This trade option is the type of risk worth taking for the Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are looking to take the next step as an organization in the Western Conference, and they are by no means a finished project this offseason so far. They acquired defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres for the fourth overall pick in the NHL Draft last month, a second-round 2026 pick, and prospect Louis Crevier.

Byram gives the Blackhawks a defenseman in his prime, and they locked him up on a six-year, $75 million extension on July 1. Greenway also inked a new deal to stay in Chicago for two years and $8 million. Both of those moves are worth the risk for a Blackhawks club looking to be better in 2026-27.

Another way they could look to add this offseason is with a young forward who has become an afterthought with the Boston Bruins, Matthew Poitras. He was stuck in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins last season, and he remains a restricted free agent who has yet to sign. Looking to inject more youth into the lineup, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson should be looking to call his Boston counterpart, Don Sweeney, to see if the 22-year-old is available.

Blackhawks should consider trading for Bruins prospect Matthew Poitras

Poitras was selected in the second round, 54th overall, by the Bruins in the 2022 Entry Draft. A little over a year later, he made his NHL debut in the 2023-24 season and impressed with five goals and 15 points before a shoulder injury in February shut him down for the season. The following season, he played in 33 games again with a goal and 10 assists. This past season, he played in three games with a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stadium Series contest in February.

The rest of the 2025-26 season, he was buried in Providence, where he scored 13 goals and had 31 assists in 69 games. In 2024-25, he had 17 goals and 24 assists in Providence in just 40 games. Clearly, the talent is there; he just hasn't been given an opportunity in Boston.

Poitras remains unsigned, and his qualifying offer expired on July 15, but Boston still owns his rights until December 1 if he wants a contract for the 2026-27 season. Trying to pry him away from Sweeney and the Bruins might not be hard, and it is something that Davidson should explore.

There is no question that he is NHL-ready for the upcoming season. He has proven himself in the Boston organization, yet they still bury him in the AHL. They did the same thing with former first-round pick Fabian Lysell, whom they traded to the Colorado Avalanche in June.

Connor Bedard is going to miss the beginning of the 2026-27 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. They expect him back sometime in November. Poitras is not going to be someone who replaces Bedard in the lineup, but he is ready to break into an NHL lineup as a middle-six center and someone who would fit in long-term for them. This is an avenue that Davidson should see as a risk worth taking for the future in Chicago.

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