The Chicago Blackhawks are in the midst of a rebuild and will look to add more youth to the lineup this upcoming season.
The Blackhawks have had a quiet offseason as Chicago’s general manager Kyle Davidson said the goal was to give the young players more playing time to take another step forward. With that, NHL analyst Todd Matthews of BlackhawkUp urged the Blackhawks to trade Ilya Mikheyev.
“An underrated player who could probably draw in some much-needed help if the Hawks swap with a contender, I’d put Ilya Mikheyev on the trade block immediately and let a contender who needs another forward on the middle six overpay for him,” Matthews wrote. “Not that Mikheyev, even if he sold at a higher cost than usual, wouldn’t be a disappointment if he didn’t put up 20 goals for a playoff-caliber team.
“But if he put up high-energy and high-quality minutes, plus reliable play on someone else’s third line, he just made that team deeper,” Matthews added. “In Chicago, Mikheyev can play the same role, but what are the odds he sticks around the Windy City unless he enjoys a Ryan Donato-like 2025-26 season? Nah. The best bet is to trade him now while he has value and reap the returns.”
Mikheyev is entering the final year of his four-year, $19 million deal with the Blackhawks. He’s a solid third-line forward, and given he’s in the final year of his deal, he will likely be traded by the deadline anyway.
But, Matthews believes Chicago should look to trade him now to get a better return and create more playing time for the young forward.
Blackhawks GM Wants Younger Players to Get Playing Time
Chicago is in the midst of a rebuild, and Davidson is hoping that ends soon.
But, this offseason, the Blackhawks didn’t make any splashy moves as they did a year ago, which was on purpose, according to Davidson.
“We’re heading into a new stage where we’re starting to see and we’re leaving open spots in the NHL for some of these young players that we have drafted and have developed to enter the NHL and start making up a larger or large, depending on the point of the year, portion of the roster,” Davidson said…
“We still have a veteran-laden roster, but there’s going to be a much larger contingent of young players that could be here for a very long time, breaking camp with us this year,” Davidson added. “That’s really exciting. I think that’s a display of progress on where we’ve been in the past. It’s a different look for this team and I think it’s an eye to where we’re headed. It’s just an exciting step we’ve taken that we haven’t necessarily been able to reasonably expect prior to this season.”
If the Blackhawks want a younger team, Mikheyev could very well be traded, as several playoff-bound teams would be interested in adding depth to the lineup.
Mikheyev recorded 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points in 80 games last season with the Blackhawks.
What Did The Blackhawks Do in the Offseason?
Chicago had a quiet offseason, making just two additions to the NHL roster.
The Blackhawks did select Anton Frondell third overall, but he likely won’t make the roster next season. In the offseason, Chicago traded for Andre Burakovsky and Sam Lafferty in separate deals to add more depth to the roster.
Burakovsky recorded 10 goals and 27 assists for 37 points last season. Lafferty, meanwhile, recorded 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 60 games.
The Blackhawks have over $21 million in cap space.
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