The NHL trade deadline will be here sooner than you think, especially with a two-week break in the schedule for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
With the Chicago Blackhawks dead last in the standings, general manager Kyle Davidson will likely spend more time over the next months evaluating draft prospects and taking calls leading up to the March 7 deadline. Davidson likely won’t have his busiest deadline since he took over, but his team has a few candidates to be traded.
This is what I’m hearing about the Blackhawks’ trade deadline options and more.
• Taylor Hall is the likeliest Blackhawks player to appeal to contending teams at the deadline. Although his production has tailed off in the last month, he’s still close to a 20-goal pace. As one NHL executive reminded me, Hall is producing around the same as when he was on a quality Boston Bruins team not too long ago. GMs also won’t forget Hall scored five goals in seven playoff games in 2023. Those things matter to contending teams looking for additions at the deadline. Hall is probably seen as a potential secondary scoring option.
There’s a slight chance the Blackhawks can get a second-round pick for Hall, but most league sources I spoke to believed a third-round pick was more likely. The Blackhawks could boost Hall’s value by retaining half of his $6 million salary cap hit.
• Ryan Donato’s trade value likely depends on the eye of the beholder. For those who have watched Donato consistently this season, his upside is noticeable. He’s probably been one of the Blackhawks’ better players. He plays hard. He shoots a ton and has had those shots go in at a decent rate. He can also play up and down the lineup. On a good team, he’s probably a third- or fourth-line forward. As one NHL exec said: “Donato is a tough one. He’s cheap production, but does he help a team trying to win the Cup?” Different execs may have different answers to that.
The consensus among my league sources is that Donato could bring back a third- or fourth-round pick. Donato has only a $2 million cap hit, but it’s possible a team could ask the Blackhawks to retain money on him.
• The Blackhawks will also likely get calls about defenseman Alec Martinez. Teams certainly will value his 131 career playoff games, and he has played well enough when healthy this season. While the interest may be there, the Blackhawks plan to allow Martinez to decide whether he wants to go to a contender. It sounds like they expect him to want to remain in Chicago for the season.
• The Blackhawks are also expected to give Pat Maroon the option to be traded if there’s interest. Like Martinez, Maroon’s playoff experience could be desirable as a depth piece to a contender. As one league exec said, “Maroon might be attractive to a team at 50 percent retention to get his experience and toughness under the league minimum.” The Blackhawks have only two retention spots — NHL teams can carry three retained salaries at a time and the Blackhawks already carry $2 million of Jake McCabe’s salary — so that could factor into their decision.
Maroon would probably bring back a late-round pick, but the Blackhawks won’t be too picky. They need a few roster spots to open up by the end of the season.
• Craig Smith is another veteran on an expiring contract. He seemed to be building some value with his play early in the season, but that declined and then he was injured. If someone needs some depth-forward insurance, Smith might be a really cheap option. He played in 14 playoff games for the Dallas Stars last season. The consensus is he’d also return a late-round pick.
• The Blackhawks’ motivation at the deadline is to clear a few roster spots for their college prospects who are expected to sign and turn pro immediately. Forwards Oliver Moore (University of Minnesota) and Ryan Greene (Boston University) and defenseman Sam Rinzel (Minnesota) are expected to sign and jump to the NHL as soon as their college seasons end. Dominic James (Minnesota Duluth) is also expected to leave school after this season, but it’s unknown whether he’d burn his NHL contract season or wait to start it next season. Time will tell with him.
• A time may come when Davidson will ask Seth Jones what he wants for his future. Jones holds all the cards with a full no-movement clause. While his contract, which includes a $9.5 million cap hit, goes until the 2029-30 season, one NHL exec thought the Blackhawks would have no trouble moving it.
“I think a lot of these guys tell their data people to forget what the analytics say and look for big right-handed defensemen who eat minutes and have range,” the executive said. “That’s what gets them excited. It makes no sense to me why he’s even still there. I don’t know why he’d still want to be there.”
• The Blackhawks will have some decisions to make at goalie eventually, but that probably won’t come until the offseason. Laurent Brossoit still isn’t close to returning from a second knee surgery, so the Blackhawks don’t have to worry about juggling three goalies in the NHL anytime soon. If he does come back this season, the Blackhawks won’t likely have a lot of games remaining on their schedule.
• All signs point to the Blackhawks walking away from Philipp Kurashev after the season and allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent. Something drastic would have to change over the last half of the season.
• The Blackhawks have no plans to try to get forward prospect Roman Kantserov out of his KHL contract early. The 20-year-old Kantserov, a 2023 second-round pick, has been tearing up the KHL lately. He has nine goals and five assists in his last nine games. Kantserov’s contract expires after the 2025-26 season. The Blackhawks hope he’ll sign with them once that contract ends, but it won’t be sooner than that.
• Cole Guttman has played well for the Rockford IceHogs and probably deserves a call-up. Whether he gets one likely depends on the Blackhawks’ NHL roster numbers. At 25 years old, Guttman isn’t a priority prospect any longer, but he still looks like a potential NHL player.
• The Blackhawks are holding their amateur scouting meetings this week in Florida. Davidson and others in the Blackhawks hockey operations recently attended the World Junior Championship. With another top-five draft pick likely coming in June, the Blackhawks will zero in even more on top draft prospects in the coming months.
