 games. The Blues forward took on a role in the top six and really took his game to another level after leaving Edmonton.

While Holloway was injured late in the season, he is expected to be 100 percent by training camp. At just 23 years old, the Blues added someone who can be apart of the future long term in St. Louis and all it cost was a few draft picks.

On the blue line, Broberg played big minutes and he even had his best season offensively putting up 29 points in 68 games. The Blues took a risk on two young players and after a full season it looks like they got it right.

The Chicago Blackhawks can learn something from St. Louis.

General manager Kyle Davidson has done a great job drafting the future of the Chicago Blackhawks. There is no denying the young players who came aboard late in the season looked like they belong in the NHL.

Sam Rinzel and Oliver Moore impressed fans when they signed late in the season. Once Artyom Levshunov and Frank Nazar came up from Rockford they were mainstays on the ice and even guys like Ethan Del Mastro, Colton Dach and Landon Slaggert look like potential pieces of a successful Blackhawks team.

That said, Davidson is looking to take a step forward this next season and when looking at what it cost St. Louis for players like Broberg and Holloway there is no doubt Chicago should be making a move like that this summer.