The Blackhawks' offseason checklist grows by the day.
The rebuilding phase of the Blackhawks is set to begin, starting on May 8th. They find out where they will sit on the drafting board for the NHL Entry Draft. It will help general manager Kyle Davidson and his staff figure out which direction they want to go.
The Blackhawks have a long list and a lot of work ahead of them as they determine which course this team will go on and how they will construct this new roster. The amount of draft picks this team holds is unbelievable in the first three rounds over the next three years.
According to Capfriendly.com, the Blackhawks will hold 19 draft picks in the first three rounds of the next three years, not counting any other trades that are upcoming next season during the trade deadline. I have a hard time believing there's anyone left on the roster is worth trading for as the Blackhawks need to retain some people to help with this rebuilding phase.
Going into next season, the Blackhawks only have 14 players under contract and have $40.9 million in cap space. One priority will be to spend some of that money if not all of it and try to recoup some players that they could use to trade at the deadline to continue to build their assets.
Another task they need to find out is what they want to do with defenseman Connor Murphy and forwards Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou. Murphy is one of the last best trading chips they have if they're willing to part with him. As for the others, I could see them being retained on another one-year deal to fill out the roster.
The Blackhawks will be in the market for a new starting goaltender. As Peter Mrazek and Alex Stalock will not be the goalies to move the Blackhawks into the future.
It's a busy time, and it will be fascinating how Kyle Davidson will shape this new roster with so much available at his fingertips. This will be his chance to put his true stamp on the team and give Blackhawks fans some hope for the future.
| POLL | ||
Will Kyle Davidson be the right person to rebuild the Blackhawks? | ||
| Yes | 65 | 48.9 % |
| No | 68 | 51.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
