Chicago Blackhawks have four-Stanley Cup winning defensemen on their radar

PUBLICATION

Ryan Hall
June 21, 2024 (1:36 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

July 1st is rapidly approaching, and general manager Kyle Davidson will have four defensemen on his list that he will contact to see if they are willing to come to Chicago.

The pedigree that's looked for his past Stanley Cup champions and it seems Joel edmundson, Alec Martinez, Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel are players that will be on Davidson's radar.

The 30-year-old Edmundson had just recently finished a small stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs and appears to be heading to unrestricted free agency. Known for his size standing at six foot 5 and 221 pounds, Edmundson continues to use his physicality as his main body of work.

He has a calm and steady presence in the back end and gives his teammates confidence as he handles the simple plays and makes their opponents lives difficult. In his recent contract he held a cap in a $3.5 million. He would be the player they need to keep it together with the kids.

Chad Ruhwedel, who played the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was traded to the New York Rangers and only played five games.

Having won a few cups with the Penguins, Ruhwedel understand how to win and would be a great asset on the blue line as his leadership an experience playing in the NHL would help the youngsters. His cap hit was extremely small as the only cost $800,000 and he just completed a two-year deal worth 1.6 million.

For the last four seasons, Alec Martinez has played for the Vegas golden Knights and having won the cup last year has helped him understand his roles on defence as a defence was the key to Vegas' victory. He has only played for two NHL organizations after he was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 2007, fourth round, 95th overall.

At the age of 36 he is on the older side of players but has vast experience with winning two cups in Los Angeles and one in Vegas. He has been predominantly a great player throughout his career and was heavily relied on with Vegas as he was almost 20 minutes a game.

And finally, Justin Schultz appears to be on the radar as he had spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Kraken. The 33-year-old who stands at six foot two 190 lbs was a teammate of Ruhwedel in Pittsburgh who shared their cup runs. Schultz is more of a point getter than the other three and could give the Blackhawks a good second pairing.

Through 70 games last year, he scored seven goals with 19 assists for 26 points and had 22 penalty minutes. Being the coveted right-handed shot and completing his $6 million deal over two years with a cap hit of three million per season, Davidson could find himself a good player for his second power play unit.

It's going to be a busy time for Davidson as he continues to evaluate how he wants to build out his roster and with plenty of unrestricted free agents to choose from especially on defence, it's likely he will shore up his defence quickly without breaking the bank or losing any other picks or prospects.