As we continue our previews looking ahead to the 2026-27 season of Chicago Blackhawks hockey, we now turn our attention to the blue line.
The Blackhawks made the most headlines this summer with their bold decision to make a blockbuster trade and add Bowen Byram. That deal brings in an accomplished defenseman who has played in a couple cities that enjoyed a fair amount of winning. What I like best about the Byram addition is the journey last year’s Sabres took to the postseason. On Dec. 24, they were in seventh place in the Atlantic Division (18-14-4). They ended the season 50-23-9 and won the division, ending their playoff drought.
That experience will pay dividends for the Blackhawks if/when times get tough this season. The experience of the other new veteran defenseman will also help the young guys on the back end develop and play to their strengths this season. Five of the projected seven players on the Blackhawks’ NHL roster were first round picks, and three were top-ten picks.
Let’s look at how the Blackhawks’ defensive group stacks up heading into the 2026-27 season.
Blackhawks Projected Blue Line
Alex Vlasic — Bowen ByramWyatt Kaiser — Artyom LevshunovIan Cole — Sam RinzelKevin Korchinski
Blackhawks defenseman Bowen ByramBlackhawks Additions: Bowen Byram, Ian Cole
The Blackhawks made their biggest blockbuster trade to date when they moved out of a top-five pick to acquire Byram, who has a Stanley Cup championship at home. He wanted the chance to be a No. 1 and he’s going to get it in Chicago — especially after the Blackhawks signed him to a huge extension shortly after the trade was finalized.
Byram’s skating and puck-moving ability are his calling cards. In the NHL.com piece that focuses on NHL EDGE stats of note for the Blackhawks heading into the 2026-27 season, I found this section on high-danger areas informative:
Bowen Byram, acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on June 23, also could also give the Blackhawks a creative puck-moving threat capable of getting to the front of the net; Byram ranked among the defenseman leaders in both high-danger shots on goal (14; 95th percentile) and high-danger goals (three; 92nd percentile; tied for ninth at position) in the League last season.
Byram figures to get run on the Blackhawks’ top power play unit and billing on the top pair. It’s likely he plays his off-side at the start; the Blackhawks have only two right-handed defensemen on the roster at this point.
Cole brings a physical element the Blackhawks didn’t have after moving Connor Murphy before the trade deadline last year. Over his past eight seasons, Cole has averaged 161 blocked shots and 90 hits in 18:31 per night (while averaging 73 games played — a number that’s impressive considering the two seasons that were shortened by COVID). He, too, has championship hardware at home; Cole has two rings.
He figures to be a significant part of the Blackhawks’ penalty kill. The fact that Cole can play both sides of the blue line gives him some added versatility that adds value in his addition to the lineup. If the Blackhawks needed a mentor who’s been thru a lot in the league, Cole checks every box. His tenth appearance this season will be his 1,000th career regular-season game in the NHL.
Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt KaiserBlackhawks Returners: Alex Vlasic, Artyom Levshunov, Wyatt Kaiser, Sam Rinzel
Vlasic should benefit from the additions of both Byram and Cole. I wrote this about Vlasic a month ago when considering partnering him with Byram:
last year [Vlasic] skated almost 200 fewer minutes than the previous season (down to 1711:45 from 1907:33). The Blackhawks’ most used defensive pair last year was Vlasic with Louis Crevier (770:43 — almost 340 minutes more than any other defensive pair). Crevier was traded for Byram, so there will be a new look at the top of the Blackhawks’ blue line depth chart this coming season.
Last year, Byram spent the biggest portion of his ice time in Buffalo with Owen Power (586:50). Power, like Vlasic, is a big defenseman (6-6, 226). But Power doesn’t block as many shots as Vlasic (119 to 95) and had the same number of hits (29). Byram (93) blocked almost the same number of shots as Crevier (95) last year, but hits a great deal less (124 to 50).
The combination of Byram and Power were on the ice for 273 scoring chances for the Sabres in their ice time together at 5-on-5 last year. Vlasic and Crevier were on the ice for 316 Blackhawks’ scoring chances at 5-on-5 in 184 more minutes. Vlasic and Byram could complement each other quite well, especially if Vlasic gets back to around 150 blocked shots where he was the previous two seasons (skating primarily with Seth Jones and Connor Murphy).
Kaiser really came into his own as a steady, reliable defenseman who can impact the penalty kill and provide quality minutes every night. He skated more than 1,300 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time last season, which ranked second behind Vlasic and is almost 300 more than any other returning defenseman on the Blackhawks’ roster.
Kaiser spent 430:55 on the ice at 5-on-5 with Levshunov last year. He also spent 374:54 with Rinzel at even strength. Some of the numbers were better for him with Rinzel, including 5-on-5 shots for percentage (40.66 with Levshunov, 45.89 with Rinzel). Interestingly, the Blackhawks were out-scored 30-10 at even strength with Kaiser and Levshunov on the ice, but out-scored their opponents 19-16 when he was with Rinzel.
The biggest difference between the two right-handed defensemen on the Blackhawks’ roster was where they spent their 2025-26 seasons. Levshunov was on the NHL roster the entire year, even if he had a brief “reset” before the Olympics break. Rinzel skated in 23 games with Rockford.
It’s worth noting the Blackhawks worked with Levshunov on being a more physical player during that reset, and it appeared to have clicked. Between March 1 and the end of the regular season, Levshunov recorded 21 blocks and 17 hits in 14 appearances. I will also point out that Levshunov averaged 1:14 per night on the PK between March 1 and the end of his season; he skated only 15:42 total short-handed in 54 appearances before the end of February. He could see an increased role on the PK.
The Blackhawks figure to use Vlasic, Kaiser and Cole as primary penalty killers. We’ll see if Levshunov works his way into that group. With Byram projected to take over the top power play unit, there’s limited opportunity for Levshunov or Rinzel to make a big impact there.
Blackhawks defenseman Kevin KorchinskiBlackhawks Depth: Kevin Korchinski, Ethan Del Mastro
The additions of two veterans makes the blue line a crowded situation. Korchinski and Del Mastro received qualifying offers from the Blackhawks and will require waivers to go to Rockford now, That complicates the situation for both of them.
It’s worth noting that both players spent a fair amount of time on the right side in Rockford last year, so there’s more versatility to their game. But they bring different styles to the ice; Korchinski is a terrific skater and moves the puck well, while Del Mastro is more of a physical, stay-home defenseman. At the time of this writing, only one of the two has signed a new contract with the Blackhawks — and Korchinski signed his deal on Aug. 29.
An interesting note on these two from last season: both Del Mastro (4.91) and Korchinski (4.39) blocked more shots per 60 minutes of ice time last year in the NHL than departed defenseman Louis Crevier. Yes, they both played a significantly smaller sample size. But that’s an area where the Blackhawks need to be better. Cole‘s 151 blocked shots ranked 15th in the entire NHL last year. He averaged 6.04 blocks per 60.
The Blackhawks don’t have a long list of defensemen in the pipeline right now because their young defensemen are all graduating to the NHL level. They did use a couple early draft picks on the blue line this year, but they figure to be a few years away from the NHL. However, one other name to keep in mind as the season progresses is Taige Harding, who got some really strong reviews in the front office after his first full pro season. He’s enormous (6-7, 238) and hits like a freight train.
Also Read
Blackhawks 2026-27 Preview: GoaltendingHence then, the article about blackhawks 2026 27 preview defensemen was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Blackhawks 2026-27 Preview: Defensemen )
Also on site :