Chicago Blackhawks front office needs to do whatever possible to move off veteran goaltender

Mrazek was a mainstay in the cage for the Blackhawks a season ago when they badly needed a veteran to shoulder the load. He appeared in 56 games while starting in 53 of them in his second season in the Windy City. Mrazek posted a 3.05 GAA and .908 save percentage, his best mark since the 2020-21 campaign.

The 33-year-old earned himself a two-year contract extension during last season that will pay him $4.25 million per season until the end of next year. The deal made sense for both parties at the time, but Mrazek has not necessarily held up his end of the bargain this year. His GAA shot up to a 3.46 ad his save percentage is back under .900 at .890.

With three goalies on the active roster at the moment and having veteran Laurant Brossoit under contract through next year makes it seem like Mrazek will be the odd man out when it’s all said and done. Knight was situated in the starters crease at practice on Monday and Arvid Soderblom was on the opposite side of the ice meaning that Mrazek will not dress for the home tilt against the Kings.

The Blackhawks just need Mrazek out for whatever they can get at this point. There isn’t a spot for him on the team anymore and they could really use the money off their books for the big free agency class to come this summer. If a team looking to make the playoffs sees value in having veteran goaltending depth at a cheap price in the trade market, Chicago could get some calls on Mrazek.

The goaltending future is bright for the Chicago Blackhawks

This situation that Chicago currently has is mainly difficult because of how well Arvid Soderblom has played this season. He was originally supposed to be a placeholder until Brossoit came back from injury, but he has instead carved out a nice role for himself to the point that sending him back to Rockford would be a mistake.

The Blackhawks could have something brewing here with a young goaltending tandem of Soderblom and Knight. What happens with Brossoit is up in the air, but the youth movement for Chicago has extended to the crease and that offers plenty of optimism for the future.