The Blackhawks’ lineup has been a revolving door through the first seven games of the season, with players being pushed out and brought in and lines being switched nearly every game. But one hole has become apparent on the roster – the lack of a second-line center.
Though the hope was that Frank Nazar would earn the job out of training camp, Chicago has instead opted for Philipp Kurashev so far this season. When he was a healthy scratch on Tuesday, Andreas Athanasiou took his spot. It’s worth noting that both Kurashev and Athanasiou are scheduled to hit restricted free agency next summer.
On Wednesday, the rumor mill started flying around Chicago. Both David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period and Elliotte Friedman via “32 Thoughts” said that the Blackhawks are in search of a second-line center in the trade market. If the rumors are true, the Blackhawks are preparing for a massive change coming soon, or at least by the trade deadline.
But if Chicago wants to acquire a top-six center, especially at this point in the season, they’ll have to pay up. There aren’t too many teams early on that will be willing to give up one of their top talents. A new addition would have to be young in order to fit within Chicago’s championship timeline. If the Blackhawks are going to make an acquisition of that magnitude, they’ll have to give up plenty of capital – probably too much.
But does Chicago even need a 2C? To answer that, the Blackhawks will have to answer two questions. Does a 2C help Connor Bedard? It’s no secret that Chicago’s primary goal of the slew of offseason acquisitions was to take some of the pressure off of Bedard. A 2C doesn’t help the young superstar as much as another top-line winger would. The second question – are the Blackhawks a 2C away from contention? The short answer is no. With Chicago’s strength still lying in its deep, talented prospect pool, the team is still another two years or so from being a true contender.
By the time those prospects “graduate” to the NHL as soon as next year, the Blackhawks may not need any more centers anyway. Nazar has shown well in Rockford so far and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in Chicago by the end of the season. Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene won’t be far behind him. Though those players could be turned into wings, it would probably make more sense to keep them down the middle at a position Chicago has struggled to fill over the past few seasons.
It would certainly be exciting for the Blackhawks to bring in another top talent, but it seems at first glance that the cost would be too great. Chicago has plenty of center talent in its prospect pool, and paying up for a more proven talent at a time in which the Blackhawks won’t be competing for a championship doesn’t make too much sense.
