Chicago Blackhawks
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Blackhawks Prospects Mentioned as “Reclamation Project” Trade Targets
Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...ntioned-as-reclamation-project-trade-targets/
As we continue with the Olympic break, I thought this was an interesting read from Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal at The Athletic. They wrote about the Vancouver Canucks possibly targeting reclamation projects as they embark on their rebuild — and there’s a Blackhawks twist.
The irony, of course, is the Blackhawks getting really good hockey from Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev AND two second-round picks as… wait for it… reclamation projects. Nice job of internal asset evaluation there by Vancouver for sure, eh?
Anyways, now that we’re done taking the obligatory shots at the gong show in Vancouver, this piece did get my attention for one big reason. Both Drance and Dayal are very good at what they do, they’ve done if for a while and are pretty in-tune with what’s going on with the Canucks.
They list ten players who they view as “high pedigree players that have fallen out of favour and can be acquired as ‘buy low’ options — or as part of the return for a superior veteran player — but still have the ability to realize their potential with a fresh start on a new team.”
Two of the players they mention: Blackhawks defense prospects Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro.
Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Korchinski and Del Mastro? Really?
I don’t think the Blackhawks will move either Korchinski or Del Mastro before the deadline. Indeed, I think they’ll move veteran Matt Grzelcyk to get one/both of them up to the NHL for an extended look down the stretch this season.
Korchinski was the first draft choice by Kyle Davidson as the permanent general manager of the Blackhawks. After being selected seventh overall in 2022, he wound up in the worst-case scenario for his development in the NHL during the 2023-24 season. The Blackhawks were crushed by injuries, so he spent most of his ice time on a bad team with a waiver claim (Jaycob Megna) for a partner. Add to those circumstances the fact that his father passed away in the middle of the year and it was a hard, hard year for the teenager.
Korchinski is now, still, only 21. He’s been an AHL All-Star now two years in a row. There’s good reason to believe his arrow is still pointing up. Again: Korchinki is still only 21.
Considering there were similarities between Del Mastro and Nolan Allan in the pipeline and the Blackhawks moved on from Allan in early January — he was traded to San Jose with Laurent Brossoit — there should be more confidence in Del Mastro’s position in the pipeline. Drance and Dayal describe Del Mastro as “a good puck mover with a big frame, who was a pedigree player all the way up through to the start of his major junior career. He has every tool you could ever ask for from a still-developing 23-year-old defender.”
But the other reality is both of these young guys is heading to restricted free agency this coming summer. That should be a reason for the Blackhawks to get them more run in the NHL to better determine their next contracts — but it also presents a decision timeline for one/both of them.
Which brings me back to being somewhat intrigued that they were mentioned in this piece from Drance and Dayal.
Blackhawks, Canucks, Rebuilding, Buying, Selling
Let’s get into the meat of this report that got my interest. Here’s the part of their write-up of Korchinski and Del Mastro that got my interest most:
If the Blackhawks buy ahead of the deadline?
If the Blackhawks buy “expensive veterans with term” ahead of the deadline?
So, let’s first qualify who fits the definition of “expensive veterans with term” on Vancouver’s payroll (with their age in parenthesis):
- Elias Pettersson (27) — $11.6M AAV thru 2032**
- Brock Boeser (28) — $7.25M AAV thru 2032**
- Connor Garland (29) — $6M AAV thru 2032** (new extension begins next season)
- Jake DeBrusk (29) — $5.5M AAV thru 2031**
I added the ** to each of their contract details because they’re all on Bowman Specials. All four of those veteran forwards has a no-move clause on their contracts thru next year; DeBrusk’s contract moves to a 15-team no-trade list in 2027.
So keep in mind any additional discussion about these four players assumes they would waive their no-move clause to come to Chicago.
Are any of those four guys changing the trajectory of the Blackhawks’ timeline individually? Would they change it enough to consider moving a young defenseman who is likely on the cusp of being ready for the NHL full-time next year?
None of those players is having a good season; Pettersson and DeBrusk have 13 goals each, Boeser 12 and Garland has scored seven. They’re good players with different skillsets, but none of them presents something the Blackhawks don’t necessarily have coming in the pipeline other than NHL experience — and an expensive contract.
Given all of the turmoil in Vancouver over the past few years — from coaching changes to veterans getting moved out (and what they’ve said about the Canucks after leaving) — there’s reason to believe in a possible “buy low” on any of those four. But I’m not sold on those four guys — with those four contracts — at this time for the Blackhawks.
But file away that there is a perception outside Chicago that we may have already reached a point where teams might call GMKD and try to poach young players who are still developing as “reclamation projects.”
Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...ntioned-as-reclamation-project-trade-targets/
