This was a difficult season for the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. They improved marginally over their 2023-24 campaign amid concerns of growing frustration from franchise star Connor Bedard.
Bedard denied rumors that he was unhappy playing for Chicago, acknowledging the club was in the process of growth and learning. Nevertheless, there’s no question he needs some help, especially offensively. The Blackhawks rose from a league-worst 2.17 last season to 2.73, but they still finished 26th overall in that category.
The Blackhawks have plenty of salary cap space if management wants to add scoring punch. PuckPedia indicates they have a projected cap space of $30.9 million with 20 active roster players under contract next season.
Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers of The Athletic believe the Blackhawks could be first in line if Mitch Marner goes to free agency on July 1. They acknowledged the 27-year-old two-way right winger prefers staying in Toronto but wondered if the Maple Leafs can make the money work.
Marner reached the 100-point plateau for the first time this season. He’d become the best player potentially available in this summer’s UFA market.
Lazerus and Powers believe the Blackhawks’ favorable cap situation gives them more money to throw toward Marner than any other club. They speculated it could cost between $12 million and $14 million annually, but felt it would be worth it.
That’s assuming Marner would join a rebuilding club instead of a playoff contender.
Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner Shows Up In Game 1 – The 4 Nations Experience Played A PartDespite the fact the Toronto Maple Leafs came into the playoffs as the Atlantic Division champions, there were questions (ohh the questions) about how their first-round series against the Ottawa Senators would kick off.
Turning to the San Jose Sharks, their last-place finish in the overall standings gives them the best odds of winning the upcoming NHL draft lottery for the second straight year. They selected promising center Macklin Celebrini in last year’s draft, who’s gone on to become a favorite to win the Calder Trophy.
Sheng Peng of NBC Sports Bay Area reported Sharks GM Mike Grier could be open to trading that pick if the lottery balls bounce their way again this year. He said he wouldn’t say no if he received a really good offer of young, established players.
Grier believes defenseman Matthew Schaefer of the OHL’s Erie Otters is the prospect currently considered the consensus first-overall pick. After him, this year’s draft is mostly forward-heavy.
It’s possible Grier trades that pick for the right price. So could any other GM who wins the draft lottery. However, it’s unlikely to happen.
The last time the first-overall pick was traded was in the 2003 NHL draft, when the Florida Panthers sent it to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Mikael Samuelsson, the third-overall pick and a second-rounder. The Penguins used that pick to select future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury.
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