Five free agents the Blackhawks should consider signing this offseason
Five free agents the Blackhawks should consider signing this offseason
The Chicago Blackhawks are entering a new era of hockey. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are no longer with the organization, and a new franchise player will enter the fold this summer at the NHL Draft.
The Blackhawks hold the number one pick at the 2023 NHL Draft after the lottery balls landed their way last month. That means they will get to draft Connor Bedard, one of the best prospects around since Connor McDavid went to Edmonton in 2015. Chicago will alter their rebuild for the better when they draft Bedard, and part of that will revolve around bringing in some talent to play alongside the young forward.
The Blackhawks currently have about $41.8 million in cap space available for next season according to CapFriendly. The means the team is going to have plenty of room to add players, in fact they are going to have to add players in order to get to the salary cap floor this upcoming season.
While the Hawks definitely can weaponize their cap space to add some bad contracts from teams up against the cap, there also is a chance to add some skill in free agency to help usher Connor Bedard into the NHL.
Getting to play alongside Connor Bedard is going to be a selling point in the NHL, but that probably is not going to be the case this summer. I point that out going into this because there are a lot of free agents available this summer that could make sense on the Blackhawks. With that in mind, some players probably won’t want to come to a rebuilding team if that means they are not going to chase a Stanley Cup the next few seasons. So, let’s take a look at three free agents the Blackhawks should look at signing this summer.
Ryan O’Reilly
There are a lot of teams that are going to want to add Ryan O’Reilly this offseason. In 53 games this past season O’Reilly put up 14 goals and 30 points split between the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Teams looking to add him for a playoff race will want him for his clutch performance in the postseason, this past season he scored three goals and registered nine points in 11 games.
O’Reilly is someone who would be a great add for the Blackhawks. They have the money to pay him eight or so million for the next two or three years and they will be able to have him play with Connor Bedard helping to usher in the next great top line center in Blackhawks history. The issue with trying to sign O’Reilly comes down to whether or not he is willing to be apart of a rebuild, but the Hawks should have enough cap space to make that less of an issue.
Phil Kessel
Phil Kessel is another free agent who could make sense to come to Chicago. Kessel has done it all in his career. He is now 35 years old and could be near the end of his career, but he finds himself in the Stanley Cup Final with the Vegas Golden Knights four wins away from winning his third Stanley Cup.
Kessel makes sense for Chicago for a few reasons. One, even though he is 35 years old, he still is someone who has a great shot. This past season he scored 14 goals, and we are just a few years removed from Kessel putting up 20 goals in 56 games with Arizona.
Kessel could make sense in Chicago because he can play alongside a guy like Connor Bedard on some nights, and can continue to keep his iron man streak going for another season.
This past season Phil Kessel past Keith Yandle for the the longest iron man streak in NHL history. He currently has a 1064 game streak going, while he has been scratched in the playoffs this year with Vegas, only regular season games count for the streak.
If he chose to come to a team like Chicago, there is a good chance he could keep the streak going throughout most of next season. He is only making $1.5 million this season, and Chicago could sign him for $2 million just to help get their team to the cap floor and give him an opportunity to play with some of the Hawks young stars.
Max Domi
Max Domi is the first player on here who could make sense to be apart of the next successful team in Chicago. Domi is only 28 years old. Assuming the Hawks need two to three seasons before they are competitive again, Domi would be at most 32 by the time Chicago is winning. So the team could choose to give him a three of four year contract worth $3.5 or 4 million to give him a stable home and add a very competitive player to their team.
This was one of Domi’s best seasons this past year. While with the Blackhawks Domi has 49 points in 60 games while playing a career high 18 minutes a night on average. He is someone who Blackhawks fans embraced right away, and he could be a good pick to add back to the team this summer. He even had himself a pretty impressive trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring putting up 13 points in 19 games with the Dallas Stars.
Domi would be a good winger to have in Chicago over the next few seasons. This upcoming year he could play alongside Connor Bedard and help usher him into the league. Domi is not the biggest guy on the ice, but he plays aggressive and finds a way to be a threat, while Bedard has a lot going for him, he also is not a bigger guy and could learn how to play in the NHL from a guy like Domi.
The next player on this list is another free agent who could help the Blackhawks out during their next successful team.
Michael Bunting
Michael Bunting is coming off of his sophomore season in Toronto. The 27-year-old was drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL draft by the Arizona Coyotes and has played in 187 games in the NHL up to this point. His best years have been in Toronto where he has put up 63 points in 79 games during the 2021-22 NHL season and 49 points in 82 games this past year. He is due for a pay raise this summer which could see him exit Toronto as they do not have a lot of cap space.
The Blackhawks could make sense for Bunting. The Hawks have the cap space to sign him to a really player friendly three or four year contract, and he could be an excellent winger to play alongside Bedard this upcoming season.
Bunting would make sense on a long term deal of three or four years, as well as on a short term contract so they can trade him at this upcoming deadline as a rental for some team. There are options for general manager Kyle Davidson to help put together a more competitive team this upcoming season while also working on the long term vision of the franchise.
Alex Killorn
The Tampa Bay Lightning are up against the salary cap ceiling. They have so little room it looks like bringing back Colton and Killorn is less and less of a possibility for the team. So, the Blackhawks might be able to add a guy like Alex Killorn to their team, especially with the idea in mind that the Hawks will give him an opportunity to head back to a contending team come the trade deadline.
Alex Killorn has done it all. Over the course of his 11 year career, Killorn has won two Stanley Cups and been to the Stanley Cup Final four times with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has registered 198 goals and 268 points in 805 games in Tampa Bay. His best season was this past year where he registered a career high 64 points in 82 games.
While Killorn is 33 years old, he still is playing at an elite level. In six playoff games this spring, Killorn has three goals and two assists. He is someone that the Blackhawks would be lucky to have on their team this year to play along Bedard, even if they then choose to trade him back to a team like Tampa Bay at the deadline for a playoff run.
Obviously there are two big free agents missing from this list, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. At the end of the day, I believe they would make the most sense to bring back for this upcoming season. Having those two stars help usher in Connor Bedard would be amazing to see, plus it would help the Hawks get to the salary cap floor this year. However that door closed when the Hawks decided to not bring them back early this past year, forcing Patrick Kane to leave in a trade and Jonathan Toews to walk away at the end of the season. It seems like the Hawks might have made the wrong call with their two franchise icons, but only time can decide whether or not that is the case.
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