The Chicago Blackhawks made a mistake letting Pius Suter go

The Chicago Blackhawks let Pius Suter walk in free agency this past offseason. In doing so, he signed a two-year 3.25 million dollar contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Moving on from Suter is another decision the Blackhawks definitely should be regretting as they now enter a challenging rebuild ahead.

Pius Suter and the Chicago Blackhawks were a pretty good match on the ice.

During his time with the Blackhawks, Suter put up 27 points in 55 games. While those were not Dominik Kubalik’s rookie season numbers, they were still relatively strong for the then 24-year-old. Suter is a year older and has been pretty good with the Red Wings as a top-six center.

Pius Suter has put up 20 points in 47 games and has been a vital part of the team, winning most of his draws and averaging over 16 minutes of icetime a night. On the other hand, the Blackhawks have been struggling to win games and be competitive offensively. So losing Suter for nothing and failing to sign a forward who was only asking for 3.25 million, not a bad total in my mind, is a total loss for the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks didn’t re-sign Suter, and they are now suffering partly because of it. Sure they added Tyler Johnson, and I am sure that addition played a role in why the team moved on from Suter, but the decision was still coming knowing that Toews, Strome, and Dach all had their reasons not to be confident that they could lead the charge down the middle. Moving on from Suter was a big mistake for the team.

Even if Suter didn’t fit into the long-term plans for the Blackhawks, they still could have used an asset like that to trade at some point during the next few years. In addition, Suter at 3.25 would be a steal for a contending team, something the Blackhawks thought they would be entering the season.

Suter played well with Kane and DeBrincat during a limited time last season. Having that option this year would have been nice, especially considering how much the team has ended up shaking up their lines this season.

The Blackhawks have made a lot of questionable moves the past year and a half as they have tried to get their team back on track, none more questionable than letting Suter walk away.