Three Blackhawks That Likely Won't be with the Team Next Season

PUBLICATION

Kevin Garcia
December 12, 2022 (7:51 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

The Blackhawks are in full rebuild mode and, though we got tricked earlier in the year, it seems as though they might be worse than we had imagined come the end of the season. They are most likely going to lose Kane and Toews, but there are plenty of guys who will be gone next year too.

Outside of Kane and Toews, here is my list of the three biggest names that I believe won't be on the roster come next season (traded, released, left in free agency).

1) Max Domi - Domi has had a wonderful season on his one year contract. He came to Chicago on a short term deal in hopes to raise his value and earn more money through a longer contract. He has done just that and is going to find himself earning a nice payday during free agency. That is after he is traded at the deadline to a contender this year.

2) Andreas Athanasiou - AA has show some really good skills on the ice, but those skills are not on full display enough as he would hope. He also signed a short contract in hopes of raising his value in free agency. There is room for him to raise that value even more, but it won't happen unless he is traded to a team with more talent to help him show what he's got. Hopefully there is a team willing to trade for the insane skills that AA has when the chance to show them off is there. If he isn't traded at the deadline, he will leave in free agency, as it doesn't make sense for him to sit around with the rebuild for more than a season.

3) Seth Jones - Here is my darkhorse, or maybe not...it depends where you stand with Jones' skillset. Unfortunately for me, I don't think either Jones brother should be on the roster next season, but Seth is the better of the two, so he makes this list. Seth is a good player, don't get me wrong, but he is not worth the $9.5M over the next 7 years for this rebuilding Hawks squad. Seth was brought in during the Stan Bowman era, but now it is Kyle Davidson's era. If there is anything we know about Davidson to this point, it is that he is not afraid to clean out the house one bit. There isn't a doubt in my mind that Seth would have been gone by now if it weren't for his down year in 2021-22. He has played better this year, but an injury has sidelined him for a few weeks. So, if he stays healthy and continues his solid play, there should be a team willing and able to take his $9.5M/year salary. If it isn't a trade, I don't see Davidson having an issue with releasing Jones and taking the hit on his contract. This one hurts, as Adam Boqvist was the center piece of the trade to acquire Seth Jones.