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On Trade Deadline Day, the Chicago Blackhawks made a few moves to try and better their situation in the long term. After having already traded Taylor Hall and Seth Jones, there was wonder how far they’d go on the final day to do something.
Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith were traded to the Detroit Red Wings and they made a prospect/salary cap/draft picks trade with the Utah Hockey Club. There wasn’t anything fancy but these moves could all help them in the future.
Ryan Donato, Pat Maroon, and others all had their names in rumors for the week leading up to the deadline. Almost everyone ended up sticking around though so there are a few veterans still there to help out the kids.
Donato and Maroon being on the team next year means that they would have signed an extension so they won’t be traded away. However, there are a few other guys that weren’t moved and could be traded come the summer.
Now that the dust has settled from the big day and some time has passed, these are the three guys who might be sent packing once the time comes in the off-season:
1. Connor Murphy
Connor Murphy is a solid defenseman that plays good minutes when he is healthy. That's the problem though. He deals with injury trouble just about every season. For a guy that makes $4.4 million against the cap, that money could go toward some offense which this team sorely lacks.
A Stanley Cup contender with some cap space may consider a player like Murphy as a top-four guy. The Blackhawks might be able to retain on Murphy during the summer too as Mikko Rantanen and Jake McCabe will come off the books.
Murphy's name wasn't in any reported trade talks ahead of the deadline but his contract situation makes him someone to think about. If they decide to make a move involving him this summer, it won't shock anyone.
Throughout his Blackhawks tenure, the team has been lousy. They wanted to get younger when they acquired him in the Niklas Hjalmarsson trade with the Arizona Coyotes which made sense but it didn't lead to more winning ahead of the rebuild. Now, everyone might be better off if he went somewhere with a chance to compete.
2. Kevin Korchinski
The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of young defensemen in the organization. Guys like Artyom Levshunov, Louis Crevier, Ethan Del Mastro, Wyatt Kaiser, and Alex Vlasic amongst others are fighting for ice time at the NHL level.
Korchinski is currently down in the AHL. That doesn't even account for Sam Rinzel who has been one of the best defensemen in the NCAA this season. All of these guys can't be on the NHL roster at the height of their powers.
Chicago could also draft Matthew Schaefer in the top three of the 2025 NHL Draft if they believe that he is a future superstar defenseman. With or without Schaefer, the Hawks are loaded at the position which is a good problem to have.
The Blackhawks need help up front. A team may take a chance on Korchinski who is a highly gifted offensive defenseman who was drafted in the top ten (7th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He's had his ups and downs at both the NHL and AHL level but there is no doubting his ability to create. That will attract teams if the Hawks put him on the market.
3. Jason Dickinson
The Blackhawks probably should have traded Jason Dickinson during the 2023-24 season while he was in the middle of having a career year. His value will never be higher than it was then. You can also understand Kyle Davidson wanting some veteran presence within the organization.
In 2024-25, he's been good but hasn't produced offensively the way that he did one year prior. Now, he is facing the final two years of his current contract which has a cap hit of $4.25 million.
Teams looking for a solid bottom-six center that plays well defensively and can bring some offense to the table may be all over him if he were put on the block.
Like the first two on this list, Dickinson was never in any rumors ahead of the deadline this year but they are in the organization and could now be moved once summertime comes for something good in return.
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