The Chicago Blackhawks are staring at another ugly finish, but that hasn’t stopped general manager Kyle Davidson from looking for a way to speed up the rebuild. He’s been said to want to improve the roster instead of letting it sit the way it did in previous seasons, and the need is obvious: Chicago is thin on the wings and actively hunting for scoring help.
That search has now drifted into blockbuster territory. With the turbulence in Tampa Bay, the Blackhawks have been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Nikita Kucherov, a two-time Stanley Cup champion who requested a trade on Oct. 30 and said he did not intend to re-sign.
Kucherov’s decision caught plenty of people off guard. Even with the Lightning off to a strong start, their star winger wants out, and he said the issue wasn’t money.
Instead, it came down to poor communication. From there, the speculation started immediately, and one reported condition for his preferred destination is that he wants to play alongside another superstar, per Emily Kaplan.
That’s where Chicago at least has a case. Connor Bedard fits that description, and his over-point-per-game pace through nine games being viewed as a slight disappointment by his standards tells you how high the bar already is. If Kucherov wants a star to skate with, the Blackhawks can point to one.
The fit got more real on Nov. 1, when The Fourth Period put Kucherov at the top of its trade watch list and included Chicago among the teams linked to him. Fans can’t see his 10-team trade list, but there’s enough buzz to suggest the Blackhawks would be willing to be aggressive if the opportunity opened up.
Chicago has already shown a willingness to spend futures for immediate help. The Bowen Byram deal is the clearest example, with the Blackhawks moving young defenseman Louis Crevier and the fourth overall pick. That kind of move matters here, because a Kucherov pursuit would almost certainly require the team to decide how far it’s willing to go.
If Chicago is serious, the extension question has to come first. Trading for Kucherov only makes sense if there’s a contract plan attached, especially if the deal includes the Blackhawks’ own first-round pick in the 2027 Draft. In that case, they would need him beyond next offseason, when he’s set to hit free agency.
The untouchables would likely be Bedard, Anton Frondell, Artyom Levshunov, Spencer Knight, and Patrick Kane, with Kane included because the organization appears committed to him retiring as a Blackhawk. From there, names like Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar, Kevin Korchinski, and Sam Rinzel could enter the conversation. Roman Kantserov might be discussed too, though he appears closer to the untouchable side than the trade block.
Chicago also has the draft capital to make Tampa Bay listen. The Blackhawks own the Florida Panthers’ and Edmonton Oilers’ first-round picks in the 2027 Draft, along with four second-round picks over the next two drafts and their own firsts to work with. That kind of stockpile gives them room to build a package that could appeal to the Lightning, especially if Tampa Bay wants to move pieces again before the deadline.
One proposed framework sends Kucherov to Chicago for Sam Rinzel, Sacha Boisvert, Teuvo Teravainen, the Blackhawks’ 2027 first-round pick, the Oilers’ 2027 first-round pick, and Chicago’s 2028 second-round pick. Even then, a third team might be needed, or the Blackhawks would have to find another way to handle the cap. And in all likelihood, Chicago would need to add more in players or prospects to get it done.
Not everyone is sold on the idea. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times pushed back, writing, “I cannot see a world in which the Blackhawks give up tons of young players/1st rounders and commit $18 million or whatever to a 33-year-old. Obviously Kucherov would make the team immensely more watchable right now, but that would be insanely shortsighted.”
That’s the crux of it: the move would cost real pieces and would hit the youth movement hard. It also stretches beyond what the Blackhawks have seemed to be building toward.
But if Chicago actually gets the chance, the argument for doing it is simple enough. Kucherov’s 2025-26 was his best season, production-wise, and he’d be a major weapon on Bedard’s wing this season, next season, and beyond.
It wouldn’t fix everything, and it wouldn’t solve the defense. But it would give the Blackhawks a much-needed scoring jolt, and it would help a team that currently has the fewest goals scored in the NHL. Montreal or Toronto may look more likely, but there is at least a world where Kucherov ends up in Chicago.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Skid Is Putting Kyle Davidson Under Real Pressure
The Blackhawks rough start has pushed the conversation beyond the standings and into what comes next. At 4-12-1 and riding a five-game losing streak, the frustration inside the room is starting to show, and the front office is feeling the heat as the team searches for a way to steady itself before the season slips further out of reach.
Around the league, theres a sense Chicago may try to add help before turning the spotlight on bigger organizational questions. Players have already voiced disappointment with the way things have gone, and GM Kyle Davidson has been working the phones on possible trade targets, including wingers who can shoot and bring some size, even if those talks have not gone far yet. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks May Already Have Bedards Long Term Scoring Help
Roman Kantserov has quickly become one of the more intriguing names in the Blackhawks early-season picture. The rookie forward has settled in on the top line with Connor Bedard and has been producing at a steady clip, building on the reputation he brought over from Russia after leading the KHL in goal scoring before Chicago made him a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
For a team still searching for the right long-term scoring support around Bedard, Kantserovs start has been hard to ignore. He has climbed near the top of the rookie leaderboard and has given the Blackhawks a glimpse of what their forward depth could look like if his adjustment keeps moving in the same direction, with the next question being how far this early chemistry can carry. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Face A Brutal Test As Road Trip Pressure Builds
The Blackhawks Southeast swing brings them into one of the toughest buildings in the league Saturday night, with Carolina waiting as the defending Stanley Cup champions and the current standard-bearer atop the standings. Chicago is trying to steady itself on a road trip that already has plenty of pressure attached, and the matchup only sharpens the challenge with the Hurricanes rolling along mostly intact while the Blackhawks continue to navigate a thin lineup.
For a team already dealing with a poor record, this is the kind of night that can expose every weakness, from depth up front to the margin for error in net. The projected lineups and broadcast details are all in place, but the bigger question is whether Chicago can find enough structure and resilience to make this trip feel manageable before the schedule tightens again. [Read more 🡒]