The Chicago Blackhawks are walking into the 2026-27 season with a defense that looks crowded, complicated, and full of possibilities. New faces are in the mix, younger players are still climbing, and the end result could be a blue line that looks very different from last season’s group.
The biggest name in the overhaul is Bowen Byram, who arrives as the piece expected to become the Blackhawks’ top defenseman of the future. Chicago also brought in veteran Ian Cole in free agency, while Connor Murphy was moved at the trade deadline, Matt Grzelcyk was let go, and Louis Crevier was dealt as part of the return that landed Byram.
That leaves the Blackhawks with an unusual setup: seven left-handed defensemen and only two right-handed ones, Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel. That imbalance makes the pairings tough to pin down, but here’s one way the opening night group could shake out:
Bowen Byram - Artyom Levshunov
Alex Vlasic - Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser - Ian Cole
*Kevin Korchinski - *Ethan Del Mastro
The note on Korchinski and Del Mastro matters, too: Chicago has tendered qualifying offers to both and is expected to sign them to extensions.
Byram and Levshunov make sense as the top pair in this projection because it keeps Byram on his natural side rather than asking him to carry the load on the right. There’s plenty of buzz around a Vlasic-Byram combination, but this setup aims for a little more balance. Levshunov would need to take a step forward after an uneven season, yet the idea here is simple: let him handle the defensive work early, and give Byram room to jump into the offense.
The second pair leans on familiarity. Vlasic and Rinzel have already spent time together on the top unit, both late in the 2024-25 season and again to start 2025-26.
Head coach Jeff Blashill also returned to that look a few times down the stretch last season. Vlasic described the partnership in early April this way: “We both like to hang on to pucks and skate with it.
So I think once we, the next handful of games here, get a little more comfortable with each other, hopefully we're contributing offensively in the O-zone. I felt like we were moving a little bit tonight when we did get the puck there.
So yeah, he's easy to play with, and such a good skater and fluid. And hopefully we can just kind of keep this thing going.”
That pairing has enough puck-moving skill to create offense and enough structure to hold up defensively.
On the third pair, Kaiser and Cole would give Chicago a steady combination. Kaiser has already shown he can be dependable in his own end while still jumping into the play when the chance is there.
Cole, meanwhile, brings 16 years of experience and the kind of calm, stabilizing presence that can settle down a pairing or even the whole defense. He also said at his introductory press conference that he has played on his off side for almost half his career and is comfortable there.
There’s also room for some shuffling depending on how Blashill wants to build the group. Kaiser and Vlasic could be swapped, which would open the door for Kaiser and Rinzel as a more offense-leaning pair and Vlasic with Cole as a shutdown duo.
The toughest part of all this may be figuring out what happens with Korchinski and Del Mastro. Neither young defenseman is really suited to being the extra body, and both would need to clear waivers to go to the AHL.
Chicago also still has to get them signed, even though general manager Kyle Davidson has said he expects extensions to happen. One of them could still end up being the odd man out in a trade.
Korchinski brings offensive upside similar to Rinzel or Levshunov, but he’s another left-shot defenseman, which only adds to the logjam. Still, he was drafted seventh overall in 2022 and is only 22, so the Blackhawks would be reluctant to move on too quickly.
Del Mastro offers a different profile entirely. He’s a strong, physical defender who could be useful on a blue line built to attack. He’s also got plenty of experience on the right side, which only helps his case.
There’s a good problem here, even if it’s a messy one. Injuries will create openings, and Blashill also used 11 forwards and seven defensemen at points early last season to spread out ice time and keep players sheltered.
That could be an option again. Levshunov and Rinzel remain waivers exempt, so a stint with the Rockford IceHogs is still on the table if the team wants more seasoning.
And once the younger defensemen settle in, Cole could always become the seventh defenseman.
For now, the Blackhawks’ blue line doesn’t have many clean answers. It does, however, have plenty to sort through, and that makes it one of the more interesting storylines heading into training camp and beyond.
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The early challenge is less about ceiling than timing, because the Blackhawks may have to navigate the opening stretch without their centerpiece up front. Connor Bedards recovery from shoulder surgery creates a real opening for others to step forward, and the coming weeks could tell Chicago plenty about which players are ready to handle more responsibility. If the Blackhawks can survive that stretch with structure and a few unexpected contributors, it could say a lot about how far this group has come from simply waiting for its future to arrive. [Read more 🡒]
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Special teams will be just as important, especially a power play that needs to become more productive and a penalty kill that has to be steadier. The Blackhawks can point to Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar as part of the next wave, while veterans will need to help set the tone around them, but the larger question is whether the team can turn all that promise into cleaner play and real progress. The talent is there in pieces. The challenge is getting enough of it to show up at the same time. [Read more 🡒]