Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks Should Address Center Needs Sooner Than Later
Yesterday (Oct.23) was an interesting day in the Chicago Blackhawks rumor mill when David Pagnotta of “The Fourth Period” reported that Chicago would love to add a second-line center to their roster but won’t rush a move. A few hours later, insider Elliotte Friedman reported, “Cut-and-paste with Chicago, when it comes to centres. Centres for everyone!”
Blackhawks Need A Second-Line Center
To act like Captain Obvious, the Blackhawks do need a second-line center. This season, the Blackhawks center group has consisted of Connor Bedard, Philipp Kurashev, Jason Dickinson, Andreas Athanasiou, Lukas Reichel, and Ryan Donato. Their consistent second-line center this season has been Kurashev, and when he was a healthy scratch on Oct. 22 against the Vancouver Canucks, Athanasiou filled that spot. This season, Kurashev has a 51.7% faceoff percentage, while Athanasiou has a 48.6% faceoff percentage.
Here is the funny part. The Blackhawks’ top three in faceoff percentages this season are Joey Anderson (66.7%), Nick Foligno (63.6%), and Teuvo Teravainen (60%), who are not the “starters” at center. So, you could say there is a significant need for an anchor at the dot.
The Blackhawks’ Center Woes Keep Lingering
These reports of the Blackhawks looking for a second-line center are unsurprising, considering this issue keeps arising. Last season, during opening night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Blackhawks centers were Bedard, Reichel, Dickinson, and Cole Guttman. There was turnover throughout the year with Tyler Johnson, MacKenzie Entwistle, Brett Seney, and Zach Sanford, and towards the end, they tried out Athanasiou in the 2C and 3C roles. Then Frank Nazar made his NHL debut in a center role, too.
All of that is to say that the Blackhawks can’t continue down this path of not having solidified centers. It was thought it might get addressed this summer, but Connor Bedard is still struggling at the dot (32.1%). Frank Nazar is doing well with the Rockford IceHogs, leading the team with 4 points in 3 games. But it’s still unclear when Nazar will be recalled since the coaching staff wants him to get development time in Rockford. Cole Guttman (2 points in 3 games in Rockford) is an option, but he fits more of a third or fourth center. Oliver Moore is playing third-line center with the Minnesota Gophers, and we won’t know if he will make the NHL jump until April. So, they don’t have many internal options.
Blackhawks Should Explore Trade Options
The Blackhawks should explore the trade market, but it likely won’t be a quick process. As Friedman reported, a top defenseman and center are hard to come by. Pagnotta mentioned Anaheim Ducks’ Trevor Zegras as a trade target, as he has been mentioned in trade rumors dating back to last season. Blackhawks’ talk around that possibility intensified then, but young centers are a luxury. However, the Blackhawks have a lot of draft capital to offer. They have 13 draft picks in the first three rounds of the next three NHL drafts. They have two first-round picks in 2025 and may be willing to dangle one if the price is right.
General manager Kyle Davidson mentioned many times they would be willing to use their draft capital in a trade to address needs, so a trade seems like a realistic possibility at some point.
Overall, the Blackhawks have not been able to fill the void of Jonathan Toews at the dot since they decided to part ways with him in 2023. Centers have been a luxury for the team for a while, but now it’s a glaring need they need to address sooner rather than later because the constant turnover of centers is not sustainable.
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