The Blackhawks reportedly almost pulled off a blockbuster deal at the top of the 2024 draft.
The Chicago Blackhawks were active involving first-round picks at the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft. Not only did the team move up from the No. 20 slot to No. 18 prior to the draft with its second first-round selection, Chicago also traded with the Carolina Hurricanes on draft day to secure a third pick in the opening round at 27th overall.
The Blackhawks could have made a massive move if they had been able to pull off a reported deal that came close with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pierre LeBrun reported that Chicago was offering its unprotected 2025 first-round pick and another unknown pick for the fourth overall selection in 2024 the Blue Jackets held.
The Blackhawks chose Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov at second overall on Friday, but Chicago still had a need to surround center and Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard with more talent up front. That piece might have been Russian forward Ivan Demidov, who ended up being taken fifth overall by the Montréal Canadiens.
Russian prospect Ivan DemidovDemidov would have been a great winger to eventually play on the top line with Bedard, but the Blackhawks did come back up twice more in the first round to call the names of forwards Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker.
Still, there was little doubt Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson and his staff liked Demidov. See following video.
Columbus ultimately ended up keeping its No. 4 pick to select Cayden Lindstrom and add to its strong young center core. There was likely a lot of intrigue as the Blackhawks could finish lower than fourth-last or win the draft lottery and select third or better next season.
There was a bit of uncertainty considering the Blue Jackets had their pick locked in and knew what player they wanted as well. The Blackhawks just have so much cap space and incentive to get better this summer that the trade could have ended up not working out for Columbus.
As the Blackhawks are trying to come out of their rebuild and be more competitive, it made a whole lot of sense to move their 2025 first-round pick and get a prospect in the system sooner so that they will be able to contribute sooner. Davidson gave it a good try and with three solid first-round picks in 2024, nobody can complain about the results at this point.