CHICAGO (AP) — When it comes to the Chicago Blackhawks and the NHL trade deadline, it’s more goodbye than hello.
again.
Another losing season is coming to an end, and Chicago is selling ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline. Defenseman Connor Murphy was traded to Edmonton on Monday, and forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach were traded to the Oilers on Wednesday.
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“It’s disappointing that you can’t continue to stay together and grow together,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “They’re both really committed to the growth of this team. Having said that, they’re certainly excited to get this opportunity, especially with Murphy and Dickey, just because of their age, you don’t know how many opportunities you’re going to get.”
Chicago has been to the postseason just once since 2017, a 2020 season in an expanded postseason format affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has finished last in the Central Division the past three seasons.
Selling has become the norm for the Blackhawks this time of year.
“We all know this is part of the plan going forward,” guard Alex Vlasic said. “If anything, like I said before, it’s just going to be a little bit more sad to lose some friends.
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“We talked about it as a team. We want to be a team where we don’t lose anyone and we keep the players we have.”
Captain Nick Foligno and speedy forward Ilya Mikheyev, a superb penalty killer, are also likely to leave before Friday’s deadline. The 38-year-old Foligno is in his third season with Chicago, and the 31-year-old Mikheyev is in his second season with Chicago.
Foligno has had some conversations with general manager Kyle Davidson about his future.
“I’m a member of the Chicago Blackhawks so far, so I’m fully committed to what we’re doing,” Foligno said after Thursday’s practice. “But obviously we’ve had honest conversations and we’ll see how that plays out.”
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Chicago received a 2028 second-round pick in the Murphy trade and received veteran forward Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 draft in Wednesday’s trade. First-round picks are top-12 protected.
After these two transactions are completed, the Blackhawks will have a total of nine draft picks in the first two rounds over the next two years. Over the past four years, they’ve drafted 11 players in the first round alone.
When the team returns to contention at some point, Chicago’s development pipeline will remain key. But the Blackhawks (23-28-10) have 21 games left in the season, starting with Friday night’s game against Vancouver.
Mangiapane, who turns 30 on April 4, has seven goals and seven assists in 52 games for Edmonton this season after agreeing to a two-year, $7.2 million contract with the Oilers. He was in the minors at the time of the trade.
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“He has a chance to start over here,” Brashear said. “He’s been a good player in this league. He’s going to have a chance to be a good player here.”
While it’s unclear if Mangiapane will be able to play against the Canucks, defenseman Wyatt Kizer is expected to return after missing time with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Kevin Korchinski was assigned to Rockford of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
