All The Little Blackhawks Moves And News And Rumors From The Offseason So Far
While we all sit here watching the St Louis Blues race towards a Stanley Cup and wait for the most important summer of the Toews/Kane era, the Blackhawks have been making moves that shape the rest of the organizational depth. Some moves make sense…others, well they make you do the tough enough gif
Let’s start with the good stuff. And by “good” I mean the thing I was most right about
Victor Ejdsall Is Going Back To Sweden
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That’s basically it. I think people got enamored with his size and playoff run last year, but he doesn’t do anything at an NHL level except shoot the puck. He never looked like an NHL talent to me. The Blackhawks will probably give him a qualifying offer so they can retain his rights. Hopefully he goes back to Sweden and puts up big numbers so the Blackhawks can flip his rights to someone in a trade when they too fall in love with his size and shot.
Dominik Kubalik Looks Like He Might Be A Player
Unlike Ejdsall, Kubalik passes the eye test. Good size, decent speed, and apparently a nice shot and hockey sense on display here in this one highlight. He’s been a productive player in this tournament and was always a productive player in the Swiss League. It’s a big jump to go from the Swiss League to the NHL, but it doesn’t seem as impossible after watching Kahun go from the German League to the NHL last year and Kubalik played in the OHL so he does have some North American style experience.
Forward depth was a huge issue for the Blackhawks last year. It should be an interesting camp with guys like Kubalik, Hayden, Perlini, Sikura, and the other Euro they signed…
Anton Wedin Coming Over From Sweden
I won’t pretend to know a single thing about this guy. The Blackhawks were among three finalists to sign him and he’s 26 years-old. The reports on him aren’t particularly flowery. A little undersized, some questions about his skating and his skill level. He’s only played one season in Sweden’s top league. Sounds like a Rockford player, but who knows.
Kris Versteeg Is Back
I was in section 112 for that goal and I hope Versteeg is able to make a comeback to the NHL. Like we said, there’s a lot of competition for bottom 6 roster spots, but that’s because there isn’t a lot of surefire NHL talent either. Versteeg says he’s feeling as healthy as he’s ever felt. He’s a winner. If his wheels are back, then his hands and brain are likely still good enough. He’s on an NHL deal now, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw him back up in Chicago at some point. I’ll always love Steeger
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Slater Koekkoek Is Also Back
I don’t hate Slater Koekkoek. I don’t like him. I never need to see him in a Blackhawks sweater again. But hate is a strong word and I definitely don’t hate him. He’s absolutely meh. The problem is that the Blackhawks are loaded with meh to eh guys on their back end. As things stand right now
Keith
Murphy
Gustafsson
Jokiharju
Seabrook
Dahlstrom
Forsling
Koekkoek
That’s your eight defensemen right now. Essentially the same group that has been a disaster for the past two years. The Blackhawks need help back there. Hopefully some of it comes in the form of a more seasoned Jokiharju, but they need outside help too and bringing back all of these guys certainly creates a log jam. Now, Forsling isn’t technically signed yet, but I would be surprised if he isn’t given a qualifying offer here soon. There’s a log jam at the NHL level now, and with Krys, Beaudin, Gilbert, Mitchell, Boqvist, and now probably Byram…there’s a log jam at the prospect level as well. It’s a peculiar strategy. Maybe there’s a significant trade coming. I don’t know. If they roll this same group back though that is going to be a tough sell to the public and probably to Rocky Wirtz as well who has seen the TV audience decline by 51% and season ticket renewals plummet.
NHL Draft Rumor
“If the Draft was today the pick would be Byram”–source in Blackhawks hockey ops. Take that for what it is worth.
We are only about 5 weeks out from the Draft. June 21st. We’ll have a watch party at Declans again and hopefully the Blackhawks will be back on the right path.