At present, the Blackhawks have 48 players signed to standard player contracts. The limit per team is 50 so the Hawks have 2 spots vacant if they wish to hit the maximum before the end of the season.
A question to ask is who would they want under contract. There are a few timing factors at play. One is waiting for some seasons to end in the NCAA and Europeans leagues in case prospects there are to be signed.
Another timing factor is the fact that the number of available contracts is certain to increase at the end of the NHL season due to a number of caveats that need to be taken under consideration.
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One caveat is the Hawks having several unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and even more restricted free agents (RFAs):
UFAs (6)
* Mattias Janmark
* Brandon Pirri
* John Quenneville
* Zack Smith
* Carl Soderberg
* Matt Tomkins
RFAs (9)
* Lucas Carlsson
* Brandon Hagel
* David Kampf
* Anton Lindholm
* Brad Morrison
* Alex Nylander
* Pius Suter
* Lucas Wallmark
* Nikita Zadorov
Of these free agents, the few who are almost sure to be re-signed are Hagel, Kampf, and Suter. The fate of the others, though, depends on other caveats: trades, free agency, expansion draft, and entry draft.
On trades, some players such as Janmark, Soderberg, and Wallmark could be dealt by the trade deadline to obtain futures. That would open up more contracts unless the assets in return already have NHL papers.
On free agency, this isn't just pursuing new players to add to the team but also re-signing players who are currently on the roster yet could be gone by the TDL. Mattias Janmark comes to mind as a chief example.
On the expansion draft, general manager Stan Bowman has to strategize around who to protect and who to expose. No matter what, though, one player will be headed to Seattle which in turn opens up a contract.
Then on the entry draft, there is the rare chance that Chicago both misses the playoffs and wins the lottery enabling them to draft an instant game changer who is worth signing to an ELC right away.
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So the calculus is more complex than a simple math equation of 50 minus 48. Either way, it's fairly safe to say there will be at least 2 contracts up for grabs. There are a few worthy prospects to snag them.
The first prospect is 2020 1st round pick Lukas Reichel who is turning in a monster campaign as a second-year pro in Germany's DEL at 18 years of age. Last year at 17, he had 24 points in 42 games. Pretty good.
This year, Reichel has 22 in 26 and has been playing primarily center. He has played wing, too. Still growing, he is fearless and resilient making an impact for his team. He's ready for the next challenge.
It's almost a foregone conclusion that Reichel will be inked to an ELC once his season with Berlin is done. Let him start developing on North American ice but the smaller surface may actually fit his style.
While not as heralded as Reichel, the other prospect to consider is Jakub Galvas who is in his final year with the Finnish elite league and in his final year of eligibility for the Hawks to sign him.
Galvas plays steady defense as a puck mover with good mobility. His ceiling is as a minute muncher on the 3rd pair. His +/- has been bad the past two years (-19 and -17) but he plays on a bad team.
In a similar vein as Reichel, Galvas needs to start developing on North American ice which may take him more time to adjust to as a smallish rearguard who has to earn every inch of ice to be effective.
A close second to Galvas is another blueline prospect, Alex Vlasic. Upon being drafted, Vlasic said he expected to play at Boston University for at least 2 years. That timetable will be up soon.
Once the Terriers end their hunt for an NCAA championship, the Hawks could sign Vlasic to an ELC. Yet, it also wouldn't hurt for him to return to BU for his junior season to take his game to another level.
Vlasic exploded on offense as a sophomore this year after being pretty quiet as a freshman. The measuring stick for his growth will be defensively, however. He will be leaned on as a shutdown defender.
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Other possible candidates to get under contract for next season include:
* Slava Demin
* Cole Moberg
* Isaak Phillips
* Cale Morris
Demin is a junior at Denver University and has had an up-and-down year so there is hesitance to sign him to an NHL contract. Perhaps have him play out his NCAA career first or sign him to an AHL deal.
Moberg and Phillips are on a professional tryout (PTO) and amateur tryout (ATO), respectively, but both have surprised as steady rookies in Rockford. For Moberg, he should at least get an AHL contract.
As for Phillips, he would have been back with the Sudbury Wolves had it not been for the pandemic impacting juniors. He has acquitted himself quite nicely in the AHL so going pro permanently may be in the cards.
Morris is on an AHL contract for just 2020-21. Getting him under an NHL deal may depend on what the Hawks do with Tomkins who again is a UFA. If they let Tomkins go, all signs point to Morris being re-signed.
After starting with an ATO like Phillips, Michael Krutil signed an AHL deal last month. However, he has struggled mightily at the pro level so it's peculiar he got a pro contract over Moberg and Phillips.
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Lastly, there are a couple of prospects not worthy of being signed:
* Maxim Shalunov
* Joshua Ess
* Jake Wise
Shalunov desires to cross the pond and finally join the Hawks but he has said that before and decided to earn more in the KHL. He's 28 now so it's difficult to give him a shot over younger prospects.
There is no other way to describe Ess as a prospect since being drafted in 2017 than saying his play has been a big pile of meh. He never moved the needle as one to watch and was easily forgotten in the system.
As for Wise, he will be a senior next season at BU. Playing in only 4 games as a junior and constantly battling injuries, he either needs a monster senior year otherwise the Hawks likely cut bait with him.
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Game Day
Game 34, March 25:
Blackhawks vs Panthers
7:00pm CST
Records:
Blackhawks, 15-13-5, 35 Pts (4th)
Panthers, 20-8-4, 44 Pts (3rd)
Season Series:
1-3-1
Goals For/Game:
Blackhawks, 2.91 (16th)
Panthers, 3.31 (7th)
Goals Against/Game:
Blackhawks, 3.21 (26th)
Panthers, 2.78 (14th)
Power Play:
Blackhawks, 29-103, 28.2% (3rd)
Panthers, 26-100, 26.0% (6th)
Penalty Kill:
Blackhawks, 72-100, 72.0% (28th)
Panthers, 79-98, 80.6% (13th)
Aleksander Barkov will be sitting out a second game. One could say the Blackhawks were able to beat the Panthers without their best player but Chicago is down two of their best in Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach.
Similarly, one could say the Panthers lost because their #1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky didn't start. However, backup Chris Driedger's numbers (.923, 2.28) are better than those of Kevin Lankinen (.915, 2.83).
Bottom line, both teams are handicapped with key players out. Then again, if the Hawks are to prove they can hang with and beat the best, they need to play against opponents when they are at full capacity.
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See you on the boards!
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