Central Notes: Lundkvist, Manson, Zuccarello
In the second period of tonight’s game between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild, Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist left the contest after taking a skate to the face. Lundkvist was fighting for a puck with Michael McCarron toward Dallas’ net, and McCarron’s skate hit Lundkvist in the left cheek as both were falling to the ice.
Initially, there was some hope that Lundkvist could get a few stitches and get back to the game. The Stars announced that Lundkvist was “questionable” to return, although he ultimately never did before Dallas lost in overtime. In an update after the game from Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News, head coach Glen Gulutzan described the injury as far more serious, saying Lundkvist suffered a deep facial laceration and he didn’t know whether he had already gone to the hospital.
Fortunately, given that both teams need a travel day, Game 5 isn’t until next Tuesday. If Lundkvist is unable to go by then, it’s expected that 32-year-old veteran Ilya Lyubushkin will draw into the lineup.
Additional notes from the Central Division:
- In other news regarding injured defensemen, the Colorado Avalanche will be without Josh Manson tomorrow night. According to Jesse Montero of Guerilla Sports, Manson was still “sore” from his upper-body injury at practice today. This means that instead of Manson, depth defender Nick Blankenburg will help the Avalanche in their attempt to close out their Round One series against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4. Blankenburg scored two goals and three points in 12 games for Colorado after being acquired from the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline.
- Moving to the other side of the now-even series between the Stars and Wild, the latter team was without Mats Zuccarello for the third consecutive game. Michael Russo of The Athletic indicated that Zuccarello had been elevated to a game-time decision for tonight’s contest, but was still battling lingering effects from being elbowed in the head by Dallas defenseman Tyler Myers.
Canadiens’ Noah Dobson Resumes Skating
Already with a one-game edge in the series, the Montreal Canadiens are inching closer to returning one of their top defenseman. Earlier today, Luc Gélinas of RDS reported that defenseman Noah Dobson has resumed skating.
Dobson, 26, has been out for the last few weeks with a lower-body injury. Before missing the last three games of the regular season, and the first three of Montreal’s Round One matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dobson was exactly what the Canadiens hoped he would be.
He finished second on the team in scoring among defensemen, and sixth overall, with 12 goals and 47 points in 80 games with a +5 rating, averaging 22:29 of ice time per game. Additionally, he was third among Canadiens defensemen in CorsiFor% at even strength, and had the second most takeaways on the team.
Should he return toward the back half of this series, it would undoubtedly give Montreal a larger edge over Tampa Bay. The Lightning are already without their captain, Victor Hedman, due to illness. Reports from a few days ago indicated that Hedman is doubtful to play in the Bolts’ opening round matchup.
For the time being, the Canadiens have been deploying Alexandre Carrier in Dobson’s stead. He hasn’t looked out of place, registering one assist in three games while averaging over 23 minutes of ice time, largely due to the multiple trips into overtime. Additionally, Carrier is tied for the team lead in blocked shots (10) with fellow blue liner Mike Matheson.
Alexander Nikishin Leaves Game With Injury
Despite earning the sweep over the Ottawa Senators earlier today, it’s not all good news for the Carolina Hurricanes. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin exited the game early after being on the receiving end of a huge hit from Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven.
Nikishin finished the game with one shot, two blocked shots, and one hit across 5:16 of ice time. Before leaving today’s contest, he had averaged over 20 minutes through the first three games of the series, although he remained scoreless. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Nikishin just had the wind knocked out of him. After the game, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer shared a note from head coach Rod Brind’Amour that the team fears Nikishin suffered a concussion.
Still, depending on the severity of the concussion, if that’s what it is, Nikishin may have ample time to recover. Unless the Pittsburgh Penguins pull off a miraculous comeback, the Hurricanes will likely play the Philadelphia Flyers in Round Two, a team they would have a significant advantage against, even without Nikishin. Carolina earned seven points against the Flyers this season in four games.
Additionally, although it doesn’t directly concern the Hurricanes at the time of writing, the other two Eastern Conference matchups are in tight series and may prolong the start of Round Two. If any Round One series goes to seven games, that could give Nikishin more than a week-and-a-half to recover.
Regardless, veteran blue liner Mike Reilly should begin getting ready for his first playoff action in some time. He was held out of every game in Round One against the Senators, but he was always the first man up in case of injury. Reilly last played in the postseason in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring one goal and two points in five games with the New York Islanders.
PHR Mailbag: Predators, Lottery, Hellebuyck, Rookies, Playoff Pressure Players
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Nashville’s open GM position, what players have a lot to gain or lose by their playoff performances, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in one of our next two mailbag columns.
Gbear: Who gets the Preds GM job and does Bruno stay or go?
While Barry Trotz is on the way out, I tend to believe his words from earlier this week when he talked about the thought of keeping a lot of this roster intact. That has me leaning toward a candidate that’s a little more predictable in Tom Fitzgerald. While he took some swings toward the end of his tenure in New Jersey, he’s not going to come in saying that they need to execute a full rebuild. I can’t help but wonder if some of the other first-time candidates might be recommending the other direction which might hurt their chances.
I think what also works in Fitzgerald’s favor is that he has held a dual President/GM role before with the Devils. Throughout this long search, it certainly doesn’t sound like the team is looking to hire two separate people for those roles. If that’s the case, having an experienced candidate who can handle both might appeal a little more.
Fitzgerald, of course, is familiar with head coach Andrew Brunette, as he hired him to join the Devils as an assistant coach. Brunette then left a year later to take this job. With what seems like a good history from their one year together and how this group finished the season, I suspect they’d stay conservative and keep the status quo intact for now if it winds up being Fitzgerald getting the job. If things don’t go well in 2026-27, then it would be easier for them to make a change.
rayk: What is your opinion of the draft lottery which is approaching on 5/5? Is having teams like the Islanders and Mammoth move up so many slots as they did in 2025 really help promote league parity?
For me, the lottery is a partial solution to a problem that doesn’t have a great solution to it. Teams that want to tank are going to try to position themselves as low in the standings no matter what the draft order rule is. If it’s straight reverse standings, we’ve seen how bad that can go. The lottery creates some randomness which is fun but the bottom-feeding teams are still going to want to get as low as possible to increase their odds of picking first and ensure they don’t slide down as much. There’s no getting around that.
One solution that is gaining some popularity is the Gold Plan. Named after its inventor, Adam Gold, the idea is that the first pick goes to the team that gets the most points after being eliminated from playoff contention. The PWHL uses it. However, the workaround there is that a team struggles early, has a bunch of core guys get ‘injured’ midseason, then they all come back in March after the team has been mathematically eliminated. All it does is change when a team decides to sit all its players for tanking purposes.
The lottery isn’t perfect. But I don’t think there is a perfect solution out there as they’re all easily manipulable. So having some randomness that gives teams (and fans) a bit more hope seems like a good enough solution for now, at least.
SkidRowe: Will the league rig the lottery so the Toronto Maple Losers are in the top 2?
I feel like this is an important time to remind you that the lottery is done with ping pong balls. Literal dollar store ping pong balls. They first provided the video of it in 2022 and if you’re not familiar with the mechanics of how it’s done, I recommend you watch it. It’s dry and boring but it does provide a good overview of each step.
It’s 14 equally weighted ping pong balls and a lottery-drawing machine. This isn’t drawing for an envelope that may or may not have been left in a freezer, it’s a 10-cent ball which somehow is harder to rig. The lottery combinations are assigned to teams in advance (and sometimes are even posted online before the actual proceedings) so there’s no room for uh, excess creativity on that front either. Conspiracy theories can be fun but how they do the lotteries is legit.
Toronto has greater than a 17% chance of picking in the top two. After what has happened in recent years, their landing a top-two spot is very much within the realistic range of possibilities.
Cla23: With Hellebuyck’s frustration with the Jets’ season, do you see a trade? If so, where do you think he lands and what do the Jets get in return?
Keep in mind he wants to contend, not rebuild, and NT/NM contracts come into play.
Probably not this summer. His comments about not wanting the team to be too complacent again this summer suggests to me that he still wants to be there; he just wants to see some other changes to the roster. If that doesn’t happen, then yeah, he might want out. The problem is that by the time Hellebuyck will have a chance to assess the state of the roster, most teams will already have their rosters set (or at least wouldn’t be looking to trade for a number one netminder). So even if he looked at their roster in August and said it’s time for a move, there probably isn’t one available until midseason at the earliest or, more likely, next summer.
But, let’s say he does ask out so that I can tackle the second part of the question. Vegas stands out to me as a potential fit. Adin Hill had a rough year while Carter Hart and Akira Schmid have shown good flashes at times but have been inconsistent. Hellebuyck would give them a much more proven starter. I could see both Hill and Schmid in the return, negating the need to bring back Eric Comrie. To make the money work, I think William Karlsson could also be in there, giving Winnipeg at least a short-term center at the same time. Hill and Karlsson both have 10-team no-trade clauses which could scuttle things so let’s get that out of the way.
Given Hill’s struggles and Karlsson’s short-term deal, either Karlsson would need to come with an extension or there would need to be another piece of significance in there. I could see Kevin Cheveldayoff asking for Trevor Connelly but he’s someone Vegas doesn’t want to move. If it landed them a top-end goalie though (and got them out of Hill’s contract), maybe that’d make it worthwhile.
I could also see Florida in there but the potential return is harder to peg down. They don’t have a starter to send the other way which makes it a tough sell right away. With both Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett signed long-term, teams will call about Anton Lundell and I imagine Winnipeg would do that, hoping to fill the longstanding 2C issue and then trying to get a goalie from elsewhere. I’m not sure the Panthers would, however. But at any rate, I don’t expect Hellebuyck to be asking out this month.
Ian Mitchell Signs With NL’s SC Bern
Lightning pending unrestricted free agent Ian Mitchell has agreed to terms with SC Bern of Switzerland’s National League on a two-year contract beginning next season, the team announced earlier this week. The move had been in place for months, as we relayed back in February.
Mitchell, 27, did not see NHL ice this season after appearing in five straight campaigns with the Blackhawks and Bruins from 2020-25. Non-tendered by Boston last summer, he landed a one-way league minimum deal from the Red Wings in free agency but cleared waivers to begin training camp. After going all year without a call-up, Detroit dealt him to Tampa Bay in mid-March – after the NHL trade deadline but before the AHL one – so he could serve as added defensive depth for the Bolts’ farm team in Syracuse down the stretch.
Mitchell’s contractual obligations with Tampa are still ongoing. In fact, he suited up for Syracuse just last night – after the announcement that he was headed to Bern – in Game 1 of their North Division Semifinal series against Cleveland. However, since he was acquired after the trade deadline, he’s not eligible for recall to the Lightning as long as they’re still in the postseason.
The 6’0″, right-shot Mitchell is a skilled puck-mover. He’s shown as much in the minors, where he had seven assists in 15 games to close out the regular season with Syracuse. His lack of physical acumen in one-on-one defending and battles, plus underwhelming shot power, has prevented him from locking down any sort of notable NHL role, though.
A second-round pick by the Blackhawks back in 2017, Mitchell won an NCHC championship with the University of Denver before ultimately turning pro three years later. He suited up in 39 of Chicago’s 56 games in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, but that mark still stands as a career high. He’s now passed through waivers unclaimed in each of the last three seasons, so it’s clear interest in his services hasn’t been wide-spanning for quite some time.
Mitchell’s NHL resume stands with a 4-15–19 scoring line, a -17 rating, and an underwhelming 42.6% Corsi share at even strength through 110 appearances. His minor-league body of work is strong – tallying 120 points and a +55 rating in 216 career AHL games – but it hasn’t been enough for him to earn serious bottom-pair consideration.
He’s now officially off to Switzerland, potentially putting a bookend on his NHL career. He could easily step in as Bern’s #1 from the drop on a roster that also boasts former NHLers Emil Bemström and Anton Lindholm.
Metropolitan Notes: Greaves, Fisher, Vladar
Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves will play for Canada at the Worlds next month, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). This was the 25-year-old’s first full NHL season and it was a good one as he posted a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SV% in 55 games. That showed that his hot finish to last season wasn’t just a one-off and he’s now in place as their starter of the future. Notably, Greaves is a pending restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights and is poised for a significant raise on his current $812.5K price tag. That makes it a little surprising that Greaves will play for Canada in the tournament as pending free agents usually take a pass to avoid the risk of an injury sustained there affecting contract negotiations. Instead, he’ll make a strong case to be the starter regardless of whichever other two goalies participate, something that Dreger added is still being worked out.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Still with the Blue Jackets, prospect James Fisher has changed schools. Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald relays that the forward has transferred from Northeastern to St. Lawrence University for next season. The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Columbus back in 2022 and has not progressed particularly well thus far. After two post-draft seasons at junior levels, he spent two years with the Huskies, managing just five points in 60 games over that stretch. He’ll be hoping that a change of scenery can land him a bigger role and a chance to get back on the radar for a contract down the road.
- After a bit of an injury scare in Game 3 of their opening round series against Pittsburgh, it appears Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar is good to go as the team announced (Twitter link) that he’ll get the start tonight. Bryan Rust fell over him in the third period on Wednesday and didn’t practice the following day but it won’t cost him any time. Vladar’s first foray into the playoffs as a starter has been successful so far as he has turned aside 70 of 74 shots to help Philadelphia take the first three games.
Nikolaj Ehlers Sidelined With Lower-Body Injury
As the Hurricanes look to finish off their opening-round series in Ottawa today, they’re doing so without one of their better wingers. Prior to today’s game, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Nikolaj Ehlers was not in the lineup due to a lower-body injury. The team did not indicate how long he may be out for.
Ehlers is in his first season with Carolina after signing a six-year, $51MM contract on the third day of free agency last summer. The Hurricanes have long coveted impactful free agents and were able to get one with this big offer.
The 30-year-old was an impactful player for the Hurricanes this season. With 26 goals and 45 assists, he finished second on the team in scoring and set new career highs in assists and points despite not getting a big uptick in playing time. When he left Winnipeg, part of his concern was a lack of top-line minutes but Ehlers only saw his ice time go up by 48 seconds per game, from 15:48 to 16:36.
After Ehlers performed well last spring in the playoffs for the Jets, the Hurricanes were undoubtedly hoping that he’d give them a boost this postseason. That didn’t happen through the first three games as Ehlers has been limited to just one assist although it’s unclear if this lower-body issue is something that has been lingering and affecting his play.
With Ehlers out of the lineup, Carolina moved William Carrier into his spot on the third line. Meanwhile, they turned to veteran winger Nicolas Deslauriers to fill the lineup vacancy, giving him his first playoff appearance since 2022 when he was with Minnesota.
Daniil Miromanov Considering KHL Return
Things didn’t go quite to plan for Flames defenseman Daniil Miromanov, who spent most of the year in the minors. A pending unrestricted free agent, it appears that he’s considering a return home for next season, as Sport-Express’ Artur Khairullin reports (Telegram link) that Miromanov may return to the KHL next season, with SKA St. Petersburg a leading candidate for his services.
Miromanov was a full-timer on Calgary’s roster last season, albeit often in a seventh defenseman role. The 28-year-old broke camp with the Flames out of training camp this year as well, but barely a week into the season after just one game played, he found himself on waivers. He passed through unclaimed and aside from a brief recall in November, he was exclusively with AHL Calgary the rest of the way, posting 11 goals and 27 assists in 66 games as he took full advantage of playing in a prominent role.
Miromanov originally broke into the NHL with Vegas, signing with them back in 2021 as an undrafted free agent. He saw time in parts of three seasons with them before being moved to the Flames back in 2024 as part of the return for Noah Hanifin. Between the two franchises, he has 94 career NHL appearances under his belt, posting 23 points and 110 blocked shots in 17:26 per night of playing time.
A big right-shot defender, Miromanov would undoubtedly generate some interest on the open market this summer. While he cleared waivers in October, his $1.25MM contract may have been a reason for that. On a contract closer to the minimum salary ($850K starting in 2026-27), he might have a better chance at sticking on an NHL roster next season.
However, Miromanov would likely be in a seventh defender role if he caught on with another NHL team next season. If he wants to have a chance to play more prominently as he did with the Wranglers this season, he could certainly get that chance by returning to the KHL where he’d also have a chance to play much closer to home.
Hurricanes Notes: Nikishin, Second Line, Poirier
Earlier this week, Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky met (video link) with local media to discuss his team. One of the questions he was asked was about rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin, whose entry-level deal is set to expire this summer. Tulsky indicated that while talks have been ongoing throughout the season, the team would prefer their pending free agents focus on the playoffs which means an extension in the coming weeks is likely doubtful. Nikishin had a very promising rookie season with 11 goals and 22 assists in 81 games while logging over 18 minutes per night of playing time. He won’t be eligible for an offer sheet this summer which should also take off some pressure as the two sides work to get a new deal in place.
More from around the Hurricanes:
- Carolina’s second line of Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, and Jackson Blake has been dominant so far in the first round, pacing them to a 3-0 series lead over Ottawa so far. Julian McKenzie of The Athletic provided an overview of just how productive it has been. On top of combining for 13 points to make them the most productive line of the playoffs, they are also controlling possession and Expected Goals. The Sens have done well to limit Carolina’s top line to just one point (a Sebastian Aho goal) but the second line has more than picked up the slack.
- Prospect Justin Poirier has entered the NCAA transfer portal, relays Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2024, going 156th overall. Poirier decided to leave the QMJHL to play in college this season and was quite productive at the University of Maine, notching 18 goals and 11 assists in just 27 games but is electing to move on. With the portal closing on Tuesday, he’ll have to pick his next school fairly quickly.
Offseason Checklist: Chicago Blackhawks
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Chicago.
It wasn’t supposed to go quite like this again for the Blackhawks in 2025-26. With the team hiring Jeff Blashill as their new head coach last spring, the hope was that he’d be able to raise the floor of the group. Instead, they cratered in the second half of the season to finish 31st overall. GM Kyle Davidson received a vote of confidence in the form of a contract extension but his checklist this offseason looks a lot like last year’s. This time, expectations will be higher that some of these will be achieved.
Determine Consolidation Options
This is going to tie into two of the items later on in the column so let’s get it out of the way first. One thing Davidson has done well in his role is accumulate assets. They’ve gone from a team that had one of the weaker prospect pools in the league to one of the strongest young upcoming cores. For all the losing they’ve had to endure, at least there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. With two extra second-round picks this year and two extra first-round selections next year, they’re going to only further add to that stockpile.
But at some point, they’re heading for a ‘how much is too much’ situation. Let’s look at centers, for example. Connor Bedard is their number one of the present and future. They’re expecting Anton Frondell to be their second. They also have Frank Nazar who spent most of the year down the middle and is locked up on a team-friendly long-term deal. Then there are Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, and Sacha Boisvert, all quality youngsters in their own right. It’s great to have that depth but would they be better off moving one of those three to fill a weak spot? With the demand for good centers, they’d probably get a significant return.
There are other potential logjams down the road at other positions as well, though those aren’t as pressing on the current roster. But as more of these prospects and future draft picks turn pro, there’s going to be a point when youngster supply vastly outweighs the few roster spots that will be open.
All things considered, this is a great ‘problem’ to have. But while Davidson could play it safe and wait for the logjams to become an issue, he could also be proactive and determine which of those pieces could be expendable. Combining a promising center, a good draft pick, and more would get them in the mix for some of the better players on the trade front this summer. And if they’re going to take that next step forward, they need to find a way to land one of those better players.
Re-Sign Bedard
Last summer, the Blackhawks were eligible to sign Bedard to a long-term extension but didn’t do so. Considering that he was coming off a quieter-than-expected sophomore year, that wasn’t too much of a surprise. Now, Bedard has played out the final season of his entry-level deal and will be a restricted free agent on July 1st.
The decision not to sign early proved to be the right one for the 20-year-old. After seeing his point-per-game output drop in his sophomore year (though his point total increased), he bounced back this season, leading the way in scoring with 30 goals and 45 assists despite missing 13 games due to injury. Over a full 82-game season, that’s an 89-point pace. Given the pedigree he had coming into the league, it’s reasonable to expect that Bedard will eventually hit and surpass that mark. That has to be factored into what this next deal is going to cost; it won’t just be about what he has done over his first three seasons.
To that end, AFP Analytics projects a $13.21MM AAV on an eight-year deal. Chicago can still sign Bedard to an eight-year contract through mid-September before the new CBA fully kicks in. That date will stand as a soft deadline for a lot of negotiations this summer as a result. That would be the richest post-entry-level contract handed out, beating Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM price tag for eight years and would make him the fifth-highest-paid player in the league. But with Bedard having extra leverage if Chicago wants to get the eighth year on there, it wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see a deal come in at that price tag.
While Bedard is eligible for an offer sheet, he’s not necessarily a viable candidate for one. The Blackhawks have more than $40MM in cap room for next season, per PuckPedia, so they’d be able to match any offer that were to come his way. Bedard has already spoken about hoping to get something done before too long so it wouldn’t be shocking to see both sides take a real run at this over the next couple of months before other offseason moves start to be made.
Add A Top-Line Winger
Speaking of those other offseason moves, finding Bedard an impactful winger to ride shotgun alongside him needs to be high on Davidson’s to-do list. While it’s possible that an internal option could one day emerge in that role, that hasn’t happened yet and probably won’t for another couple of years, at least. They likely don’t want to wait that long so looking external is the way to go.
This is a spot that Chicago has tried to fill with placeholders. Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen were brought in on the opening day of free agency in 2024, hoping to give Bedard a bit of a boost. Both have done reasonably well, though they aren’t top-line players. They tried Andre Burakovsky this year in the hopes that a change of scenery would give him a lift and maybe be an option for Bedard. That one didn’t work out so well.
Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, free agency isn’t likely to yield the solution. Alex Tuch is a legitimate top-line option but he’s really the only one out there. While it’s possible that he could pick Chicago, they shouldn’t be banking on that happening. The next-best scoring wingers are Anthony Mantha (who has bounced around but seems likely to stay in Pittsburgh where things worked out this year) and Alex Ovechkin (who may or may not play next season and would only play in Washington). Patrick Kane isn’t a viable long-term option at 37 but could be a short-term one and there would be a nostalgia element as well. But they should be aiming for a better fit than that.
This is where the consolidation trade could come into play. With so few options in free agency, the trade route is going to be the best way to try to fill that void. With the potential package outlined earlier, that should be good enough to get into the bidding war for some of those wingers and give them a good shot at getting one who could fit in at least a top-six role for the next several seasons.
Add Impactful Veteran Defenseman
In recent years, Chicago has drafted some young defensemen in the first round of the draft. Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and Kevin Korchinski have all seen time with the big club already with varying degrees of success. All three figure to be part of the long-term plans at a minimum with a chance to be big parts of their core down the road.
Meanwhile, Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser are a little further along in their development with Vlasic, in particular, now established as a legitimate shutdown defender. They also have Ethan Del Mastro and Louis Crevier in the fold as younger players who have had a bit of success in the NHL already.
With what they have, there is the makings of a good future defense corps. But it’s especially hard to fast-forward the development of young defenders. It’s even harder to do with a largely inexperienced group. Teams can get away with that when they’re rebuilding but when the time comes to flip the switch, an all-young back end probably isn’t going to get the job done.
That makes getting an impactful veteran a necessity this summer if Davidson wants to move his group forward. Not someone like Connor Murphy (who filled a useful role for many years), someone who can play on the top pairing and in all situations. That will take some pressure off the younger players and give them a chance to develop in slots on the depth chart that are a little better suited to their skillsets at this time.
The problem for the Blackhawks here is, again, there aren’t a lot of options available. In terms of big-minute players, Jacob Trouba, John Carlson, and Rasmus Andersson are pending UFAs. Other than maybe Andersson, none of the players ideally fit on a top pairing. Yes, Darren Raddysh is out there but his track record isn’t as big and until this season, his minutes had been managed relatively carefully. That could mean turning to the trade market again where the type of package mentioned earlier – perhaps augmented by a young roster blueliner to make the package more appealing – might be enough to bring in that type of player.
Davidson has swung some big moves as GM but between this need and the one up front, his biggest ones will be needed over the next couple of months.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.