- Scott Powers expects Chicago to trade at least two of its three 2027 first-round picks
- The Oilers pick the Blackhawks hold is top-12 protected and can slide to 2028
- Read below for the cap trick Chicago can use and who could be available in February
The Blackhawks are sitting on three first-round picks in the 2027 draft. Most of them probably will not survive the season.
Scott Powers of The Athletic was asked Thursday how Chicago should use that stash, and he does not see the team hanging onto all three.
“There are a lot of different ways to use those draft picks, but I’d be surprised if the Blackhawks don’t trade at least two of them to help improve their NHL roster,” Powers wrote.
Kyle Davidson has spent the summer acting like a general manager in a hurry. He shipped the No. 4 pick, the No. 45 pick and Louis Crevier to Buffalo for Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway, then got Byram locked up long term.
Patrick Kane came home on a two-year deal, and Connor Bedard signed a five-year, $75 million extension carrying a $15 million cap hit.
All that spending left Chicago with roughly $2.8 million in projected cap space, per PuckPedia. Powers pointed to Ryan Ellis as the release valve.
Ellis has not played an NHL game since 2022, and his $6.25 million hit can sit on long-term injured reserve. Davidson picked up that contract from San Jose in January, and it runs through 2026-27.
The third first-rounder is the complicated one. Chicago got Edmonton’s 2027 first in the March trade that sent Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach the other way, and it came with strings attached.
Here is Powers explaining the protection when that deal went through:
Two firsts still buy a real player. Montreal built its Noah Dobson package around a pair of them last summer, and St. Louis landed Mason McTavish in June for No. 15 and No. 29.
Chicago finished 31st again at 29-39-14, so a February rental is a harder sell than a young player with term. The rental board will be loaded either way, with Mark Stone, Alex DeBrincat, Ryan O’Reilly and Drake Batherson all scheduled to hit free agency next summer.
Bedard is expected to miss the start of the season after shoulder surgery. That gives Davidson a few months to decide which two picks he can live without.
