It’s Friday, June 26. Finally! The first round of the 2026 NHL Draft is tonight. Finally! And, yeah, the Blackhawks wake up this morning without a pick tonight, but anything is possible. Heck, if you went to be early last night you’re probably waking up to reports the Blackhawks are keeping tabs on the Jason Robertson situation in Dallas, which is boiling hot right now.
Let’s talk about the draft tonight, some trades that went down yesterday and more buzz about what could happen in the next 48 hours to change the NHL landscape even more.
Scott Powers had the duties of identifying the Blackhawks’ biggest need heading into the 2026 NHL Draft for a piece from the beat writers at The Athletic. Interestingly, he said the Hawks need to add prospect depth. Here’s his rationale:The Blackhawks’ draft outlook changed completely when they traded the No. 4 pick to the Sabres as part of a package for Bowen Byram on Tuesday. That leaves the Blackhawks without a first-round pick for the first time under general manager Kyle Davidson. They also dealt a second-round pick in the trade. They could turn their remaining two second-round picks into a first-rounder, but the Blackhawks have to consider adding prospect depth to their pool and the benefit of adding two players instead of one. The Blackhawks could use those picks on another forward and defenseman. There are arguments to be made that the Blackhawks could use more of both in their prospect pool.
Corey Pronman’s biggest need for the Blackhawks heading into the 2026 NHL Draft (written before the Byram trade) was a scoring winger. Here’s part of what he wrote:The Blackhawks added another massive piece down the middle by drafting Anton Frondell third in 2025. With Connor Bedard and Frondell at center and Artyom Levshunov on defense, they have successfully addressed the hardest positions in the sport to find legit players. The strategy now needs to shift toward finding high-end skill.
Another wild card Blackhawks reference came in a report from David Pagnotta at The Fourth Period on Thursday:The Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Seattle Kraken and Buffalo Sabres are some of the teams exploring the market for a top-line, scoring winger and could have interest in [Alex] DeBrincat.
DeBrincat, 28, has one year remaining on his contract. He does have a 16-team no-trade list attached to that contract, so it would be interesting to see if the team that drafted him was on that list. Certainly not as sexy as a potential Robertson trade, but a mention here is noteworthy. Pierre LeBrun reported the Blues and Rangers have made the Ducks offers for center Mason McTavish. Anaheim is reportedly asking for a package that includes a first-round pick. The New Jersey Devils acquired Declan Chisholm from the Washington Capitals in exchange for their fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. The Philadelphia Flyers acquired a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Garnet Hathaway and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The Washington Capitals acquired a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft (originally from San Jose) from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Hendrix Lapierre. Finally, there was some seemingly tough reporting out of Columbus late on Thursday morning when Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell told the media he’ll sit down and talk about the future of the club with Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski after the draft.#CBJ GM Don Waddell on Werenski's future:"There are some matters we’re dealing with that should probably stay internal. My plan is still to meet w Zach in the near future and see where he’s at."We’ve had some conversations with his agent, but there’s been no definitive plan."
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 25, 2026 It should help that conversation that the Jackets then went out and traded for a really good veteran forward: Valeri Nichushkin. Nichushkin, 31, has four years remaining at a $6.13M salary cap hit.We have acquired a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick in the NHL Draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Valeri Nichushkin. pic.twitter.com/wjNxpsZscA
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 25, 2026BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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