The Chicago Blackhawks want to add more talent to their forward group this summer. They will draft a forward with the third overall pick, but that player won’t make an impact for a few years.
Chicago also doesn’t want guys who will be given albatross contracts in free agency. Kyle Davidson is better off making trades for younger, better available players.
There are a lot of rumors out there this time of year. Right now, Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars and Alexis Lafreniere of the New York Rangers are a part of those whispers.
Robertson is a more accomplished player, but they have both had a ton of production at the NHL level. Robertson brings skill to the table where Lafreniere is more of a power forward.
In 2024-25, Robertson had 80 points in 82 games for the second year in a row. In 2022-23, his best year in the NHL, he had 46 goals and 63 assists for 109 points. Going into his age-26 season, if he has the right team around him and even more minutes, he can get back to that level.
The Stars are a great team, but no one player is the main star on the team. If he came to Chicago, he’d be the top offensive guy on the roster until Connor Bedard takes that big step. A player like Robertson may even be just what Bedard needs to have that first point per game season in the NHL.
As for Lafreniere, a former number one overall pick, he had a big-time drop-off in 2024-25. After having 28 goals and 57 points a year ago, he had 17 goals and 28 assists on a disappointing Rangers team.
To get Lafreniere, it would cost less in a trade than Robertson, but it would still not be cheap. The Rangers may still believe that they can get good value for their former top overall selection.
Although he may not be what the Rangers had hoped, he’d be a middle-six gem with top-line potential on the Chicago Blackhawks. Lafreniere can get to the front of the net and make plays while being a sound winger in the 200-foot game.
If either of these guys is actually on the block, as the rumors suggest, Kyle Davidson needs to be working the phones. They are not the only young players available right now via a trade, but they are each incredibly intriguing.
