The Chicago Blackhawks announced they have agreed to a 3-year entry-level contract with a defenseman, Alex Vlasic. His cap hit is $916,667.
He spent the last three years at Boston University. In 32 games in 2021, Vlasic has 1 goal, and 7 assists (8 points).
Alex Vlasic forgoes his senior season at BU. Not a surprise. He was their best defensive defenseman this season. https://t.co/9wsKBzj6sz
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) March 15, 2022
During the 2019 season, Vlasic had 4 points in 34 games played.
In 2020 he had 3 goals and 5 assists in 16 games.
Vlasic is a left-handed defenseman with a strong defensive game and that’s his priority in his game, it’s not the offensive side.
If you didn’t know, Vlasic is the cousin of San Jose Sharks defenseman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
Vlasic is expected to join the Blackhawks on Thursday.
He will make his NHL debut on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
The defensive pairings could look like this:
First-line Calvin De Haan paired with Seth Jones, Second-line Jake McCabe with Vlasic, and then the third-line with Stillman and Gustafsson together.
In a statement, Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson had this to say about Vlasic.
It was some really good things he had to say.
“it’s rare to find a player of Alex’s skill level and size, and we look forward to him continuing his development path with our club, his steady development at Boston University was noticeable and encouraging as we chart his future with our team. I know Alex shares our excitement in bringing him back home to Chicago to begin his professional hockey career”
Could This Be The Beginning Of The Blackhawks Rebuild?
The Blackhawks already have Lukas Reichel, Nicolas Beaudin, goalie Drew Commesso Wyatt Kalynuk, Wyatt Kaiser, Alec Regula, Nolan Allen, Issak Phillips in their system, and hopes are that we see more of these guys once the NHL trade deadline passes.
The NHL trade deadline is on March 21st, and with De Haan becoming a free agent after the season, this could be the start of the Blackhawks rebuild.
