Veteran defenseman a must-add for Blackhawks this summer
The Chicago Blackhawks are in the midst of one of the most drastic rebuilds in their NHL history, but things are looking up in the near future.
Yet, as much as the young core across the roster offers enticing potential, the improvements could be accelerated with some smart trading from general manager Kyle Davidson, given the potential use of young prospects as assets for more established pieces.
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk was joined by Steve Peters to break down Chicago’s needs this summer, including how a veteran blueliner should be a priority ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Look at this group of young defenseman and even if they all hit, when they’re all hitting their primes, you’re not going to be able to sign and pay all of them anyways, so Chicago should evaluate, take one of them and say he’s expendable, trade him for a veteran who’s maybe more expensive right now, and eat some heavy minutes to let you properly develop everyone. If you just keep running with these six young defensemen when they’re all becoming UFAs, you’re not going to be able to keep them anyway. So you can accelerate the timeline of this blueline and make a really sharp trade.
Steve Peters: It is interesting, because it’s a benefit of riches for Chicago, and you look at their draft, they’ve got three second-round picks this year, three first-round picks next year. There’s more youth and more assets in their cupboards, and how do you get better? They’re going to need a player who can play now. They need it, and you’re going to get to a point where you’re going to have to sign a free agent, or you have to make a trade for a player that can help these young players they don’t have right now.
Not only are some young players expendable, but they’re also valuable assets. So you can take those assets, put a draft pick alongside them and make a sharp trade… You look at the Anaheim Ducks, Utah Mammoth and San Jose Sharks, all getting that youth and that speed, and they see the future. Chicago is there, but they’re just two years behind, and they might be the best of the four teams that are in that group when they get through this rebuild, but you have to do it by sprinkling in the right pieces around the young talent.
You can’t just have 18 to 24-year-olds at every spot and have six or seven draft picks every year. You need those guys to sprinkle in, and now, with those assets, you can turn those into veteran guys, and I don’t mean a 35-year-old guy that’s at his prime right now. I mean a 26-27-year-old player that still has a ceiling and can still improve and can still help your team for years to come, not a short-term deal that won’t work in Chicago.
You can catch the full Chicago Blackhawks breakdown and the rest of the episode here…