So first off, I don’t think Quenneville is a issue. The issue is our gm, Stan Bowman. Bowman really didn’t make the core of our team, Dale Tallon did and no one really realizes that. Tallon drafted our franchise players in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Bowman has had to deal with cap issues ever since he took over as GM. Some of his moves as gm are horrible. When Seabrook was signed to the huge 8 year extension, it was bad from the start. It caused us to lose Saad since we signed Seabrook. We could’ve traded away Seabrook but WE GOTTA SIGN HIM QUICK! Anyways, young prospects are on the rise. We’ve got Dylan Sikura as a potential Hobey Baker winner, we have Henri Jokiharju as our future top 4 puck moving defenseman, we have newly acquired Victor Ejdsell from Nashville who has nearly 20 goals in over 40 games in the SHL. Ways to fix the Hawks imo

1. Trading Toews would be really hard to do based on what he’s done in Chicago, but you might be able to get a decent return of prospects/picks/roster players combined for him. He also has a similar points per game stat like Kyle Turris (signed to 6x6 recently). So Toews is basically worth 6 mil now rather than 10 mil. Trading Toews to a team like Columbus/Montreal with salary retained helps those two teams gain a #1 Center (over his career).

2. Trade Anisimov. Anisimov currently has a NMC but changes to a partial NMC on July 1st. Trading Anisimov would probably get you a first round pick and a decent prospect. Maybe a trade for Anisimov would happen at the draft or maybe after July 1st. Clearing Anisimov’s cap hit ($4 mil) would open up some roster spots for the young players on the rise.

3. Controversial case with Brandon Saad. Do you keep Saad? Or do you trade Saad? Saad obviously hasn’t had a great year since being acquired from Columbus but his possession stats have been good. I’ve heard a couple rumors about a Brandon Saad/Oscar Klefbom swap which definitely would be interesting considering they have both had down seasons, but I don’t think it’s likely. Teams will probably be calling Bowman about Saad in the offseason, but don’t expect him to move Saad

4. The Blackhawks missed out on trading depth players at the deadline. Now when you hear the term ‘seller’ it sets the tone of how your team will approach the deadline. The Blackhawks only traded away Tommy Wingels and Ryan Hartman at the deadline and was basically another quiet deadline. Not really a ‘seller’ type of deadline. Guys like Cody Franson, Jan Rutta, Lance Bouma, and Patrick Sharp probably could’ve been able to fetch draft picks anywhere from the 4th round-7th round and those picks could’ve been helpful when drafting.

5. What to do at the draft. The Blackhawks current lottery picks sits in the top 10 (#9 for the most part) and the Blackhawks know that. Drafting Evan Bouchard or Ty Smith would be my best option if they are still available. Bouchard is a RHD that has stepped up well on a rebuilding London Knights and has gotten over 40 assists. Bouchard is a great powerplay player, which is something the Blackhawks probably look at. Ty Smith, by the way, had 7 points recently in just 1 game. Ty Smith is a smooth skater (Bouchard is too) that can play all 3 zones. However, Ty Smith is a LHD unlike Bouchard. We all know the Blackhawks have gotten some steals in the past when drafting. Guys like Dylan Sikura in the 2nd round, Duncan Keith in the 2nd round, Brandon Saad in the 2nd round, Nick Schmaltz at #18 in 2014, etc. The Blackhawks have been a good drafting team overall so I’m interested to see how they go into the draft this year.

6. Ideas I’ve missed? Comments?

Dylan Sikura in the 6th round not the 2nd round*