The Chicago Blackhawks are 30th in the league in points and this isn't their year it seems with injuries to Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, but there have been some good things to come out of the first half of the 2025-26 season.
While the Blackhawks appear to be clear sellers, that might not entirely be the case according to Frank Seravalli. He said, "If anything, I could see the Blackhawks not deleting much outside of Connor Murphy, potentially, on the back-end, but adding. I'm not talking about a big significant splash. I could see the Hawks try to bolster their lineup."
There is a flaw with some of what Seravalli is suggesting. It makes no sense for the Blackhawks to let players like Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, Nick Foligno, and Matt Grzelcyk walk for nothing if the team is at the bottom of the league. A player like Mikheyev has earned another contract at minimum, and a team that's selling should open up space for young players to come in and be tested in the NHL.
Not making enough moves and not competing wastes prime time to make these decisions on young players and the future. The Blackhawks started well this season, so why can't they do the same in 2026-27, see more growth from the young group, and sustain success longer into the season and possibly push for the playoffs. Realistically, the Blackhawks are only six points back of a playoff spot right now. Even though it looks gloomy, there's still hope they can go on a run line the Buffalo Sabres are showing is possible for a team that was counted out.
Murphy is absolutely going to be traded. There's too many young defensemen pushing for spots on the team and some are going to have to go through waivers next season, which will inevitably lead to at least one being claimed. The Blackhawks need to give them fair shots in the NHL before losing out on a potential NHL-regular who can be effective in the lineup for years to come.
A couple things can be true. The Blackhawks can bolster their lineup by adding someone, preferably with term to help them next season, but also sell some of their pending UFAs who aren't going to re-sign or the Blackhawks don't want to re-sign.
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