The Chicago Blackhawks are staring at a rough 4-13-1 start, and after a 9-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the front office appears ready to act. General manager Kyle Davidson is active in the trade market, and the club has a few chips to play with if it decides to push in.
The Blackhawks still have their own first-round pick, but that one is almost certainly staying put given where they sit in the standings. More interesting are the extra assets already in their pocket: the Florida Panthers’ and Edmonton Oilers’ first-round picks this season, plus additional second-rounders from the Tampa Bay Lightning this year and the Oilers next year.
What Chicago wants is still taking shape, but the priorities are clear enough. Help on the wing for Connor Bedard would be high on the list, and so would defensemen who can make an immediate impact. Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday Headlines that the Blackhawks are very active, and Chris Johnston’s trade board gives them plenty to think about.
Some of the obvious names are already drifting out of reach. Nikita Kucherov is expected to stay with the Lightning for now, while Dylan Larkin is not likely to waive his no-trade clause for Chicago.
That leaves the Blackhawks looking further down the board for possible fits. Among the wingers mentioned are Dmitri Voronkov, Jake DeBrusk, Rickard Rakell, Nino Niederreiter, and possibly Ivan Miroshnichenko.
On the blue line, names to watch include Simon Edvinsson, Alexander Nikishin, and maybe Vince Dunn if the Seattle Kraken can’t work out an extension.
The loss to Carolina also triggered a players-only meeting, another sign that things have gotten tense inside the room.
There’s also an update on Bowen Byram, whose absence has now stretched well beyond the original day-to-day label. Jeff Blashill said, “Obviously we’d like to have him in the lineup, but it’s not necessarily something that’s concerning.
I wouldn’t say that. I started with day-to-day, and it’s been a lot of days.
You wish it wasn’t that, but no, I wouldn’t call it concerning.”
Friedman added that Byram’s agent, Darren Ferris, wants him to see a specific specialist. Friedman said, “The reason Byram has not come back yet is due to his (Ferris’) desire to see a certain specialist. He wouldn’t say what the injury is, or what he wants to look at…that is the reason why Byram has not returned.”
Elsewhere, Keith Tkachuk found himself back in the spotlight after receiving his Hall of Fame ring. The conversation turned to Brady Tkachuk’s trade to the Florida Panthers, a move that came on Father’s Day and capped a wild stretch for the family. Brady had told the Senators he would not re-sign and would only accept a trade to Florida, which set off the boos and chants that followed him when he returned to Ottawa.
Keith’s role in the whole situation has been a talking point ever since Senators owner Michael Andlauer went viral with the line, “Blood is thicker than water, and let’s just say that his father and his brother got in his kitchen.”
Brady has denied that Keith or Matthew had anything to do with the trade, but AJ Jakubec said on The Drive, “And the reality is, Keith Tkachuk, from the people that I was talking to, was telling everyone and anyone that would listen at the Olympics that he was going to get Brady out of Ottawa”
When Keith spoke with Johnston during the ceremony, he made his stance plain: “Brady’s moved on; we’ve moved on; it’s time Ottawa moves on.”
That comment didn’t land well with Senators fans, who have made it clear they don’t think it’s Keith’s place to tell them how to feel. It also wouldn’t be a shock if Ottawa keeps booing him for a long time.
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Florida did get a notable push from Carter Verhaeghe, but it was not enough to change the tone of a game Boston dictated from the start. With the road trip continuing against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Panthers now have to sort out both the scoreboard and the edge that came with a chippy loss, because the next stretch will say plenty about how quickly they can reset. [Read more 🡒]