The Blackhawks will be back on the ice for an optional practice on Tuesday afternoon before a full practice (except Olympian Teuvo Teräväinen) on Wednesday. The Hawks’ first game after the Olympic break is in Nashville next Thursday night, beginning a sprint to the finish of the regular season — and the NHL Trade Deadline.
Chicago’s first four games after the break are on the road before returning home for what could shape up to be a fascinating home game on Friday, March 6 — the puck will drop a little more than five hours after the trade deadline. We’ll have to wait and see who’s still here when the Blackhawks host the tanking Canucks that night.
Here are the four storylines I’ll be following as the Blackhawks get back to work.
Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images1. Artyom Levshunov’s growth
Levshunov took a seat before the Olympics to get a reset on his game. The expectation is that he’s back in his usual role with Wyatt Kaiser when the games begin again.
When Levshunov got the healthy scratch treatment earlier in the year, he responded very well and his play took off. He’s still only 20 years old — again, something to remember — but the Blackhawks have high expectations for him. How he comes out of the break will be important for the Blackhawks down the stretch this season.
With the Blackhawks figuring to have some veterans leaving before the trade deadline, Levshunov’s play will be important for the team on the ice now. But his development is still the primary concern. He’s still learning to play at the NHL level.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images2. Blackhawks center mix
When Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar were both back in the lineup after their respective injuries, we saw the Blackhawks skating Bedard with other centers to take faceoffs — including Nazar. Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill said before the break that the team plans on putting Bedard back at center to take draws after the break, which means Nazar will likely slide back to his usual spot as center on the second line.
What does that mean for other youngsters Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene? Both have spent time at center and on the wing, with Moore specifically seeing his game really take off when he moved into the middle. Will the Blackhawks give Moore a look as a third-line center with more defensive responsibility? Will Greene see time in that role? Will… they both? Maybe together?
Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images3. Who gets traded? And when?
The Blackhawks have some players who will be popular commodities at the trade deadline. Defensemen Connor Murphy and Matt Grzelcyk are free agents after this season and will likely see their time in Chicago end before the trade deadline, though Kaiser’s knee situation may influence Grzelcyk’s timeline.
Up front, Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev both figure to be popular names before the trade deadline as well. They’re both exceptional defensive forwards — the kind of players teams that are going for it like to add before the deadline.
The Blackhawks also have an interesting trade candidate in captain Nick Foligno. Will he move on to help a contender? Or will he finish the season as the leader in the room in Chicago?
The fact that the Blackhawks have two remaining retention spots is big for their trade deadline plans. Murphy, Mikheyev, Foligno and Dickinson all have cap hits around $4M, so the Hawks being able to eat some of that will make them more affordable and easier for some of the top teams to acquire before the deadline.
With that in mind, there was some buzz before the Olympics that there could be movement quickly after the Olympic trade freeze lifts. Some teams understandably preferred to wait the three weeks to make a deal; they didn’t need to have those three weeks hitting their cap without any games being played. But there are only 12 days between the return to play and the deadline, so movement could come quickly.
Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images4. Who gets promoted? And when?
When — and how much — the Blackhawks get active before the trade deadline will influence the answers to these questions.
The initial need may arise on the left side of the blue line because of Kaiser’s injury. Add to that if/when Grzelcyk departs, the Blackhawks will have at least one spot to fill. Will it be Kevin Korchinski or Ethan Del Mastro that gets the call first? They’re both RFAs this coming summer, and both should get a longer look down the stretch. One figures Sam Rinzel will be the guy who replaces Murphy on the blue line as a right-handed defenseman.
But after that, the line blender could get some work.
Nick Lardis showed well in his first run in the NHL and hasn’t slowed down since heading back to Rockford. But he’s more of an offensive threat; if the Blackhawks move out any of Dickinson, Foligno and/or Mikheyev, those are bottom-six roles that wouldn’t necessarily showcase Lardis’ abilities best.
As we get closer to the end of the regular season, there’s a chance we could see NHL debuts from Anton Frondell, Sacha Boisvert and, maybe, AJ Spellacy. Based on the college rankings right now, Boisvert might be the earliest available forward from that group. But, after a disappointing sophomore season that has had some injuries and a suspension for fighting included, will the Blackhawks have some pause in signing him and jumping him right into NHL action? Or is he more likely to be a candidate for an ATO with Rockford for the rest of the season with his entry-level contract beginning next year?
Or… will he opt to return to Boston University for another season?
Frondell’s timeline to join the Blackhawks depends on how deep into the playoffs his team can advance in Sweden — and how much the Blackhawks want him to play this season. Remember: he’s playing a full season at the highest level in Sweden and also played well at the World Junior Championship. It would be exciting to see him join the Hawks at some point, though.
Spellacy has already signed his entry-level contract and his combination of speed and physical play could make him an intriguing add to the Blackhawks’ bottom six down the stretch. That all depends on when Windsor’s season comes to an end as well, however.
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