Handful of Blackhawks Set to Move on in Free Agency

There will be some turnover for the Blackhawks in the offseason, starting with a group of players who are set to hit free agency.

There will be turnover on the Chicago Blackhawks' roster this offseason, especially after the team finished with just 23 wins and 52 points. While it's too early to know who the Blackhawks will be able to add to make the team better, it's not too soon to figure out which pending free agents probably won't return.

The Blackhawks have 11 pending UFAs (unrestricted free agents) and a whole lot more RFAs (restricted free agents) to deal with. As the RFAs are under team control and all young players on a rebuilding team, we'll leave them alone for now and focus on the UFAs.

Right off the bat, Tyler Johnson stands out as someone who is done in Chicago. He pretty much said so when he addressed the media after the season.

Johnson said, "I'm obviously thankful for being here (Chicago). I've met a lot of good people, but it wasn't exactly what I envisioned or wanted." 

Johnson went from winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay to a Blackhawks team that placed 27th, 30th, and 31st during his three seasons in Chicago. He wants to get back to winning.

The Blackhawks are ready to take the next step to come out of their rebuild, but the team probably isn't close to even make the playoffs. Johnson has been a solid contributor on Chicago during his time, but at 33 years old, he is on the back nine of his career and wants to play meaningful games. 

Both Nikita Zaitsev and Jarred Tinordi are depth defensemen that realistically wouldn't be in the lineup very often on many other teams. Even on the Blackhawks they combined for 90 games, but keep in mind Zaitsev missed about a month of action with injuries and Tinordi about six weeks.

Although they were acquired in different ways, both played roles this season for the Blackhawks and gave the young players more of a chance to develop in the AHL.

Zaitsev was a cap dump taken on by the Blackhawks in February of 2023 and Tinordi was picked up off of waivers in October of 2022. Now that a number of prospects are starting to break through, there just isn't the space to warrant keeping either of them.

Zaitsev has his ups and downs, but can help out offensively. His play isn't anywhere near the level it was at in his rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leafs (36 points), but he also dealt with a knee injury this season. He didn't get in the lineup a fair amount when he was considered healthy.

As for the rugged Tinordi, he brought some physical elements of the game that the Blackhawks were missing, but was inconsistent this season. He is considered a character guy, but did make mistakes and have some noticeably bad games.

Both Zaitsev and Tinordi are 32 years old. 

It depends on how confident general manager Kyle Davidson is in his defenseman prospects over the summer and through training camp. If he wants to add veteran D-men, there likely will be some options on the market come July 1.

Jaycob Megna is somewhat of an extension of the discussion about Zaitsev and Tinordi, except he spent a lot less time with the team. He was picked up off waivers on Jan. 3, 2024 when the Blackhawks were badly depleted by injuries.

The suburban Chicago product played 44 games for the Blackhawks this season and is a stay-at-home defenseman. Megna is 6-foot-6, 220 pounds and focused on cutting down on mistakes, playing a steady game, and being a reliable penalty killer. He brings next to no offense though. 

For a depth defenseman, if the Blackhawks were to keep one of Zaitsev, Tinordi, or Megna, the money would be on Megna. But once again, Chicago might see what there is in free agency, give its young D-men a chance, or potentially add late in the offseason/closer to the beginning of the 2024-25 season.

Chicago has a lot of young defenseman prospects, but some young forwards are primed to move up too. This means some players who weren't that effective are likely on their way out. This includes Zach Sanford, who already had been sent to AHL Rockford in mid-March.

Sanford was was claimed on waivers in January, just three days after Megna. When the Blackhawks got a bit healthier, there wasn't any room for him. Sanford didn't show enough to warrant sticking around in the NHL. He has played 18 games for Chicago and 13 for the Rockford IceHogs.

At 29 years old, Sanford already has played in NHL games for seven different teams. He may not have been horrible or ineffective for the Blackhawks, there is just better on the market or internally that will fill a spot on the team. 

Chicago already introduced two young prospects in Frank Nazar III and Landon Slaggert late in the season and they fit right in.

Blackhawks Seth Jones Frustrated With Losing: "I Really Didn't Want To Rebuild..."

Comparing Rookie Seasons of Connor Bedard to Connor McDavid

Blackhawks Connor Bedard Didn't "Ace" Rookie Season?

Tyler Johnson Not Returning to Blackhawks in 2024-25