Blackhawks Projected 2025-26 Lineup: Roles & Who's Left Off

The Chicago Blackhawks might not be done making more minor moves, but for the most part, the bulk of the offseason is over for them. What that means is that the majority of the players are where they are going to be come training camp. Once preseason starts, there could be surprises and an unlikely player make the NHL roster out of camp, but as far as projected rosters by NHL.com go, this is how it looks:

Ryan Donato - Connor Bedard - Teuvo Teravainen

Tyler Bertuzzi - Frank Nazar - Andre Burakovsky

Nick Foligno - Jason Dickinson - Ilya Mikheyev

Lukas Reichel - Sam Lafferty - Oliver Moore

Alex Vlasic - Sam Rinzel

Wyatt Kaiser - Connor Murphy

Kevin Korchinski - Artyom Levshunov

Spencer Knight

Arvid Soderblom

Of that projected lineup, Kaiser and Soderblom remain unsigned, but there is no reason to think they won't. I also think where they are placed will be the best spots for them. Kaiser can handle second pairing minutes more than Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro, but I think there needs to be a conversation about Nolan Allan and how he will force his way on the roster and in the lineup.

Vlasic, Rinzel, and the entire top-6 forwards are where they should be. All are the most equipped to handle the minutes that come with playing at the top of the lineup.

As for the third line, I would like to see Moore get a better opportunity and get some minutes up a line. The same thing can't happen with him that happened to Reichel, held back and eventually stuck playing bottom minutes. Foligno may have scored 15 goals and 35 points, but he will be 38 years old in October and isn't a part of the future plans. Moore and other young players are.

I would also like to see Levshunov move up a pairing as I think Murphy will be better to guide Korchinski, who may need it the most. Kaiser is ahead of him in development and already has a stronger defensive game.

The key players I see missing from the projected lineup include Allan, Del Mastro, Landon Slaggert, and Colton Dach. All will get some NHL games and most should make the roster out of training camp, but as injuries or trades come, more time will be found for the future. Louis Crevier has to be mentioned as well. He is 24 years old and without a contract right now. There just isn't a spot for him with how packed the defense is. He might be one of the minor moves to come this offseason that I mentioned above. I'm sure there are some teams interested.

The third line seems like it will be able to match up well and shut opponents down, but the top two lines will have to provide more scoring at 5-on-5 than in previous seasons. This doesn't look like a Blackhawks team that is ready yet, but it's getting there. If more inexperienced players can gain some experience by getting into more games, then it'll help for the coming years.