Brooke’s Blackhawks Notebook: World Championships, Kane & Trades

What to take away from this is the Hawks are excelling on the defense side; everyone is a “plus” on the plus-minus scale. Another fun tidbit is Bedard said during Chicago’s exit interviews that he and Kurashev want to score on Mrazek in the tournament. So far, that has not happened, but we’ll see how the rest of the tournament shakes out!

Blackhawks Make A Trade

While everyone is getting ready for Memorial Day Weekend, general manager Kyle Davidson made a surprising trade with the New York Islanders, sending two second-round picks and their 20th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft in exchange for the 18th overall pick and a second-round pick.

To start, the Blackhawks had nine draft picks this year, so it seemed like a stretch that they would use all of them. They also had three second-round picks before the trade (34th, 54th, and 61st overall), and still came away with the 34 and moved up to 50th overall. But 18th overall is key here. Either the Blackhawks have a player in mind that they didn’t think would fall to them at 20, or they are thinking about future trade discussions, and the 18th overall pick is leverage for a trade package. Moving up spots, no matter how small, can make all the difference.

Because this move happened not even a month before the draft, I’m starting to think the Blackhawks might trade the 18th overall pick. Granted, they need capable NHL players, so using this in a trade package for an impact player makes sense. If that is the case, the question becomes, who could they be looking at? I don’t think they are looking at Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs), although those rumors have been swirling. Maybe they are looking at Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes), who has been generating a ton of trade buzz around the league. Nonetheless, I might be getting too ahead of myself. They could very well use the 18th pick, or move up again, but a lot can happen between now and the NHL Draft on June 28, whether they end up keeping the pick or not.

Either way, the Blackhawks are in a great position with a lot of options, and it can only benefit them if done correctly. As Davidson said, they want to improve next season. This could be key in doing that. 

Overall, this is a very intriguing move and I am interested to see what Davidson has up his sleeve.

Could Kane Come Back to Chicago?

Okay, let’s get to what everyone wants to talk about: Patrick Kane. Scott Powers of The Athletic had a Q & A session, where a reader asked what the chances were of the Blackhawks signing Kane in the offseason. Powers responded, in part, “To begin with, I was confident the Blackhawks were going to trade Patrick Kane last season. I was confident they weren’t going to re-sign him last summer. Up until a few weeks ago, I was confident Kane wouldn’t be returning to the Blackhawks next season. But, now, I’m not so confident about what’s going to happen. I’ve heard enough in the past few weeks to believe that the Blackhawks are going to at least internally discuss whether to re-sign Kane. The answer may not change, but I do think it’s an agenda item as they lead up to free agency.” (from ‘Any chance of a Patrick Kane return to Blackhawks? Mailbag, Part 2’ – The Athletic – 05/23/2024).

This is a hypothetical, but Powers is one to listen to regarding what the Hawks are up to behind the scenes. My first thought when reading this was, “Absolutely bring Kane back.” He showed after his hip surgery that he is still the player fans expect him to be, as he was almost a point-per-game player with the Detroit Red Wings, with 47 points in 50 games. Although the Red Wings missed the playoffs by a hair, you could argue he was a reason why they continued to be in the hunt, so there would be no reservations on the Blackhawks’ end, wondering if he can still play like his elite self.  

I view it this way: if Kane wants to return, let him. He is Chicago. He said the fans will always have his heart here, and after everything he has done for the franchise, he should have that open door, especially knowing he can still play at a high level. Reuniting with Kane would pump the fanbase and known superfan Connor Bedard, even more. I understood Davidson wanting to let the young players emerge without being in his shadow. I tried to reconcile that it made sense at the time because they would either trade him or let him walk in free agency for nothing, knowing the organization was ready to part ways. However, there is no downside to Kane returning, as he would bring talent and balance to the locker room. Adding him would make them more competitive next season. So, if Davidson has a change of heart by any chance, and so does Kane, then why not at least discuss it? It’s fun to think about the possibility, even if it doesn’t happen. 

The Blackhawks’ offseason just got more interesting. Moves are going down, which brings more questions that should be answered soon, but the Blackhawks continue to be the team to watch this summer, and it looks like they are upping the ante even more.