6. Do the Blackhawks need a veteran defenseman via free agency or a trade? It wouldn’t hurt, but they are seeing what things are like with only young players right now. Matt Grzelcyk is down with an injury, so 24-year-old Alex Vlasic is the elder statesman right now. There will be tough games for the group as a whole, like on Thursday in Philadelphia, but in general, Vlasic, Louis Crevier, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Wyatt Kaiser, and Ethan Del Mastro have done well.
