The Chicago Blackhawks are set to cap deadline day with a match against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Chicago Blackhawks and the rest of the National Hockey League will reach the trade deadline on Friday at 2 PM CT. From that point on, teams can’t make their team better via trades.
For the Blackhawks, they’ve already sold off some of their players for future assets and will look to move forward with their young players leading the way. Moving on without their captain and both alternate captains won't be easy.
They have an immediate distraction on deadline day, as the Vancouver Canucks are in town to take on the remaining Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.
Scouting Vancouver
The Vancouver Canucks traded Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild earlier this year, which was the ultimate sign of punting the season. Things have not gone well for them at all as they enter this game with the worst record in the NHL at 18-36-7 for 43 points.
They are in last by 12 points, so the best odds at the number one pick are all but certain for Vancouver. Teams facing them, like the Blackhawks on Friday night, must take them seriously but also recognize the opportunity to get their game going in the right direction.
Hoglander-Petterson-Karlsson
Ohgren-Rossi-Boeser
O’Connor-Kampf-DeBrusk
Sasson-Blueger-Raty
E. Pettersson-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Willander
Buium-Mancini
Lankinen
Tolopilo
The Canucks traded Connor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the middle of the night, so it's another one of their top players sent out the door.
Elias Petterson, Marco Rossi, Brock Boeser, and Zeev Buium are all players to pay attention to offensively. Expect Alex Vlasic and Louis Crevier to see a lot of that top line, while the rest of the group is hoping to control the puck when they are out there.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks have made some big moves in recent days, removing four players who have played a lot of games for them. Their lineup will feature Andrew Mangiapane, who will make his Blackhawks debut following the trade with Edmonton.
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Donato-Nazar-Teravainen
Bertuzzi-Moore-Mikheyev
Mangiapane-Lafferty-Slaggert
Vlasic-Crevier
Kaiser-Rinzel
Grzelcyk-Levshunov
Knight
Soderblom
The starting goalie for the game will be announced during warmups, as the morning skate was optional on deadline day. Spencer Knight, however, is the best bet after a few days off.
Kevin Korchinski was sent down to the Rockford IceHogs, and Wyatt Kaiser will return to the lineup for the first time since before the Olympic break.
Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Oliver Moore are the 1-2-3 punch down the middle for now. This is in response to some of the trades they've made, but it offers a glimpse into what the team's future may look like.
Trades
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found on CHSN locally. Nationally, it is available to stream on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:30 PM CT.
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