The Chicago Blackhawks need to bring in some talent this offseason. A few recent trades from teams in the league are exactly what Chicago needs to do.
The big thing for the Blackhawks this summer has to be a top-six forward. While Mitch Marner might be too expensive to add in free agency, the Blackhawks do need to add a forward to play alongside Connor Bedard.
Two trades just in the past week would fit the bill of what the Hawks are looking for.
The Blackhawks should look to these two teams for advice on moves to pull off.
The Seattle Kraken traded a third and fourth-round pick to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Mason Marchment. Marchment, 29, is entering the final year of his current contract, carrying a cap hit of $4.5 million.
With the deal, the Kraken are landing a forward hot off 22 goals and 47 points in 62 games, the best point percentage of his career. Just yesterday, the NHL was abuzz when news came out of Anaheim that the Ducks were looking to trade forward Trevor Zegras.
Zegras, 24, has long been a fan favorite in the NHL. Entering the final year of his current deal, the Anaheim Ducks were looking for a clean slate after a long, drawn-out rumor that Zegras was going to be leaving Anaheim. The Ducks cleared up some cap space when they sent Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
The same thought came to mind with both of these deals—that's it? The cost for both Zegras and Marchment was low in my opinion and the Blackhawks easily could have matched either of those trades.
The Blackhawks missed out on a golden opportunity to bring in Trevor Zegras and Mason Marchment. Chicago did make one trade, adding Andre Burakovsky, but that can't be it. With the NHL Draft in just a few days, hopefully, the Blackhawks can make some noise with a trade.
