Blackhawks play long game in trade with Toronto Maple Leafs
Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson is going to have a busy summer with a plethora of draft selections to make over the next handful of seasons. The team even added a couple more picks on Monday when they traded Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Hawks dealt two NHL players off of their roster and got a first and second-round pick down the line, as well as a few potential NHL players that can join the roster this year. Saying goodbye to McCabe and Lafferty might hurt the team this season, but it makes sense for the future of the team.
The Blackhawks play the long game in trade with Toronto Maple Leafs
Chicago now has two first-round picks in each of the next three drafts, to say nothing of the three first-round selections they made this past summer. They also have eight second-round picks over the next four years.
The Hawks are relying on the draft to rebuild this roster for the future, and general manager had some important insights on the decision to hold the picks till 2025 and 2026 from Toronto.
Davidson said the Leafs' picks being in 2025 and 2026 was a "choice" by the Blackhawks.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 27, 2023
"We don't want to stack too many draft picks all in one spot. It's nice to spread them out. It gives you the option to potentially use them as currency elsewhere, too."
I think it was smart of Davidson to spread out the wealth when it comes to their future draft picks, and I would add one other element of why this could matter. The Leafs 2025 first-round pick that the Blackhawks acquired is top ten protected. The Leafs could be in a completely different situation three seasons from now compared to where they are now. Matthews and Nylander’s contracts are up after the 2023-24 season, and at the end of the 2024-25 season, Tavares and Marner will also be out of a contract.
The point is this Leafs’ team could be in a completely different position in 2025 and 2026 if things do not go well over the next few years. When it comes to trading future draft picks, anything can happen. Just look at the Blackhawks in 2021 when they traded for Seth Jones and dealt their first-round pick for the upcoming season.
The Hawks also land two players who could benefit from fresh starts on teams where they are bound to get more playoff time, similar to Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk last year from Tampa Bay. Both Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev are going to get opportunities with the Hawks, opportunities that could lead to future trades like Lafferty in this deal.
The Blackhawks might not be done selling just yet, as they still have Kane, Domi and Athanasiou as good optiosn to sell on.