Offseason Checklist: Chicago Blackhawks

27/04/2024 20:56

The offseason has arrived for half of the league's teams that aren't taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it's now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Chicago.

The Blackhawks had a rough 2022-23 season but were big winners in the lottery, allowing them to get a franchise piece in Connor Bedard.  However, GM Kyle Davidson stayed the course with the end result being another rough season in the standings.  Regardless of whether the ping pong balls fall their way on May 7th, Chicago will need to focus more on the near-term future this summer compared to the long-term future.  Here's what should be on their checklist in the coming months.

Start Building Up: Frankly, this could be the only item on their checklist this summer.  The Blackhawks have only made the playoffs once in the last seven years, really leaning into a longer-term rebuild under Davidson.  In that time, they've amassed a strong group of prospects that should form the nucleus of a long-term core.

But playing them all at the NHL level at once is a recipe for trouble.  It's a mistake that other teams have made as well, not providing enough veteran support.  To his credit, Davidson attempted to hedge against that this past season with the additions of Taylor Hall, Corey Perry, and Nick Foligno, moves that had varying degrees of success.

Is the time right to throw caution to the wind and make some big splashes this summer?  Probably not.  But they can follow the path they took last summer, adding some shorter-term veterans to allow their core prospects to have ample time to develop properly.  Ideally, this wouldn't just be with forwards this time around but also a quality veteran defender.

In his end-of-season presser, Davidson indicated that the Blackhawks need to start taking some steps forward in the win-loss column but was quick to indicate that he doesn't want to take on some big contracts and lose long-term flexibility.  Accordingly, it would make sense to look to see if there's another Hall-type trade available to take on a shorter-term deal while adding a future asset (for relieving the other team of a contract they can no longer afford).  Failing that, turning to free agency to add a handful of pieces to up the level of competitiveness will need to happen.

These moves, which likely will be the bulk of their offseason activity, won't get them back into the playoffs but it would be a step toward playing more competitive games later into the season while allowing some prospects more time to develop in lower roles.  If they do that, they'll be better off for it down the road.

Decide On Reichel's Future: On the free agent front, most of the heavy lifting has been done.  The team re-signed several veterans in-season while Alex Vlasicinked a six-year contract earlier this week, taking their most prominent RFA off the table.

Among the ones that remain, Lukas Reichel stands out.  He has been viewed for a while now as one of the pieces of their long-term core.  A first-round pick in 2020 (17th overall), the Blackhawks were patient with him in his first two seasons in North America, giving him 50-plus games with AHL Rockford each time.  He was quite productive in those appearances, averaging just shy of a point per game.

However, NHL success has been harder to come by.  He impressed in a late-season stint in 2022-23, cementing a spot on Chicago's roster to start this season.  However, Reichel struggled mightily in the NHL this season, notching just five goals and 11 assists in 65 games.  Along the way, that has caused some to wonder if he's more of a trade chip over being part of their long-term plans.

It's a question that Davidson and the Blackhawks will have to ponder as well.  It's not a matter of signing him to a long-term deal like Vlasic, that's clearly off the table.  It's a given that he's getting a short-term bridge contract.  But are they better off giving him another chance on what should be a deeper roster or moving him while his value should still be relatively high?  There are quite a few teams who would be willing to take a flyer on the idea that a change of scenery will get him going.

It might seem a bit early to have this thought but Reichel is waiver-eligible heading into next season so there's no opportunity to have him playing big minutes with the IceHogs if he struggles out of the gate.  And if he has another season like this one in 2024-25, his value will drop considerably.  While Chicago can certainly kick this decision down the road, there's some risk to doing so if they're not convinced that Reichel can rebound.  Accordingly, this is something they're likely to be deciding on, particularly closer to the draft in June.

To Tender Or Non-Tender: This time last year, to say that the Blackhawks would have any sort of thinking to do when it comes to tendering Taylor Raddysh would have seemed crazy.  After all, he was coming off a breakout year, notching 20 goals in his first full season with Chicago.  At a minimum, it looked like they had a capable middle-six winger on their hands and that he'd be heading for a nice raise for 2024-25.

But this season, things didn't go as well.  He stayed in that middle-six role pretty much all season, even spending some time on the top line.  But this time, Raddysh scored just five goals and added only nine assists in 73 games.  A shooting percentage of 4.2% is certainly one that stands out as an outlier but that alone isn't enough to say he can get back to his 2022-23 form.

The value of Raddysh's qualifying offer itself isn't an issue – it's a little under $815K.  However, he's arbitration-eligible this time around and that 20-goal campaign will be a factor.  If it goes to a hearing, it's quite possible that he gets somewhere around the $2.25MM teammate Philipp Kurashev received from an arbitrator last year; more than that is a real possibility.  Is it worth giving him a one-year deal in that neighborhood to see if he can rebound?

Or, would they be better off using someone like Frank Nazar in that role for around 16 minutes a night?  Failing that, is that a lineup spot that could be earmarked for a veteran addition, one who can be a bit more of a contributor offensively?  But on the flip side, is walking away from a 26-year-old who's one year removed from a 20-goal season the right course of action for a rebuilding team?  These are questions they'll have to ponder before the tender deadline two months from now.

Add A Veteran Goalie: This is something that don't necessarily have to do but they could certainly benefit from doing so.  Yes, Petr Mrazek made a career-high 53 starts this past season but he also has a long track record of injuries.  Meanwhile, backup Arvid Soderblom's first full NHL campaign was one to forget.  He's young enough to still be a part of their future plans if he can turn things around though so they're probably not inclined to walk away from him now.

However, it would be beneficial to perhaps add some competition for that backup spot or at least a capable option if Mrazek's injury woes return.  We've seen some teams become open to the idea of carrying three goalies and perhaps the Blackhawks could be one of them.

There will be several free agent netminders who are in that 'tweener' area where they might not quite be full-time NHL material but would be strong starters in the minors, serving as capable depth.  The acquisition of a player like that would help allow Drew Commesso to keep playing big minutes with Rockford while working with a quality veteran.  If the veteran stays up with Chicago in a full-time third-string role, then there's still a spot for Jaxson Stauber, another pending RFA, to stick around.

Between the four that are either signed or under club control, the Blackhawks have enough goalies that they don't need to add another veteran to the mix.  However, when you factor in the player-specific circumstances, they could certainly stand to add one over the coming months.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.