3 players the Chicago Blackhawks should trade after postseason exit
The Chicago Blackhawks have to make some changes despite actually making the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Chicago Blackhawks weren’t supposed to be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But the novel coronavirus pandemic gave them a chance they didn’t deserve and they ran with it. The Blackhawks upset the Edmonton Oilers in the play-in round and fought admirably against the Vegas Golden Knights, though they fell in five games to the clearly superior team.
General Manager Stan Bowman can’t let their postseason success mask change things. Their roster needs changes. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews aren’t getting any younger. Neither is Duncan Keith. The Blackhawks need to get younger and better.
A stagnant salary cap, however, is not Chicago’s friend. According to CapFriendly, they’ll have just over $7 million of cap space to re-sign players like Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik.
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Using Evolving Hockey‘s contract projections, which tend to be a bit conservative, the Blackhawks will need at least $8.883 million to sign both. I’d put that figure closer to $9.5 million. That’s before accounting for re-signing Corey Crawford or finding a new goalie.
If the Chicago Blackhawks want to remain competitive, they’re going to have to make some changes. Even if they don’t want to remain competitive and decide to start thinking about life after Toews, Keith, Kane, and Crawford, they should make changes to get younger.
Which players could they trade? Here are their three best options.
3. Dylan Strome
Quite a few people think the Blackhawks should trade Dylan Strome because of Kirby Dach‘s surprisingly effective postseason. He was probably one of their five best players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and I was extremely impressed with him.
I think at the right price, the Blackhawks should trade Strome. Now granted, that price better be pretty darn high. Strome has proven himself to be a useful second-line center and he’s coming off two consecutive impressive seasons.
However, Dach has rendered him a bit expendable. I’m not saying the Blackhawks definitely need to trade Strome. But Dach’s emergence makes trading him a definite possibility. If Strome can fetch them a first-round pick and a top prospect, I’d pull the trigger on the deal. The Blackhawks should have no problem getting a team like the Buffalo Sabres to pay that price.