Again

Team: 2023-24 Chicago Blackhawks

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 1, 2023

Published: Jun. 2, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Draft
#1: Bedard. No Explanation.
#14: Any premier forward that falls outside of top 10 for whatever reason Leonard/Moore/Benson/Dvorsky. Danielson/Wood/Cristall/Yager are more realistic choices at this point. Pronman has a bunch of teams reaching, starting with the Canadiens going for Reinbacher at #5 and its plausible that other teams reach for ASP/Willander or any of the top Russians But/Simashev/Gulayev which could throw the whole draft consensus in disarray pushing some players projected to go top 10-15 down a couple spots.
#28: Honzek/Stramel/Stenberg
#35: Bradly Nadeau/Gavin Brindley/Jayden Perron
#44: David Edstrom/Anton Wahlberg
#67:Aram Minnetian/Cameron Allen/Hunter Brzustewicz
#93: Easton Cowan/Denver Barkey

Signings
Killorn: Hawks are basically the Lightning already so he gets to meet up with some old pals. Killorn gets to Mentor Bedard, make money and then move on to a contender (maybe a weather related team?) for another run. Hawks retain 50% in the trade. The best young forward FAs this year are Bertuzzi/Bunting/Compher but they would all want multiyear contracts and that would make things harder to make a big splash in next years forwards FA which is stacked. Signing a veteran for 1 year is the way to go. JVR or Patches would be other targets if Killorn is off the table.
Anderson: Was very solid playing on the 4th line with Katchouk and Khaira. Think he deserves a longer look at and could probably be signed to a 2 way deal.
Kurashev: There was some very promising short stretches of play from Kurashev this year but still hasnt reached his potential yet.
Regula: Regula will likely get called up this year since Zaitsev is pretty bad, but making him the guy in Rockford and giving more responsibility would be better for his development.
Wagner: Short sample size but has the size and speed that Davidson likes. Also throws the body around, worth signing to a 1 year deal.
Robinson: AHL veteran presence that can be called up if theres a lot of injuries.

Forward UFAs to target next year: W.Nylander/S.Reinhart/Guentzel/Teuvo/Debrusk.
Forward UFAs to target but likely resigned or traded or signed before reaching FA: Matthews/Aho/Lindholm.

Trades
TOR: Wasnt a fan of the Mrazek trade last year but this is the same deal for less term so its slightly more palatable. Murray can be bought out or play when Mrazek is hurt which is likely often. TOR gets cap space and Hawks move up in draft.
PIT: Hawks move up 5 spots while Penguins shed 5 mil multiyear contract, acquire Caleb Jones who had an up and down year with hawks but is decent for cheap, acquire 2 picks in a stacked draft while moving down only handful of spots.
BUF: Buffalo gets a solid cheap 4C, move comrie who was very bad last year and save a little bit of money. Comrie sits in until Mrazek gets hurt.
DET: Detroit saves some cap and swaps players for a guy that needs a change of scenery in Mitchell who is a young RHD. Zadina goes back to the AHL to play with fellow countrymen Michal Teply to regain a semblance of his old self.
STL: Didnt want to sign a LHD from free agency but didnt want to pay a premium for a partner for Jones. I know the principle of helping the Blues goes against being a Hawks fan but the Hawks arent competitive enough to even have a rivalry right now. Scandella is just being used as a serviceable stopgap defenseman until the young kids get some professional games under their belts, and allows Jones to jump into the offensive zone a bit more. Age and injuries might be a concern hence the condition. Other targets could potentially be Edmonson in MTL where they need to clear roster spots although I doubt MTL pay to have him taken or Goligoski in Minnesota who are also against the cap, or Martinez in Vegas who is still very solid, but another team would probably pay assets for him.
Vancouver: Hawks send thoughts and prayers to the Canucks for their cap situation.

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