We are one week post-entry draft and five days into free agency, and the fuzzy picture of the 2023–2024 Chicago Blackhawks is becoming more clear. When speaking to the media at the prospect development camp, GM Kyle Davidson said that the team, if not done, is very, very close to being done putting this roster together. They did the heavy lifting prior to the opening of free agency when they traded for Hall, Foligno, Perry, and re-signed Athanasiou. Once the market opened, their only signing was forward Ryan Donato, who signed a 2-year deal worth $4 million. The only key things that Kyle from Chicago needs to do are ink Bedard to his entry-level contract and come to terms with the lone RFA who received a qualifying offer, Philipp Kurasev. Kurasev did file for arbitration and will be looking for an increase in salary from the $750k he made last season.
So with what we know at this time, I think it's not crazy to think the opening night lineup will look something like this:
Taylor Hall, Connor Bedard, and Lukas Reichel
Andreas Athanasiou, Jason Dickinson, and Taylor Raddysh
Philipp Kurashev, Cole Guttman, and Tyler Johnson
Nick Foligno, Ryan Donato, and Corey Perry
Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic
Connor Murphy and Jarred Tinordi
Nikita Zaitsev and Filip Roos
Petr Mrazek
Arvid Soderblom
First and foremost, what a turn of events looking at this roster from the end of last season to where we are now. I will stand by my take that, while this team isn’t going to be going on a cup run, they are going to be a lot of fun to watch. It's hard to disagree with that when you add the next big thing in Connor Bedard, but this is a roster full of guys who have a lot to prove. After Hall, Donato, Athanasiou, Jones, and Murphy, everyone else is going to be playing for their next contract, and Hall, Perry, and Foligno are even playing to hopefully get moved to a contending team at the deadline. This is a hungry team that we all know Coach Richardson will play hard each and every night, and with how entertaining it was last season with a much worse team, this team should get you a little bit excited.
There are a few spots on this team that I am still not sure how they will end up being filled come October. For the forward group, you have guys like Boris Katchouck (who was very good at the end of the season), Colin Blackwell, Reese Johnson, Mackenzie Entwistle, and Joey Anderson, who will all see time in the starting lineup this season. Then, looking at the D core, players I am expecting to see get playing time are Isaak Phillips, Wyatt Kaiser, and Nolan Allan.
Then there is the million-dollar question: what to do with Kevin Korchinski? When you look at the plan KD has put out there so far, it would seem like he would be starting the year back in Seattle. By doing this, you give him another year of development, and if he takes on a bigger role for Canada at the upcoming World Junior Championships, you might bring him in at the end of the year to get some ice time in the NHL. Defensemen take a little bit more time to develop, and the last thing you want to do is rush him into NHL action too soon, especially when there is nothing to play for currently and risk stunting his growth (i.e., Boqvist and Jokiharju). Then again, if he has just outgrown junior hockey, are you going to stunt his growth by keeping him as the big fish in the small pond? Personally, I still believe in the slow approach and not rushing him into the lineup, but there are smarter people than me making these calls, and we have to trust that they will be making the right move for him and the future of the Hawks. All I know is that I am beyond ready for training camp to get going and to see how this team is put together. There are 96 days until the official start of the Bedard Era.
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