Would Jake Guentzel Fit the Blackhawks Timeline?

All it takes is a 32 Thoughts Podcast to really get the excitement going for Blackhawks offseason. Especially when it involves big names provided by the biggest in the business with Elliotte Freidman and Jeff Marek.

Aside from the Martin Necas news that has been traveling in hockey circles for sometime, Jake Guentzel continues to move forward in terms of where he may go next season.

“So it sounds like he’s available for a mid-round pick,” Freidman told Marek on the podcast.

But when it comes to who the suitors could be–perhaps the front runner, it’s the Blackhawks that Freidman speaks immediately to.

“And then someone said to me Chicago started making noises they’d like to move things along a little bit here,” Freidman said. “I don’t think it’s impossible that Chicago is considering this.”

This of course, has been the feeling here at Chicago Hockey Now as well throughout the local media landscape that the true beginning out of the rebuild starts this offseason. Acquiring Jake Guentzel would be a way to do that.

Especially for a mid-round pick–which the Blackhawks have plenty of.

What Would Jake Guentzel Bring the Blackhawks?

Goal scoring, to start. Dear God, do the Blackhawks need it. Guentzel potted 30 this past season and has tallied 20 or more in every season but his first, which was only 40 games.

Oh, and he had 16 that year. Guentzel also brings in a veteran, big-game presence that the Blackhawks would dearly benefit from as they move on from the bottom of the rebuild.

While Guentzel would cost some cap space, it’s the term that could be the one point of contention. Guentzel is 29, a bit over where you’d like the pristine talent to be as the rebuild morphs into an eventual reload. But even a five-year term would exhaust the deal when Guentzel is 34, hardly a deal breaker.

Further, the short term benefits in 2024-25 and even into 2026-27 far outweighs the hemming and hawing over how long he should sign for.

When it boils down to it, it makes just too much sense to not be done. Now we’ll see if Freidman’s words come to fruition and indeed, the Blackhawks find a way to bring Jake Guentzel to Chicago.

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