The Chicago Blackhawks and many of the players have been on the struggle bus this season.

With the trade deadline approaching the Hawks need some sort of shakeup to give the fans and players a little bit of a moral boost.

Obviously, they will be selling for the majority, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to trade these three players in a player-for-player swap to give them a change of scenery.

Lukas Reichel

For whatever reason Lukas Reichel has been the teams’ scapegoat when things go bad in basically his whole tenure with the Hawks.

He has been locked in a fourth line role and has been in and out of the lineup many times this season and last, even if he wasn’t playing badly.

Similar to what we saw with Dylan Strome when he was with the team, he was also in and out of the lineup and put lower in the lineup even if he was playing well and now, he is thriving in Washington. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Reichel could find success elsewhere if moved.

Lukas Reichel showin' off his speed and soft mitts! 🥵 pic.twitter.com/s52TePj1dO

— NHL (@NHL) January 19, 2025

Reichel has the speed and skill but has yet to put it all together having never gotten over the 20-point mark in a season in his career, a trade for another U23 forward would be beneficial for both parties.

Phillip Kurashev

In what was supposed to be a season where Kurashev fully solidified himself as a full-time top six player for the Hawks, has turned into an utter disappointment.

He is coming off a career-high season where he put up 54 points in 75 games last year and has completely fallen off the tracks this year with only 10 points through 42 games. I am not sure what got into him, but a combination of the team being bad and lack of effort from Kurashev has destined him to be off the team come the offseason.

You don’t put up 50+ points in the NHL by luck, Kurashev has skill and with this being the last year of his contract and now seems unlikely he’ll resign, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to trade him for another underperforming forward who needs a change instead of losing him for nothing.

Wyatt Kaiser

Kaiser is another interesting player who could benefit from a trade elsewhere.

The 22-year-old has shown some potential, but he is very inconsistent and has yet to establish himself as a player who can stay in the lineup consistently. Add in the fact that the Blackhawks have a plethora of defensive prospects, and it leaves him as the probable odd man out.

Wyatt Kaiser's first NHL goal 👏 pic.twitter.com/S9W6Qc1GmF

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 5, 2025

There is a big logjam of D prospects with limited spots so it would make sense for the Hawks to be open to moving one of them out. Not that Kaiser necessarily has a whole lot of trade value but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to switch things up by moving him.