Team: 2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 13, 2018

Published: Jul. 13, 2018

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Hawks take one more shot at winning now.

MTL deal:
Patches signs a 6.5Mx5 extension in Chicago and gives Toews and Saad the piece they've been missing since Hossa's departure: a big bodied scoring winger who can play gritty and dominate on the cycle. Patches compliments Toews' game perfectly and this line would own teams along the wall and in the slot. Hawks also reunite Shaw with Kruger and the Hawks best true bottom 6 prospect in Hayden to form a relentless checking line a la 2015. MTL fill a couple holes now and down the road. Anisimov gives them a big body 2C whos good on the PP/PK and slots in right away. They also build for the future in getting a highly touted quebecois LHD in Beaudin who would pair well with a guy like Juulsen down the line and a top 10 protected first.

CAR deal:
Hawks get a big 2C with long term cost certainty in Rask. Rask at 6ft2 200lbs manning the second pivot alleviates Qs fear of Kane and Debrincat getting pushed around by bigger lines. With the departure of Schmaltz, getting Rask still allows Kane to play with a legit young scorer. Faulk fills the most glaring need for the Hawks on D and in the PP QB spot. In return, canes get a bonafide young top 6 C with plenty of offensive skill and a hugely underrated defensive game that they've been looking for to compliment necas/TT. Additionally, with Faulk+Rask off the books, it gives them plenty of space to resign Schmaltz to the 5-6M contract he'll command after next season. This trade makes the canes very deep, young, and fast down the middle for the foreseeable future.

1.

2.

3.

4.