Hawks Lacklustre Offseason - Looking Ahead

As the season fastly approaches. Let's look back at the frenzy of offseason moves Chicago Blackhawks GM Tyler Hetherington made;

Match a RFA Offer Sheet from the New York Rangers for $8,300,000/4yrs on Zach Werenski
Re-signed Andrei Altybarmakian for $1,300,000/4yrs
Re-signed UFA Otto Leskinen for $1,000,000/3yrs
Signed UFA Darcy Kuemper for $1,250,000/4yrs
Traded Jeff Petry to Toronto for a 7th round draft pick in 2025
Made seven draft pick selections with the highest pick being 3-91

Not very awe inspiring for a franchise that is "all-in" and has championship aspirations and expectations.

"We liked our roster and we were close to the cap. We did what we had to do. We opened up cap space with the Petry deal and avoided a buyout. We re-upped Werenski and found a backup goaltender in Kuemper who we actually took in the dispersal draft years ago. Was it a splashy offseason? Maybe not to the media types. But we are happy with our team's progress over the summer and the draft and feel we have a contending roster. The teams with cap space and splashy moves were teams trying to become contenders or contenders just making moves because they were bored. I'm happy with the offseason my staff and I had and I'm excited to see this team perform this season." stated GM Hetherington after getting drilled by reporters on the team's lack of movements this offseason.

Rumours were swirling about a big time deal with the Hawks bringing in another top-six forward with salary retention. Rumours of moving out Anthony Duclair for cap relief. Rumours of Arthur Kaliyev wanting guaranteed top six minutes. When pressed on those rumours GM Hetherington had this response;

"Sometimes the best deals you make are the ones you don't actually make. Of course we did our due diligence and kicked tires here and there. Got close on a few deals. But in the end it's my job to do whats best for this franchise. Investing and developing what we already have was the choice we made. Duclair is a pro, it sucks to have your name out there and I'd like to know which media person but that rumour out and they would never step foot in this building again. He's a Hawk and we expect big things out of him this year. As for the last rumour which is ridiculous. Nothing is guaranteed in that locker room. Players need to earn their icetime." stated GM Hetherington

At the time of this writing the Blackhawks are 3-0 in the preseason. With six players scoring above a point per game pace. So the extremely way-to early results all point in a positive direction. Let's take a look at what the teams lineup might look like on opening night.







Scary forward group, scary top two dmen, solid 3-5 on d, decent goaltending. Will it be enough to go far in the playoffs? We'll see....