Insider reporting that the Hawks have made all but 3 players available this summer
The Chicago Blackhawks are a team to watch this summer, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, as they have apparently opened the vault and made any player not named Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Seth Jones available.
Now, while the Hawks may not necessarily be going the full blown fire sale, scorched earth rebuild route, the fact that they're exposing so many of their players to other GM's around the league suggests that they may be one of the more aggressive teams this summer to try to make something big happen.
Friedman mentions the Brandon Hagel situation as a good comparison to what the Hawks are looking for - a team to come in and wow them with an offer that's too good to turn down. I'd anticipate that one of the players who will generate some interest will be two-time 40-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat, though the cost of acquisition will be sky high, for obvious reasons.
Prior to the start of the 2021-22 season, the Blackhawks were expected to be one of the teams to watch in the Central Division after making bold moves to acquire Seth Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, Tyler Johnson and signing Jake McCabe. Obviously, things didn't work out as intended for the Hawks and they struggled mightily this season. What's worse is they did so under the dark cloud of the Kyle Beach ordeal coming to light, the organization exodus that saw several execs ousted or tendering their resignations for their involvement in the alleged cover up of the incident.
Now with new management in place, the Hawks will look to turn things around and begin on the path of a fresh start. I'd anticipate that since Toews and Kane will not be moved unless they request it, the Blackhawks will probably be outside of the playoffs looking in again next season, but you never know. A few bold moves may be able to change their fortunes, if the returns on any deals they might make are good enough.
| POLL | ||
5 JUIN | 212 ANSWERS Insider reporting that the Hawks have made all but 3 players available this summer Will the Blackhawks surprise everyone and make the playoffs in 2022-23? | ||
| Not a chance | 82 | 38.7 % |
| Anything's possible | 93 | 43.9 % |
| They're going to be a playoff team for sure | 37 | 17.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
