The Blackhawks haven’t given Guttman the opportunity he deserves with another great season in the AHL.
I’m not sure if you can really call Cole Guttman a prospect anymore as he has played 41 NHL games and is 25 years old. The Chicago Blackhawks’ forward has spent time in the NHL in each of the past two seasons, but has yet to get the call in 2024-25 despite a great season with the Rockford IceHogs.
Guttman was expected to play a role in the bottom-6 this season, but there were so many veterans brought in that he was passed over. Logically, the Blackhawks have slowly sprinkled in younger prospects as well, so Guttman hasn’t gotten called up to play in any games. The Blackhawks might have given up on him.
In the NHL, Guttman scored four goals and six points in 14 games in 2022-23 and followed that up with four goals and eight points in 27 games in 2023-24. He deservedly got time in the NHL in both of those seasons post NCAA because he scored 16 goals and 30 points in 39 games as an AHL rookie and then 16 goals and 40 points in 39 games last season for the IceHogs.
Unsurprisingly, Guttman has been just as impressive this season in the AHL, putting up 20 goals and 44 points in 48 games without a single callup.
Guttman would have still been an RFA for the Blackhawks to re-sign after the season, but since he is 25 years of age or older and has played less than 80 games in the NHL, he will become a UFA-Group6 instead.
I believe that Guttman has the ability to play in the NHL, even though he would have to switch up his role from a point producer to a bottom-6 player. That doesn’t mean he will have to stop scoring though. There is plenty of skill in the bottom-6 all over the NHL. He just has to make the jump and stick, and I don’t think that is going to be with Chicago.
The Blackhawks have someone this productive at the AHL level that could have been given some games as a reward, but was left in the AHL with so many other callups and some bad additions in the offseason. The team has players like Brett Seney doing his thing in the AHL with little to no hope of being an NHLer again, but that likely won’t be the path of Guttman.
I don’t think we’ll ever find out if it was a good match with Chicago and Guttman since he will be able to sign elsewhere in the summer, but the Blackhawks will find out sooner than later if Guttman should have been given a better chance while they had him.
