The upcoming offseason for the Chicago Blackhawks will yet again be another crucial one in the organization’s lengthy rebuild. Similar to the past three summers, the front office will be making more than one selection in the first round of the draft if everything holds true to form. General manager Kyle Davidson is confident on the current state of the rebuild despite the results not being there at the NHL level.
Connor Bedard needs as much help as possible on the offensive side of things this summer as he’s preparing for his third season in the NHL. The prospect pool that the Blackhawks have is stellar and is ranked high compared to the rest of the league, but immediate assistance for the young phenom is needed sooner rather than later.
The free agency cycle this summer has a couple of big forwards on the board that the Blackhawks’ front office should be all in on. Not only could either one of these players serve as instant help for the young core right now, but they could be pivotal pieces to the team’s next cup run as well.
Mitch Marner makes plenty of sense for the Chicago Blackhawks
Mitch Marner has spent all nine seasons of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is in the middle of the final year of his six-year, $65 million dollar deal he was given by the Leafs entering the 2019-2020 season and his future there is up in the air.
Entering the Four Nations break, Marner has 16 goals and 55 assists on the season for 71 points through 54 games. He missed 13 games last year due to injury, but still found the back of the net 26 times to pair with his 54 assists. The previous two seasons saw Marner score more than 30 goals each year, with the 35 in 2021-2022 being his career high.
Marner has shown that he can consistently find ways to score along with helping out his teammates more often than not. He would perfectly compliment Bedard and even if he commands the $10 million he has made per year over the last six seasons, it is well within Chicago’s budget to send an offer like that his way.
Mikko Rantanen would take the Chicago Blackhawks to the next level
Rantanen was shipped off the Carolina in a deal involving the Blackhawks as a third-party broker at the end of January. Chicago sent Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes along with the former Avalanche star in the deal and they are paying over $4 million of Rantanen’s salary to finish the season.
The 2015 first-round pick has 26 goals so far this season in 55 games. He put the hockey world on notice with 55 goals in the 2022-23 campaign and followed it up a season later with 42 tallies. Colorado knew they weren’t going to be able to pay Rantenan’s new contract this offseason, so they got ahead of the game by swinging a deal to reset their books beyond this year.
Rantanen would certainly be the strongest of the two free-agent candidates here, but he will come at a much steeper price. The 28-year-old could demand north of $13 million per season when negotiating a deal this offseason and while he might be worth every penny, Chicago will be cautious when navigating his free agency saga.
The Chicago Blackhawks would be in fantastic shape if they could sign Marner or Rantanen this summer. Knowing that they will be in a great position to land a highly coveted forward in the draft is a strong thing to keep in the front office’s back pocket, but they certainly should take a chance at going after a premier goal-scoring free agent as well.
Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard gives opinion on 4 Nations tournament
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