The Blackhawks need to bring in a veteran defenseman or two this summer to help with the development of a wave of young blueliners and there's a perfect candidate.
The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of talented young defenders who are ready to step into larger roles. Top prospects Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan are ready to graduate from the AHL to the NHL.
But there is a void that needs to be filled this offseason. The Blackhawks will be looking to add a veteran defenseman and they may have the perfect target coming from the Vegas Golden Knights in Alec Martinez.
Vegas has very little cap space to work with this summer and the Golden Knights have handful of key forwards that will be hitting free agency. The team is known for its stellar defensive lineup, but Vegas will likely be losing a member this summer as Martinez appears to have lost his spot on the blueline and is a UFA.
This isn't a recent development either. There were signs during the season after the trade deadline when Martinez was a healthy scratch.
He is 37 years old and Vegas brought in younger talent, pushing him out. The suburban Detroit native was injured for two fairly short periods in 2023-24, but he still only played 55 games and six of the seven in the first round loss to the Dallas Stars.
The Fourth Period reported that Martinez is evaluating his options, which could very well mean contemplating retirement as well, but the Golden Knights' defense is full with the depth chart looking like Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak, and Lukas Cormier.
Blackhawks fans probably remember Martinez from his 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. He scored the game- and series-winning overtime goal to cap a thrilling Game 7 of the 2014 Western Conference Final at the United Center. The Kings, who along with the Blackhawks were the two best teams in the NHL that season, rolled past the New York Rangers 4 games to 1 in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Great Fit in Chicago
Martinez is far from useless on the back-end, but the Golden Knights are in a spot to compete every year and the veteran is nearing the end of his career. Chicago had three veteran defensemen to mix in on the back-end in 2023-24 with the young talent with Nikita Zaitsev, Jarred Tinordi, and Jaycob Megna. It doesn't appear like any of them are coming back.
This doesn't mean the Blackhawks have to bring in three veterans, but one, particularly Martinez, would do the trick. The three veteran D-men Chicago had played last season combined for 134 games.
Martinez could fill in a chunk of those next season. Should he be injured or need time off, a couple of young Blackhawks defensemen can fill the lineup the rest of the games. He won't provide a ton of offense, but has always been better in his own end. The experience is what Chicago should be looking for.
There is a lot of value in bringing in a three-time Stanley Cup champion that is nearing the end of his career. Martinez won twice with Los Angeles (2012, 2014) and once with Vegas (2023).
Chicago's young D-men can learn a thing or two from him. No matter where he goes, Martinez won't net nearly the $5.25 million AAV he earned in the three-year contract he just concluded with the Golden Knights.
The Blackhawks have more than enough to spend on Martinez summer.
