Chicago Blackhawks' Five Best Draft Day Trades
The Blackhawks have had a mixed bag of good and bad trades on draft day, but here's a look at the top five.
USA Today Network, Kim Klement Neitzel - Chicago Blackhawks' Five Best Draft Day TradesThe 2024 NHL Entry Draft is coming up on June 28 and 29. The Chicago Blackhawks are a team that could be active with deals as well as draft selections.
Not only do the Blackhawks have six draft picks in the first three rounds this year, general manager Kyle Davidson is looking to make the team better immediately. While these players could come in free agency, there are some skilled players around the league who might be traded before or at the draft.
As Chicago is a candidate to make a deal on draft day, here are the five best draft-day trades the team has pulled off in its history.
5. 2017 - 2-for-1
Blackhawks Receive: Connor Murphy and Laurent Dauphin
Arizona Coyotes Receive: Nicklas Hjalmarsson
The Blackhawks made a trade at the perfect time as Niklas Hjalmarsson was about to decline and Connor Murphy was just getting his career going. Hjalmarsson had already given Chicago eight really good years of defensive play at the time of the trade and the Blackhawks had already won their three Stanley Cups with him on the roster.
Hjalmarsson played his entire 20s with the Blackhawks, but as soon as he hit 30 years old, he quickly slowed down, got a reduced role, and didn't play over 50 games in three of his final four seasons with the Arizona Coyotes to end his playing career in the NHL.
Murphy on the other hand was just 24 at the time and the Blackhawks turned the clock back and got a similar defensive type defenseman six years younger. He is considered a top-4 d-man and has recorded over 100 hits in 10 consecutive seasons while blocking over 100 shots in nine out of those 10 seasons on top of that.
4. 2022 - Swap the Old for the New
Blackhawks Receive: 2022 first-round pick (Kevin Korchinski), 2022 second-round pick (Paul Ludwinski), and 2024 third-round pick
Ottawa Senators Receive: Alex DeBrincat
Due to the state the Blackhawks were in at the time of trading Alex DeBrincat, the deal made lots of sense. This was before Connor Bedard was in Chicago's picture and the Blackhawks were prepared for a full rebuild. There also wasn't any assurance that DeBrincat would sign long-term. The Hawks couldn't lose the talented sniper and get nothing in return.
DeBrincat's numbers were good in Chicago and he also had an attractive contract to trade. Assuming the Blackhawks were going to be rebuilding for a number of years, it didn't make sense to waste his prime. The Blackhawks managed to get a No. 7 overall pick they used to draft Kevin Korchinski, a smooth skating defenseman who just played a full-rookie season in the NHL at age 19.
DeBrincat hasn't been the same scorer since leaving Chicago. Korchinski's age aligns with the Blackhawks' young core and coach Luke Richardson compares his skill set to Hall-of-Famer Scott Niedermayer's.
3. 2014 - Draft Pick Swap Win
Blackhawks Receive: 2014 first-round pick (Nick Schmaltz) and 2014 sixth-round pick (Ivan Nalimov)
San Jose Sharks Receive: 2014 first-round pick (Nikolay Goldobin) and 2014 third-round pick (Justin Kirkland)
Downgrading doesn't always work for the team doing so and the Blackhawks took advantage in 2014 when the team pulled off a trade with the San Jose Sharks to move up seven spots in the first round. Moving up that many spots doesn't typically happen and it only cost Chicago a third rounder while getting a sixth rounder back that year.
The 20th overall pick for the Blackhawks was Nick Schmaltz while the player the Sharks took at 27 was Nikolay Goldobin. While Schmaltz didn't break out on the Blackhawks before being dealt again, he has turned into a skilled and productive offensive player. Goldobin only played 125 NHL games. The other two picks haven't had any impact.
2. 2016 - Next Gen Upgrade at Forward
Blackhawks Receive: 2016 second-round pick (Alex DeBrincat) and 2016 second-round pick (Chad Krys)
Montreal Canadiens Receive: Andrew Shaw
Andrew Shaw was a solid piece for the most recent two Cup wins by the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks traded him at a pretty young age (25 years old) and he continued doing exactly what he did on the Montreal Canadiens for three years before ending his career back in Chicago. While Shaw was a good bottom-6 player to have, the tradeoff the Blackhawks got was well worth it.
Shaw garnered two second-round picks and the Blackhawks hit huge on one by selecting DeBrincat. Anyone in their right mind would take the Shaw-DeBrincat swap, especially considering DeBrincat scored 40+ goals and 75+ points in two of the five seasons he was with Chicago to start his career before the age of 25.
1. 2022 - Starter & Stud
Blackhawks Receive: Petr Mrazek and 2022 first-round pick (Sam Rinzel)
Toronto Maple Leafs Receive: 2022 second-round pick (Fraser Minten)
This trade is a close first, but considering the Blackhawks completely won a trade in which they took on a "bad" contract and it's paying dividends right now is huge.
The Blackhawks need time for their young goalies to develop and step into larger roles. Acquiring Petr Mrazek from the Toronto Maple Leafs in what was a cap dump has been nothing but excellent for the Blackhawks. Mrazek was one of the team MVPs this season as the Blackhawks' starter had a .907 SV% while playing 56 games on the 31st place team.
Not only did the Blackhawks get their starter for a while, they also moved up in the draft for taking the contract. This saw them move up to the 25th pick and draft Sam Rinzel, a highly touted defensive prospect in the Blackhawks' system. The Maple Leafs move back out of the first round to pick 38th and select Fraser Minten. He's a pretty solid prospect, but he also won't be elite.
Draft day trades don't always go that well for the Blackhawks in their history, but sometimes they do win, and win big. These five are examples and the hope is that Chicago keeps it up at the 2024 draft to upgrade the team.