We’ve been talking about the Blackhawks desire to take the building process to the next step for a while. The players talked about it. The coaches talked about it. The front office talked about it. Fans have been harping on it since… 2024.
But the time has seemingly arrived for the Blackhawks to pounce.
Which leads us to other conversations. Like:
Who should the Blackhawks target on the (very thin) free agent market?
Who could the Blackhawks target in the trade market? Who’s actually available?
and, most importantly:
Who do the Blackhawks give up to get what they want/need in a trade?
Matt Larkin at Daily Faceoff wrote about the coming summer in Chicago. The piece is appropriately titled “Why Blackhawks need to be 2026 NHL offseason’s most aggressive team.” While I don’t necessarily agree with a lot of his assessment of Kyle Davidson’s first four years on the job, this comment was on point regarding why this summer is significant for the Blackhawks:
A piece of wisdom from an active, Stanley Cup-winning GM that has always stuck with me: “Championships in the cap era are won with entry-level contracts.” What he meant: you want to take a swing while some of your top young players haven’t reached their second deals and massive pay days.
That “time to take a swing” has arrived in Chicago. And, as I’ve mentioned about a thousand times, outside of Alex Tuch or maybe Bobby McMann, this year’s free agent class doesn’t inspire. It certainly doesn’t have the top-tier player(s) Blackhawks fans are clamoring to see in the Indian head this fall.
If the Blackhawks are going to chase a big addition via trade, the enormous task in front of the Blackhawks’ front office isn’t necessarily talking an opposing general manager into trading a good player. If a front office answers the phone, they’ve either already made a decision to move on from a player or, at minimum, they’re open to a conversation.
The enormous tasks in front of the Blackhawks’ front office is their pro scouts identifying the right player(s) to target in a trade, and evaluating their internal assets to identify how much they’re really willing to pay to get the player.
Blackhawks Internal Evaluations Are Key
This is going to be hard. Kyle Davidson has drafted a lot of highly skilled players since taking over as general manager of the Blackhawks. We’ve bragged about the Blackhawks’ top-ranked pipeline plenty. We’ve been teased by the rising talent being a sales pitch. I’ve admittedly been one of the loud voices selling the future.
There are players in the Blackhawks organization — signed and still unsigned — who are going to be good, contributing players in the NHL.
But, if the Blackhawks are going to make a trade for a significant piece, they’re going to have to give something up. And, as I wrote recently, there are a lot of financial decisions coming in the next two summers. Which is where internal scouting becomes paramount at this stage of the build.
Earlier this week I wrote about Frank Nazar‘s name somehow floating around social media as a piece. You might be open to trading Nazar in the right deal. As I wrote, I doubt the Blackhawks are willing to move him. They made a significant financial commitment to him already as a core piece.
Who’s untouchable in Chicago right now? The list starts with Connor Bedard, which should be obvious. After him, I would say Nazar, Spencer Knight, Anton Frondell, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel and Alex Vlasic are almost impossible to see leaving the organization based on their age, skill, potential ceiling and, in the case of Nazar and Vlasic, existing financial commitments.
On the NHL roster, I struggle to see a scenario where the Blackhawks are going to want to move Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene or Wyatt Kaiser. Could they? Yes. But I think the front office would make a strong effort to find alternatives to satisfy a trade demand.
The not-yet signed players in the pipeline who I struggle to see the Blackhawks including in a trade this summer: Roman Kantserov and Václav Nestrašil. Both could be top-six pieces for the Blackhawks in the near future; Kantserov could/should be in camp this fall, and Nestrašil could see NHL ice at the end of his upcoming sophomore season.
When I asked Davidson at exit interviews which prospect not in Chicago or Rockford got his attention this year, he specifically mentioned Nestrašil. At 6-6, he could be a legit power forward for the Blackhawks at some point soon. But he isn’t there yet.
So, from that top-ranked pipeline and collection of young assets, which players might be part of at least an ask from another team to make a “big” trade?
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Nick Lardis
After scoring 71 goals in the OHL, Lardis didn’t disappoint in his ability to translate that scoring to the pro ranks. He scored 10 goals in 41 NHL games this season, which leads an amateur mathematician to project him to 20 goals over 82 games in his first full professional season. (Lardis also scored 18 goals in Rockford, giving him 28 goals in 76 games in his first full professional season.)
And, this will probably come as a surprise to some in our midst who took issue with Lardis spending a big part of his first NHL season on the Blackhawks’ fourth line, but the forwards with whom he spent the most 5-on-5 ice time this year were Moore (167:22), Bedard (131:52) and Ryan Greene (116:46).
Could Lardis be a regular 25-30 goal scorer in the NHL? Sure. Could he be more than that? Sure. Does that, plus the fact that he doesn’t turn 21 until July 8, make him a potentially attractive trade piece? Absolutely.
The questions the Blackhawks need to answer with Lardis are simple. Does he do something they don’t have? And, at 6-0 and around 180 pounds, do the Blackhawks have too many guys in the same weight class and need to diversify the lineup with the trade they make this summer?
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Kevin Korchinski
This might present the toughest decision Davidson could have to make this summer. Korchinski, a pending RFA, was the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft — the first draft pick made by Davidson as the permanent GM of the Blackhawks. Add to that reality the fact that the Blackhawks traded Alex DeBrincat to get the pick used to select Korchinski, and there’s a lot of front office equity invested in the player.
But his development has not been clean. He was thrown into the NHL as a 19-year-old in a season that evolved into a nightmare scenario that included the devastating passing of his father and saw him spend most of his ice time with a waiver claim. Korchinski has spent most of the last two years in Rockford, where he’s been an AHL All-Star and continued to improve. When he got another good look in the NHL late this season, he showed good signs.
His skating is still elite. He’s a good playmaking defenseman. His offensive instincts will be his calling card. But he still needs to bulk up. It’s hard to see the Blackhawks trading him in large part because it would feel like they’re selling low on a talented player. But, with Levshunov and Rinzel (and the late-season experiment of five forwards), power play time might be hard to come by. And there might be a GM somewhere who sees an undervalued asset that might be available.
It’s worth adding here that, if the Blackhawks “lose” the draft lottery and get moved back to No. 3 (or 4) in the 2026 NHL Draft, left-handed defensemen Carson Carels and Alberts Šmits could be tempting candidates with the Blackhawks’ first pick.
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Louis Crevier
Crevier deserves all of the respect in the world for moving from a seventh-round pick to a viable NHL player. He had a very good season, leading Blackhawks defensemen in goals and registering more 100 mph shots on goal than any other player in the NHL.
With Levshunov and Rinzel also being right-handed, the Blackhawks seemingly have three good, young skaters on that side of the blue line with the soon-to-be 25-year-old Crevier. But the wild card here is where the Blackhawks land in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. And, again, if they move back from No. 2 overall, it will likely be very tempting to take one of Keaton Verhoeff or Chase Reid, both right-handed defensemen.
If the Blackhawks want to add some experience on the back end, one of the young guys will likely need to go.
This might be a bold statement, but Crevier — with one more year on his contract at a $900,000 cap hit — might be the Blackhawks’ most valuable player trade piece this summer. He’s 12 months from being a restricted free agent again and has shown he can be a capable penalty killer with a hammer of a shot.
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OHL Leaders
The Blackhawks have so many prospects in the pipeline that have performed well at various levels that, at some point, they’re going to run out of roster spots. Which, again, means players who will go on to have good, meaningful NHL career could get traded.
I’m already expecting to hear it from the folks in Brantford for going here after including Lardis in this piece, but the Blackhawks having the top two scorers in the OHL from this past regular season gives them two players who could be viewed as pro-ready (read: not necessarily NHL-ready yet) who could be involved in trade discussions.
Marek Vanacker had a terrific bounce-back season after a shoulder injury limited his post-draft campaign. He led the OHL with 47 goals on the top team in the league in Brantford.
Jack Pridham, meanwhile, had a huge season. He finished behind only Vanacker in goals (46), ranked fifth in the league in total points (90), ranked third in power play goals (16 — Vanacker had 17) and tied for second in short-handed goals (6). He’s got an opportunity to go to Boston University this fall, but he checks all of the boxes.
If the Blackhawks see a more immediately impactful player available and one of these players needs to be included, given the overall depth of the pipeline, there’s a chance one could move.
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Other Potential Blackhawks Trade Candidates
Sacha Boisvert — a former first-round pick who was the NCHC Rookie of the Year at North Dakota, he had a down here at BU (in part because of injuries). He got some limited run in the NHL at the end of the season. There’s a lot to like about Boisvert, but the Blackhawks’ center depth could make him available.
Ethan Del Mastro — Del Mastro has had his moments in the NHL, but is looking at a crowded blue line around him in Chicago with many wanting the Hawks to add a veteran to the young mix. Like Korchinski, Del Mastro is a pending RFA this summer. He has good size and plays a physical game. He might just not have a spot in Chicago.
John Mustard — Mustard had a sensational sophomore season at Providence. He has elite speed and a good shot, and impressed enough that there was talk of him possibly signing after his collegiate season ended. But, again, there are only 12 forwards who can dress in the NHL every night.
Martin Mišiak — certainly not a “sell high” candidate, but the depth chart is flooding with talent right now and Mišiak’s development appears to have a longer road than others. Still, he has good size (6-2, 200) and he’s a recent second-round pick (2023) who could intrigue other organizations.
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