The Blackhawks currently find themselves in the dog days of the season, with not a lot going right at the NHL level and the team seemingly counting the days until the campaign is over. But starting as early as next week, things could get a heck of a lot more interesting. Chicago should be right at the center of the trade deadline drama before March 7 and could potentially trade a big name like Seth Jones along with a handful of other pieces.
Things will also pick up next month, just like they did last March, when Chicago’s collegiate prospects wrap up their respective seasons and a handful of them sign with the team. We should see players like Dominic James, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel and Ryan Greene make their NHL debuts before the season is over.
With those roster additions looming, Chicago will be looking to sell as many pieces as possible. For the purposes of this exercise, which is to project the team’s lineup at the end of the season, we’ll rule out Jones, Ryan Donato, Alec Martinez and Lukas Reichel – they’re the most likely pieces to be moved. With a handful of current Blackhawks expected to vacate their spots next week and high-caliber collegiate prospects taking their place, the Blackhawks’ end-of-season lineup could be an exciting one.
Tyler Bertuzzi – Connor Bedard – Frank Nazar
Colton Dach – Ryan Greene – Nick Foligno
Teuvo Teravainen – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev
Landon Slaggert – Dominic James – Pat Maroon
Craig Smith/Philipp Kurashev/Oliver Moore
Alex Vlasic – Connor Murphy
Kevin Korchinski – Sam Rinzel
Nolan Allan – Ethan Del Mastro
TJ Brodie
Though the top line of Bertuzzi–Bedard–Nazar didn’t pick up a point in Tuesday’s loss, it’s only a matter of time this season before it becomes a permanent fixture. Further down is where it gets interesting – the Blackhawks will suddenly have a logjam of talent at center, with Greene, Dickinson, James and Moore all competing for spots. I tossed Greene on the second line, providing plenty of scoring to a trio that has just about everything else. The third line essentially remains unchanged, with the bottom likely being a wacky rotation of a handful of skaters. Chicago will want to get skaters like Slaggert, James and Moore as much NHL experience as possible, but still have Smith, Kurashev and Maroon on the roster. It may be a bit optimistic to think that interim head coach Anders Sorensen would play so many young forwards, but such a move would clearly benefit the team in the long run while even giving fans something to cheer for.
The defensive pairings are a bit more simple – with Jones out of the picture, the Blackhawks should call up Korchinski and sign Rinzel. Given Chicago’s recent success in developing blueliners, this group may not be all too different from what we’ll see this fall – Allan and Del Mastro work well together, as do Vlasic and Murphy; Korchinski should be in the lineup going forward, and the Blackhawks could award Rinzel’s spot to the most NHL-ready defenseman out of training camp (maybe Rinzel himself). As long as Brodie isn’t on the ice on a nightly basis, Chicago can’t really go wrong.
