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.
In Other News...
Senators Face An Early Test With Lineup Questions Still Lingering
The Senators get right back to work at Canadian Tire Centre with a matchup that should tell them a little more about where they stand this early in the season. Ottawa and Utah both enter at 10-6-1, and the Senators are trying to build on a tight 2-1 win over Buffalo while the Mammoth arrive after a 5-4 overtime loss to Montreal. Both clubs are dealing with injuries, but each has still put together projected lineups, which at this point of the schedule is often as revealing as the standings themselves.
For Ottawa, the bigger question is not just the opponent but how much certainty the lineup will actually have once puck drop gets closer. The Senators have been managing absences while trying to keep their recent momentum intact, and the game presents another chance to test their depth against a team with similar results so far. There is still some pregame uncertainty hanging over the group, and how the final lineup settles in could matter just as much as the result against a Mammoth team that has already shown it can push games deep into the night. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Face A Carter Yakemchuk Decision That Could Shape Their Blue Line
Tyler Klevens return has given Ottawa a healthier look on the back end, but it has also created one of those early-season roster puzzles that can linger for weeks. Travis Green now has to decide how to handle Carter Yakemchuk, a young defender whose offensive upside is obvious enough to keep him in the conversation, even as his positioning and puck management have made his learning curve hard to ignore.
The Senators have options, and none of them are simple. Green can keep Yakemchuk in the mix, shift him in and out with Nikolas Matinpalo, or consider a longer developmental reset with Belleville if the growing pains start to outweigh the flashes. For now, Yakemchuk is getting the nod as Ottawa faces the Utah Mammoth, which at least buys the club a little more time before the bigger blue-line decision comes due. [Read more 🡒]
MacKenzie Weegar Was Almost Headed Somewhere Else Before Calgary Dealt Him
MacKenzie Weegars path out of Calgary had a very different landing spot in mind before the Flames finally moved him. Ottawa was in the mix at one point, but the Senators never had the pieces needed to complete a deal, leaving the veteran defenseman to wait for another opening as the trade market kept shifting around him.
When the move finally came on March 4, 2024, it sent Weegar to Utah, where he quickly settled into a top-four role and later locked in his future with the Mammoth through the 2030-31 season. For Utah, it was a major add on the blue line. For Ottawa, it was another reminder of how close a team can get to a difference-making defenseman without quite having the assets to finish the job. [Read more 🡒]