The Blackhawks Have Entered The Future
On March 18, 2022 the Blackhawks traded Brandon Hagel and the rebuild was officially on. I remember Jonathan Toews being vocally upset after that trade because Hagel was a good young player who was already contributing at the NHL level. I think the Golden Age Dynasty Blackhawks knew, for all intents and purposes, their era was officially over when that trade was made. 12-15 months later it was completely torn down. Debrincat, Dach, McCabe, Strome and anyone who wasn't bolted to the foundation was moved (and even the two guys who felt like there were bolted to the foundation). We entered the worst period in franchise. People might argue that there were darker days. I don't think there have been. Games not widely available on TV (the road games were at least still available under Rocky), perpetually at the bottom standings, rife with scandal, the beloved broadcast team decimated over dimes. It's been nothing but disappointment.
Hopefully, that is about to change. All of those players listed above were traded for futures. On Sunday there were 6 recent first round picks on the ice together. Those futures are here. The road will be bumpy, but we are finally at a stage where the Blackhawks are expected to be aiming up. No more tanking. No more deadline dumps. No more taking on useless salary. The era of the Blackhawks becoming the new Arizona Coyotes for trades is done. Now we go. Now we build.
The Blackhawks had 6 first round picks on the ice together on Sunday. Bedard, Levshunov, Nazar, Moore, Korchinski, and Rinzel all played major roles. It is hard not to be excited watching that group. Especially the defense. When this team is competitive again it will be because of the blueline that Davidson has drafted and/or developed. Vlasic, Rinzel, Levshunov, Kaiser, and Del Mastro all look like they can play at this level. Vlasic is already a top shutdown type, I doubt Rinzel EVER plays in the AHL and Levshunov probably won't play there next year.
The question now is no longer when, but what. What are these guys as a unit? As a core? As a culture? How high is up? The build isn't complete. There's another top 5 pick coming this year. I would probably bet that another is coming next year as well. We are closer than ever to being fun and relevant though. For the first time in forever you can look at the majority of the roster and project into the future and that is a good thing. We are living in the future.