The Chicago Blackhawks haven't been shy with making trades on draft day. The 2024 NHL Entry Draft comes on June 28 and 29 this year.
With there being an expectation to make the team better around Connor Bedard right away, this and the plethora of draft picks could very well lead to a trade on one of those days.
The trades the Blackhawks have made over the years on draft day have been both good and bad. We are going to highlight the five worst trades made by Chicago and hope that doesn't happen again if the team indeed does pull off a deal or two at the draft.
5. 2021 - Packaged Future for Immediate Shot
Blackhawks Receive: Seth Jones, 2021 first-round pick (Nolan Allan), and 2022 sixth-round pick (Dominic James)
Columbus Blue Jackets Receive: Adam Boqvist, 2021 first-round pick (Cole Sillinger), 2021 second-round pick (Aleksi Heimosalmi), and 2022 first-round pick (David Jiricek)
The Blackhawks hadn't been contenders for four years at the time of this trade, missing the playoffs in three of the four years and only squeaking in during the 2019-20 season because of the play-in round.
With Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews' primes winding down, the Blackhawks packaged their future for a shot at getting back into the playoffs and it didn't work. Seth Jones joined a sinking ship and the Blackhawks finished seventh in their division in his first season, followed by consecutive last place finishes in the division.
Jones is the team's number one defender and Nolan Allan is a solid defensive prospect, but Cole Sillinger and David Jiricek are projected to be strong players who will contribute to the Blue Jackets for a long time. On top of that, the Blackhawks parted with Adam Boqvist who was an eight overall pick three years prior and is still getting better.
This trade makes this list because it backfired and doesn't line up with the direction the organization went in soon after.
4. 2017- Trading Down Backfired (Again)
Blackhawks Receive: 2017 first-round pick (Henri Jokiharju) and 2017 third-round pick (Andrei Altbarmakyan)
Dallas Stars Receive: 2017 first-round pick (Jake Oettinger)
Speaking of backfiring, trading down hardly works and has hurt the Blackhawks a couple of times. This is just one of the instances where Chicago lost a trade after they had traded down, no matter how far.
The Blackhawks received a third-round pick in order to move three spots back in the first round of the 2017 draft. This saw Dallas strike and select franchise goaltender Jake Oettinger while the Blackhawks chose Henri Jokiharju and a player that left for the KHL two years ago after never getting into an NHL game.
Jokiharju is an NHL defenseman, but a bottom-pairing player. There is no comparison to a top goalie in the league in Oettinger.
3. 2017 - Chasing the Past
Blackhawks Receive: Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg, and 2018 fifth-round pick (Michael Callahan)
Columbus Blue Jackets Receive: Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte, and 2017 sixth-round pick (Jonathan Davidsson)
The Blackhawks won their last Stanley Cup in 2015 and followed that victory up with back-to-back first-round losses. Both of those years they got bounced in the first round were the first two seasons of Artemi Panarin's career in the NHL with Chicago. Brandon Saad had also been traded to the Blue Jackets the offseason after winning the Cup.
The thought process had to be to revert back to what worked in 2015, so Panarin was given up on far too early in his career after two great seasons, only to bring back Saad. He wasn't the answer to change the team's fortunes as they went downhill from there.
Anton Forsberg didn't have a bad single season with the Blackhawks and he is still an NHL-caliber goalie, but both him and Saad don't stack up to Panarin who has had amazing seasons each season since being traded.
2. 2010 - Take the Higher Pick
Blackhawks Receive: 2010 second-round pick (Ludvig Rensfeldt) and 2010 second-round pick (Kent Simpson)
New York Islanders Receive: 2010 first-round pick (Brock Nelson)
While we saw a bad trade down in the draft from 2017, a horrible one took place in 2010 when the Blackhawks received an additional second-round pick (58th) to move back five spots out of the first round and into the second round. The Islanders selected long-time player and one of the team's best for a long time, Brock Nelson.
The Blackhawks' 35th overall pick, Ludvig Rensfeldt, never signed a contract. Kent Simpson allowed six goals in his single NHL game in net and hasn't played since 2016-17.
1. 2006 - Franchise Goalie Given Up On
Blackhawks Receive: 2008 sixth-round pick (Luke Witkowski)
Florida Panthers Receive: Craig Anderson
The worst draft day trade the Blackhawks have ever made is giving up on Craig Anderson far too early in his career, and doing so for a measly sixth-round pick.
Anderson struggled at the start of his career, but immediately turned things around in Florida, followed by Colorado, then Ottawa where he was a great goalie for 10 years. He has over 700 career games as a goalie, which is very impressive. Luke Witkowski, who was chosen with the draft pick, never played a game in the Blackhawks' organization.
The Blackhawks have hopefully learned not to trade down in the draft. Kyle Davidson moved Chicago in the other direction this season by trading up to 18th overall for the Blackhawks' second first-round pick. Some draft day trades turn out bad, but others good. They hope it's the latter this year as Chicago may very well be active in getting better.
