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For the previous entry in this series of 2022-23 season previews where I cover the Carolina Hurricanes, click here.
Blackhawks Captain, Jonathan Toews. (Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
The last few seasons have not been kind to the Chicago Blackhawks. Since their dynasty years where they won three Stanley Cups in five years (2010, 2013, 2015) most of the staple pieces on those teams have either retired, or are no longer apart of the Blackhawks organization.
All except for two.
Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the centerpieces to all three of those championship Blackhawks teams, still remain in Chicago. Many wonder, what does their future in the Windy City look like?
Every single year I say the same thing, "this is the year that the 'Hawks finally trade Kane and Toews," and every year I'm obviously wrong.... but I really feel it this time, I have a very hard time seeing Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews remaining in a Blackhawks uniform past the 2022-23 trade deadline. Kane has played 14 seasons in the NHL, all with the Blackhawks, and while he is going into his age 34 season, he still competes at a dominant level, scoring 92 points last season on 26 goals and 66 assists, 14th in the entire league in points. Despite his age, Chicago could very easily score a sizeable haul by shipping Kane off, and might help speed their rebuild up by a year or two. Kane ranks 5th all-time in points among American NHL players, with 1,180.
Toews, longtime Captain of the Blackhawks, has been critical of the direction that his team is headed in, and he doesn't hide his distaste for the situation.
"At the end of the day, we're talking about a five-plus-year process, according to (general manager) Kyle [Davidson] so that part of it doesn't sound appealing to me at all."
(Jonathan Toews interview with the Athletic)
Chicago definitely wouldn't garner as big of a reward for Toews as they would for Kane on the trade market, but he is still useful to contending teams looking to make that next step with an experienced vet in their locker room, so Chicago could easily work out a nice little return for him. Their other option is to let their aging captain stick around for a lengthy rebuild that he most likely wouldn't even get to see the final product of, and a process that he doesn't sound too fond of going through at the twilight of his career. Toews scored 37 points on 12 goals and 25 assists last season.
Chicago had a busy offseason, bringing in Max Domi, Andreas Anthanasiou, Colin Blackwell and Alex Stalock all via free agency. They also traded for Toronto Maple Leafs goalie, Petr Mrazek. The Blackhawks brought in Luke Richardson as new head coach.
However, are Chicago's additions enough to offset their departures? The Blackhawks traded forward Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators, Kirby Dach to the Montreal Canadiens, and didn't extend offers to RFA's Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik. Strome signed with the Washington Capitals, while Kubalik signed with Detroit Red Wings.
Chicago went 28-42-12 last season, finishing with 68 points, second to last in the Central Division behind the Arizona Coyotes. The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs four times in the last five years. Going into the 2022-23 season, the 'Hawks are going to be bad again, I know it, you know it, the people of Chicago know it, everyone knows it. If you're going to pay any third party attention to the Blackhawks this year, the biggest storyline will be the future of Kane, Toews in Chicago, along with defenseman Seth Jones and Connor Murphy.