July 1 has come and gone, but the free-agent market still has a few names worth watching, and a surprising cluster of them all share one thing in common: they used to wear Blackhawks sweaters.
Patrick Kane, Matt Grzelcyk, Philipp Kurashev and David Kampf are all still sitting in unrestricted free agency.
Kane is the headliner, and by a wide margin. The Blackhawks icon remains a legitimate top-six winger, and he backed that up last season with the Detroit Red Wings by putting up 57 points in 67 games.
A return to Chicago is an appealing idea on paper, but it’s also a long shot. If he doesn’t end up back in Detroit, the likelier path is a move to a contender.
Grzelcyk is still out there too after finishing last season with 12 assists in 69 games for the Blackhawks. The 5-foot-10 defenseman had to work his way into a deal through a PTO from Chicago last year, and before that he posted 40 points in 82 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2024-25. He’s another former Hawk who could land somewhere before long if a team wants help on the blue line.
Kurashev’s path took him to San Jose after the Blackhawks declined to give him a qualifying offer last summer. He responded with a solid 2025-26 season for the Sharks, scoring seven goals and 20 points in 43 games. At 26, he’s the kind of player clubs looking for secondary scoring could still circle back to.
Then there’s Kampf, a center who won’t wow anyone with offense but still brings value in the right role. The 31-year-old split last season between the Vancouver Canucsks and Washington Capitals, finishing with two goals and six points in 40 games. What he does bring is dependable bottom-six play, strong defensive work and real strength at the faceoff dot.
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