JJ Peterka (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)
The Chicago Blackhawks have a great deal of cap space to use this offseason and they don't need many more veterans. Bringing in too many veterans last offseason didn't turn out the way everyone had hoped within the organization.
The Blackhawks need a little bit more help up front and there are four younger forwards that could fit that need. Offer sheets may become more of a thing, especially with certain teams having so much available cap space to overpay for a player now just to acquire him. These are four RFA forwards Chicago could go after this summer.
Matthew Knies is a big and physical winger who took big steps in his second NHL season. He was one goal from becoming a 30-goal scorer and can turn it up in the playoffs. The 22-year-old finished the season with 29 goals, 58 points, and 182 hits in 78 games. He is going to get a lot better and if Knies is available to be offer sheeted, the Blackhawks can offer a lot more than Toronto can to persuade him and not allow for the Maple Leafs to match.
JJ Peterka has progressively gotten better over his three NHL seasons pretty quickly and ended the 2024-25 campaign with 27 goals and 68 points in 77 games. This is while being more of a line driver than Knies and playing with less skilled players. They are very different players and the Buffalo Sabres may have a lot more money to allocate to Peterka, but as a solidified top line winger, he is worth a shot. With the skill that is there, the 23-year-old German has the ability to continuously finish at over a point-per-game.
The Blackhawks need centermen, especially if the team likes Connor Bedard or Frank Nazar better on the wing. Marco Rossi would be the best young player available to go after with an offer sheet. He played on the top line for the majority of this season and did well. In the 23-year-old's second full season, he put up 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games. He has already shown the ability to improve quite a bit and stay healthy. He can score goals and make plays. Rossi may be unavailable though as he is reportedly working on an extension with the Minnesota Wild.
Gabe Vilardi came into his own at 23 years old in his final season with the LA Kings. He was traded over to the Winnipeg Jets in the Pierre-Luc Dubois deal and immediately fit in on the top line and power play with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Vilardi is a little bit older than the other three at age 25, but that just means he has more experience. He is a good top-6 complementary player who put up 27 goals and 63 points in 71 games this season. He is already a three-time 20-goal scorer too, but he may like his role on Winnipeg too much to leave right now.
The Blackhawks have some work to do, but there's no use in sitting back. They have to be on the offense this summer in acquiring strong younger talent to make the team better.
