It has been one week since the 2022-2023 season finally came to a close for the Blackhawks, and while there is going to be much news for this team while we wait to see where they will be drafting, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t questions to ask. The teardown is officially complete, and now it is time to officially enter the rebuild phase and start to put pieces together and get this thing back on track. There are going to be a lot of decisions to be made regarding the building of this team’s roster come next fall, and no matter where they end up drafting, I don’t anticipate them going all in this offseason. Currently, as the roster sits, they have $42,571,790 in cap space accounted for, including the buyouts of Connolly and Borgstrom, the retained salary of McCabe, and the recapture penalty of Keith. While we wait on the actual salary cap number for next season, you can estimate the cap floor is going to be around 62 million, give or take. So that means KD is going to have some work to do bringing guys in. Now obviously, he will probably take on a few bad contracts in exchange for picks, but let’s hold off on those discussions until closer to draft time. Over the next few blogs, I want to take a look at the pending UFAs and RFAs on the roster and see if it makes sense to bring them back or not. I think it only makes sense to start with the forward group, as there are some big questions about the direction KD will go there.
UFA Jonathan Toews
We all know the answer here, and his not coming back makes me more curious about who KD will be looking to bring in. If you can't toss the captain a Joe Thornton-type one-year deal, then who will you bring in?
Andreas Athanasiou
Anthanasiou came into this season on a one-year deal that many, including myself, saw as a low-risk, high-reward situation. He is arguably a solid player who, if he could find some consistency, could be a huge asset for playoff contenders. One of the fastest skaters in the league, he just seems to have a hard time with his hands not being as fast as his feet. He did finish the season very strong, putting up 12 points in the last 8 games of the season, which helped him reach the 20-goal and 40-point mark for the second time in his career. Also set a career high in games played, missing just one game this season. He was one of the players that seemed to greatly benefit from the trade deadline moves and saw an increase in responsibility the last part of the year. During his exit interviews, Anthanasiou talked about how he would love to stick with the Hawks but will have a big focus on long-term stability. Hard to blame a guy who has played on 4 teams over the last 3 seasons for wanting something a little more for sure. Keeping him in Chicago would be great; I think he was finding his groove and could be a good leader for the offensive side of the puck. I just don’t know if KD will be looking to add players long-term just yet.
Jujhar Khaira
Khaira falls squarely into the "if he's back, great" or "if not, oh well" category.His time in Chicago has been underwhelming, in part because of some very big injuries. Only playing in 51 games this past season, he put up 14 points, mostly playing the bottom six minutes. There really isn’t any risk or reward to either bringing him back or letting him walk. If you bring him back, he will play the same role as he has been, and if you let him walk, there are plenty of players in Rockford who could benefit from his ice time to develop. There will also be plenty of options available once free agency opens in July.
RFA
Anders Bjork
After being a trade deadline pick-up, Bjork only got to dress in 13 games as a member of the Hawks, but I will say I was pretty impressed with what I saw. I think he has the potential to be a good depth player who could almost get plugged into any role in the top nine. He showed great playmaking ability as he put up six assists and eight points in those 13 games, and with this being his final year of RFA status, why not give the kid a 1-year deal and see what he can do?
Austin Wagner
Another deadline pick-up, Wagner didn’t get into the lineup right away as he was dealing with a hand injury. He played in just seven games for the Hawks, picking up just two points. Again, like Bjork, I don’t know why you wouldn’t give him a 1-year deal. It’s hard to make a call on him with not much of a history out there.
Philipp Kurashev
If there was anyone on this list I would sign for a multiyear extension, it would be Kurashev. This past season, I believe we got a good look at the type of player that he is going to be. He set career highs in games played with 70, goals with 9, assists with 16, and points with 25. He showed great patience with the puck and was always capable of making a big pass or move when he needed to. Now, this doesn’t mean you give him some crazy Bowman type contract, but I think investing in this kid and showing you are committed to him being in the plans for the future will go a long way and really help get the most out of him. Lukas Reichel should be a member of this team next season, and the chemistry these two had when they played together should also get you excited and make you want to keep him in the fold going forward.
There are more players in the system whose contracts are ending, but not so many of note. With the way things stand, one has to assume that KD is going to be very busy come draft and free agency time bringing in bodies to fill out this roster. I think when you are looking at the roster as a whole, the newest faces (not already in the franchise) we are going to see will be in the forward group. Guys like Reichel, Gust, Seney, and Philp will get some time with the main club, but as the way this roster sits now forwards, they need some work.
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