Chicago Blackhawks Need to Trade 3 Players to Have a Successful Rebuild
If the Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson wants to do a rebuild, he needs to follow the blueprint the team used in their three Cup wins over a five-year period from 2009-2014.
Back then they had goalies and defensemen in place and added impactful forwards.
While it's true that the Hawks lack any first round picks this year due to the Seth Jones acquisition, they still have assets to use to move up in the draft.
Speaking of Jones, he would be the first candidate that Davidson should consider trading. Jones will be earning that eight-year, $76 million contract next season. He will also turn 28 years old before the season begins.
So the question becomes, do you really want to spend that much on a D-man who will be 35 at the end of his contract? Especially in a rebuild?
Jones while an excellent offensive blueliner (5-G, 46-A), was a terrible -37 and that could be because he was almost always on the ice. He averaged 26:13 of ice time, which just showed how the Hawks depended on him.
He could most certainly help a Cup contender going forward. The issue could be that massive contract, but Davidson could easily retain some it to ease the pain for an acquiring club to absorb.
The next two candidates seem quite obvious. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. I know Hawk fans will moan and groan over this suggestion.
Toews may not even be able to play next season with his health issues which prevented him from taking the ice at all last season. If he still can play, there would be some teams hankering to gain a true professional leader like him.
The main factor here is of course his albatross $10.5 million contract which ends after next season. His offensive contribution was not impressive. He only managed 12 goals, 25 assists in 71 games. Hardly worth $147,877 a game, right?
Toews has had a great career, and if he chooses to continue playing, it should be somewhere else to aid in the Hawks rebuild. Oh yeah, he just turned 34 years old, and wouldn't really fit in on a team conducting a rebuild. Think about it.
The last player they may consider trading would be Patrick Kane. Of the three players this would be the most unpopular and for good reason. The guy is an awesome player with astronomical statistics.
It would be almost impossible to replace his 1.18 points per game career numbers. But, we must stay focused here... this is a rebuild!
In order to use those two 2023 first-round draft picks wisely to augment the rebuild, they will need to finish near the bottom of the league standings.
How better to do that than to trade Kane for prospects and picks? It is quite painful and many will reject the idea. The facts are that Kane will also turn 34 years old in mid November. While he hasn't shown any sign of slowing down, his humongous contract of $10.5 million needs to go along with Towes.
Now, it will be monumental if ALL THREE players get dealt. They do need to trade at least two of them. Another candidate may be Connor Murphy. He has a $4.4 million cap hit, is 29 years old and a good stay-at-home defenseman. He has size and may attract some teams to give Davidson a call as to his availability.
| POLL | ||
Should the Blackhawks consider trading Kane, Toews, or Jones? | ||
| Yes | 109 | 39.1 % |
| No | 72 | 25.8 % |
| Not unless the return helps the rebuild | 55 | 19.7 % |
| I don't want to think about it! | 43 | 15.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
