I Am Starting To Dream About The Blackhawks Being In The Playoffs Again If They Get Aggressive
I woke up in the middle of the night over the weekend and watched a replay of this Blackhawks game and I have to say...I had fun. In my sleep deprived delirium I was able put aside the reality of the situation where winning THAT game was detrimental to the future of the franchise and slip into a dream state.
Next summer will be 2025. That means the Chicago Blackhawks will be TEN years removed from a playoff series win. A decade. The Blackhawks had been drowning under the leadership of Stan Bowman. Kyle Davidson had to sink to the bottom of the pool in order to push off the bottom back towards to the top. He had to get rid of Hagel, Dach, Debrincat, and Strome in order to be bad enough to rebuild properly. We've now reached that stage we it's time to start aiming upwards. This summer could be it.
There's a thought that I've been having, which admittedly isn't grounded in reality. It's grounded in a tweet from Ryan Whitney
Stay with me for a moment...
The rumor boys aren't in the business of spewing nonsense. They hear things. While the Ottawa GM came out and said the Sens wouldn't trade Brady before the deadline and then they obviously didn't, the boys must've heard something. A whisper. A kernal of information. Ears to the ground. Stick a pin and this and let's shift gears to the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks rebuild...looks like it is on solid footing from where I am sitting. Bedard changed the entire landscape of the future. He's been as good or probably better than we could've imagined in year 1 and that is while playing with virtually zero help around him.
While I don't think the NHL lottery is rigged, I also don't think the Hawks will win it again. At the time of this blog the Blackhawks have a 13.5% chance of getting Celebrini. Which means an 86.5% chance of not getting him. I'd love to see the internet meltdown after another Blackhawks lottery win. I would legit turn into the Joker. Just an evil grin and shit talking all the time. My gut says that the balls don't bounce our way this time. Odds are that the Blackhawks are picking in the 2-4 range. If you're not getting Celebrini I don't think there is a prospect that helps you win before Bedard gets paid. Demidov is a Russian which means the timeline for him coming to the NHL is murky at best. Defensemen and power forwards always take longer (Lindstrom, Levshunov, Saliyev, Dickinson).
If I am Kyle Davidson I would call Ottawa every day between now and the draft. Check in. Ask about the family. See how the ownership group is treating him. Ask about Brady Tkachuk. Send him a bottle of wine. Invite him to play at Butler National. Take him to Wrigley. Let him use the Wirtz private plane. And then blow his doors off with a trade offer for Brady Tkachuk.
Brady is signed through 2028. He is exactly what the Blackhawks need. He's what every team needs, in my opinion, but the Blackhawks have the prospects, picks, and cap space to make this deal plausible IF there was truth to the Whitney tweet.
My offer:
#2 overall pick
Toronto 2025 1st round pick
Reichel
A defense prospect not named Korchinski/Rinzel
IF Ottawa wanted to hit reset with the new management group this would be a hell of a way to start. This would give them two top 10 picks this year in addition to Boston's #1 which will be somewhere in the 20s. It'd give them two firsts next year. Another young German (former 1st round pick) to go with Stutzle, and potential NHL defenseman in the mix. Hell, I'd through in another 2nd round pick and an edible arrangements to sweeten the pot.
As bad as this year has been, there's a gleam if Davidson does a good job this summer. I want to get the gleam. Get Hall and Murphy back. Have Korchinski get strong and take another step. Add in a few vets up front via free agency. Bring Nazar in. Find another goalie somehow. Make a MONSTER splash.
Humor me for a second with this lineup
Bertuzzi(UFA)--Bedard--Kurashev
Hall--Tkachuk--Kane (they should, but they won't) Nazar
Donato--Dickinson--Anthansiou
Dach--Guttman-Folgino
Vlasic----Jones
Korchinski---Murphy
Kaiser---Tanev (UFA)
I've got a feeling that there will be a TON of Sens fans who will be outraged about this trade blog, but I am not the one who started the idea. That was from the #1 hockey podcast in the world. I actually think it would be a good move for Ottawa too. There will also be some Blackhawks fans who think this is "rushing" the rebuild or lowering the ceiling. They'll tell me to be patient. I won't cry if the Blackhawks end up with Cayden Lindstrom or one of the defensemen in the top 5, but I am ready to start winning. The rebuild has been going on long enough. Not just a decade, but long enough under Davidson and this regime. I've pointed this out before, but
2022 Draft: Korchinski, Nazar, Rinzel,
2023 Draft: Bedard, Oliver Moore
2024 Draft: Two 1st round picks
2025 Draft: Two first round picks
If you can't build a winning core with all those 1st round picks (which includes a generational franchise player), a ton of 2nd round picks, and a ton of cap space then the problem is with hockey ops. We are talking about the Chicago Blackhawks here. It's time to start winning. That team above would be in the playoffs.
Again, I willingly acknowledge that this is a long shot to happen and in an ideal world you just win the lottery again, but this organization is one smart summer away from being relevant again and I want to start playing meaningful games while our star boy is on his rookie contract. I want to be bold. I want to have some big boys. I want to give Brady Tkachuk and his family a chance to shoot up I-55 for home games. If you aren't allowed to dream of something better then why even be a fan? Let's dream of being great again.