Despite having a stronger looking top-six forward group entering the upcoming season, the Chicago Blackhawks could still be big players in the open market this summer. There were plenty of veterans on the opening night roster this past October, but a few of those guys got phased out of the lineup as the season went along. This was due to poor performance and multiple young pieces of the team’s future signing their entry-level contracts toward the end of the campaign.
The goal for general manager Kyle Davidson last summer was to create competition in camp and have more NHL caliber players on the roster from the jump this past season to get the team out of the league’s basement. Unfortunately, that didn’t go according to plan, as Chicago finished 31st in points for a second consecutive season. The group is expected to be held to higher standards this fall, as the young roster won a handful of games at the end of this past season that gave fans hope for the future.
Davidson and the rest of the front office could use the end of the year as momentum to attract some high quality free agents this summer. One of the forwards they could look to was a former trade candidate in 2023 of the Canucks before having back-to-back strong seasons in Vancouver.
Why Brock Boeser fits the Chicago Blackhawks
Brock Boeser has posted 65 goals in his last two season with the Canucks. This includes a 40-goal effort from the right winger in the 2023-24 campaign, just a summer after it was rumored that Vancouver was considering moving on from him due to needing to shed some salary. Boeser followed up his 40-goal campaign by having 25 goals and 25 assists in 75 regular season games this past year.
There is no doubt that Boeser is a legitimate top-line winger in the NHL, especially after what he has done the past two seasons. Even though the Blackhawks have some solid veterans in their top-six right now, there is no saying that they can’t go out and add more fire power to help out Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar even more. Boeser is 28-years-old and fits Chicago’s timeline well with their contending window hopefully set to open up in the next couple of seasons. If they could land the veteran on a four-year deal, there is a chance he would appear in a couple of playoff runs before his contract would be up.
Why the Chicago Blackhawks might miss out on Brock Boeser
Because of how well Boeser has played the last two seasons, he will be a hot commodity on the open market this summer. This isn’t to say that the Blackhawks won’t get him due to the competition they might face, but he could want to end up with a franchise that has a quicker path to winning. Even though things are looking up in Chicago, they are still a couple of years out from making the playoffs, and Boeser might not want to wait that long.
There is also a very real possibility that Boeser remains in Vancouver. He has spent all nine years of his career with the Canucks, and he may have zero interest in leaving based on where they are at as a franchise right now. Chicago should 100% be in play for Boeser this summer, but the competition to snag him will be extremely fierce across the league.
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