Where Do The Blackhawks Go From Here?
The Blackhawks struck gold when they won the draft lottery last night and have the opportunity to draft Connor Bedard first overall. The course of the franchise has been altered and the entire city has something positive to get behind. So where do the Blackhawks go from here?
Kyle Davidson has been vocal about the need to tear the roster down to build for the future. This rebuild process was given an estimated five year time frame to complete, but with the addition of Bedard the timeline could be changed. Bedard is the highest rated prospect to come out of the draft since Connor McDavid. Bedard is the star that the Blackhawks needed to build the next competitive roster around. With his offensive skill and leadership abilities, Bedard will make an immediate impact on the main roster.
The Blackhawks were missing that one player to attract other players to Chicago as a viable destination. The city and fans are fantastic, but the big free agents are usually drawn to organizations that have bright futures. With a player with the caliber of Bedard on the roster, it will be difficult to find players who wouldn't want the opportunity to play with him. The Blackhawks will also have tons of cap space to make major moves to build around Bedard. They will need roughly $19 million in additions just to reach the cap floor next season. For once in recent memory, this team will not be cap strapped and will have the ability to add quality players for many offseason to come.
The Blackhawks also have lots of draft capital in the next three years to add to an already impressive pipeline. They will have two picks in the first round this season, followed by four picks in the second round. This draft is very deep compared to years past, so Davidson can either keep his picks and load up on a higher quantity of prospects, or he can package some picks and move up in the draft for a higher quality player. Based on how these prospects develop, Davidson could package future draft capital for a younger, talented player to fit the roster.
The addition of Bedard is massive for the franchise. So what happens next? Given the status of the Blackhawks prospects and the current roster, we can likely expect another rough season next year and hopefully find ourselves adding another top 5 pick to play alongside Bedard. Bedard will be given the keys to the franchise and will hopefully be a massive bright spot next season, but the rest of the roster will take some time to fill out. While the rebuild will be much quicker than originally anticipated, there are still many holes on this team that will take some time to fill out. Davidson will need to focus on adding the right players to the roster. Give Davidson and the front office some time, but the future is very bright in Chicago.
| POLL | ||
How long do you think the rebuild takes now with Bedard in the fold? | ||
| 1 more year | 61 | 14 % |
| 2 more years | 167 | 38.3 % |
| 3 more years | 149 | 34.2 % |
| 4+ years | 59 | 13.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
