Chicago Blackhawks TRADE for Superstar Forward OR Continue Rebuild? Tage Thompson + Connor Bedard!?

Chicago Blackhawks TRADE for Superstar Forward OR Continue Rebuild? Tage Thompson + Connor Bedard!?

Would you rather see the Blackhawks take major steps back in the in the standings to get that big-time draft pick? Or would you rather have them be knocking on the door, play competitive hockey right through the spring, and whether they sneak into the playoffs or not, they’re playing meaningful hockey in the spring again? What’s your mindset on that? And I also want to transition this video into a keep or sell conversation in terms of some of these veteran players uh on this roster. So, what’s your mindset on that with the Blackhawks? It’s honestly a great question. The way that I see this is, you know, the Blackhawks are not a Stanley Cup contender at this point. And if they were, it would be absolutely just very surprising. It would be like OKC Thunder winning in 2023 rather than last year. And it’s just like they have so many picks. So, the Blackhawks have two first round picks. They have the Toronto Maple Leafs pick in the second round, the Islanders pick in the second round, their own pick in the second round. They have 10 picks in the first two rounds in the next three years combined. And I just feel like that’s so many assets that you can take and they’re not going to be able to sign a lot of these players. I mean, you can see like a guy like who was it? It was um he plays for the Lightning Dominic James and now he’s one of the fastest players in the entire NHL and the Blackhawks couldn’t sign him and it was just unfortunate. But he saw the amount of prospects that they had coming up and he realized that it was a a sinking ship if he went there because you know the days are numbered if you’re not one of the top prospects on a team and you could just go to the Lightning who are a really good organization but they don’t have the type of prospects. So, are the Blackhawks going to be able to use those assets, whoever they may be, if it’s a prospect, a player, or like a guy like Conor Murphy or Jason Dickinson, to acquire, you know, that wing player for Connor Bernard. And if they do do that, are they blocking a spot for a really great prospect when he really needs to come up? Like an Oliver Moore should not be playing in the bottom six right now. He should be, you know, either playing in Rockford, getting a lot of time on ice, playing that number one line time on ice, or he should be on the top six with, you know, Frank Nazar in my opinion with they both show their speed, but he’s playing on the third line right now. So, if they bring in somebody else, I don’t want that to block a position for them. They also have Kchinsky coming up in the reigns. Is, you know, you got to figure out what you have in him. Is he going to be a trade ship? I do not want a Lucas Riel situation where you squeeze out all the value and then you trade him for, you know, a fourth round pick and at that point it’s just really nothing for the team because that fourth round pick is probably going to be not really that much on this team when you have all these prospects. So, I would want to see the Blackhawks make the playoffs if it’s built around the kids. Like if the new era or the new generation of the Blackhawks are the ones doing it. If it’s like Spencer Knight standing on his head every night and it’s multiple crossarss that are being hit and the Blackhawks should have lost cuz they’re outsh shot 50 point or 50 shots to 30 or whatever it is like I’d kind of rather have a lottery team. But if it’s a situation where Conor Bernard, Frank Nazar, Ardum Lefchenov took a step like Sam Renzel is just absolutely out of his mind with his point production like I would want to see that and that team make the playoffs because you want to get these guys the confidence to believe in themselves and Jeff Blashill has already kind of shown how good of a coach he is and he’s changed the culture on the team. So, you know, it’s kind of a win-win situation for whatever happens. And the Blackhawks have so many first round picks in the next few years and so many second round picks that, you know, they’re probably going to have a third first round pick again this year because they have two or they have three second round picks and they always just trade with the Carolina Hurricanes for some reason in the first round. And I so I do believe and I do believe that Malholtra is going to be on the Blackhawks cuz the Blackhawks seem to love their Brford Bulldogs. I I don’t know, you know, how they’re going to do it, but they always end up with a third first round pick and then they draft or they could draft Vlad. They could draft Vlad maybe. could they could I they’re going to draft Mahalra or Vlad or both like but this is a team that just has so many assets that you have to just go for it and that will allow you know Conor Bernard to get the safety net where he’s going to sign a big deal because that’s kind of the only thing the Blackhawks fans really care about at this point. I know that we’re thinking playoffs or whatever it is but at this point it’s like it’s it’s not the year for the Blackhawks. Like it’s not a championship year. their championship window is not open yet, but you want to give them that experience. So, if they do end up fighting for a playoff spot and they’re trading for somebody, it should be somebody that they see in their lineup for years to come and not just like rentals. You should never buy rentals with this team. It just wouldn’t make sense. No, I agree. I I I think do not go for rentals. So, I’m going to fire something big time at you. It might be uh premature, but maybe it’s uh something Blackhawks fans would enter entertain. But say Buffalo, no, say Buffalo calls and says, “Hey, Kyle Davidson, Fondell, and Nick Lardis, give us and you we’ll give you Tage Thompson.” I would say no. You would say no. Yeah. No Ta Thompson next to Bard. I actually tweeted out like two weeks ago or three weeks ago, would you give up like two first round picks, uh, Nolan Allen and a second round or two second round picks for Tae Thompson? And people were like screaming like, no, he’s not good, blah, blah, blah. Like, Tage is not good is a crazy take. Yeah, it was Well, they were saying that he was not worth that price and Ta Thompson’s worth a lot of things. Have people not seen his contract, too? His contract’s one of the biggest We always hype up Frank Nazar as a steal. Tage Thompson’s making less than 8 million bucks. Like Tage Thompson’s on a steel of a deal. He He is one of the best like snipers, goalcorers. Having him and Bernard on a power play. Like I would definitely give up a guy like a Nick Lardis for that because you’re basically replacing Nick Lardis and his sniping attributes for a TA Thompson. But giving up Anton Frenell would kind of be hard based basically on what he’s doing in the SHL. But also like that is a fair deal. But I just think that the Blackhawks would probably want to prefer giving away pieces and packaging a lot of stuff that they don’t really necessarily need rather than core pieces that are going to be there for a very long time. because they jetted Anton Frenel because he had an incredible shot and his two-way game was really great and his transition game is only going to get better when he goes to the American ring size from the Swedish, you know, bigger ring sizes and his transition game was one of the weakest parts of his game. So, I I do believe that Fondal could be a star, but at this point, like Tae Thompson’s probably worth more than that, but I just can’t see the Blackhawks doing that because like it’s giving up the third overall player, which you invested so much into for a guy that you do have to pay now. And it’s the window is probably in a year or two. So, I mean, it takes I was No, it’s I was just curious like Yeah, he’s so good. And I think, you know what, it’s tough with talking with so many different fan bases sometimes, too, because it’s like everyone doesn’t want to give to get sometimes, Anthony. It’s funny, right? Like, I think that’s sometimes the feedback or the responses. Like, I’m sure that was kind of the responses you’re getting on socials. Like, like I don’t even know if Buffalo’s accepting that because I’ve talked to Sabers fans, people around Buffalo. Uh, I don’t even know if Buffalo accepts that. And I don’t even know if Buffalo accepts the initial deal that you talked about because Buffalo doesn’t want futures. They want guys that can step in. And that’s why I said I mentioned Fondell and Lardis because those two guys are knocking on the door of the NHL very soon, right? Like we could see those two guys in the NHL in the next year or two, right? So I think that’s kind of where my perspective is. Uh I think for any big name that Chicago gets, uh you’re going to have to give up a prominent prospect or prominent young player on this team. And Blackhawks fans just have to accept that. So whether they’re patient and they understand, hey, we’re okay with waiting for Fondell and for Lardis to join the likes of Frank Nazar and Bedard and Oliver Moore in the top six. If you guys are okay with waiting for that, then that’s fine. I actually think they probably should wait for that. But at the same time, if you want a youngish guy or a guy in his prime that’s going to join Baddard now and could see the Blackhawks winning as soon as next year, you’re going to have to pay to get. Whether that be a guy like Taage Thompson, whether that be a guy like I don’t think they’re going to be trading with a rival team, but like I think Nashville and St. Louis might blow it up at some point soon if it doesn’t keep going well. So, I don’t think they’re trading with a rival in Chicago, but that’s why I mentioned Buffalo because it is crossconference uh and there’s some natural fit there. That was a great question because now like I am thinking about Anton Fundell and Lardis for Tage Thompson. The Blackhawks would probably have to give up like a pick or two for that to happen. But the reason I say no is because of the Anton Fondell draft capital that you gave him and also who you didn’t draft where it’s like the you know I I just am a big believer in an Anton Frenel but the Blackhawks probably would want a Tage Thompson honestly for that price. It’s not imagine Tage next to Badard on that top line. That rightwing would be crazy. Kind of the perfect fit for the Blackhawks and then you don’t even have to give up any of your first round picks this year. The Blackhawks probably do do that. Honestly, I It’s tough. No, I don’t blame you. It’s tough. It is tough. So, I think I want to transition this into what I talked about. So, I’m going to throw I I love your explanations, but let’s make this try to a little bit of a rapid fire cuz I think there’s a lot of guys that the Blackhawks could actually, depending on where they are in the standings, they could juggle. Uh so, I’m going to fire you a name. I know it’s sometimes hard just to to do one-word answers, but uh if you want to give quick reasoning, that works, too. Uh I’m going to give you a a keep or sell. Uh, obviously just assume it’s market value. So, I’ll give an example. If the Blackhawks were going to trade, I don’t know, Andre Burkovski today, his value has gone way up. I would expect the Blackhawks to get either like multiple second round picks or as close to a first round pick right now. I know that’s a lot and maybe people think that’s a lot, but go check out Burkovsky’s uh production right now. U, so again, just assume it’s for what market value or what teams are looking for in terms of production. So, I’ll throw it back at you. Andre Burkovski, keep or sell? If it’s for a second and a third round pick value, then yes. If it’s only for a second, probably not. Cool. Tyler Batuzi, keep or sell. Sell. If you get it really good fair market value, his contracts tough. Yeah. Tavo Terravine. Keep or sell? Keep. I like it. Jason Dickinson. So, Ilia Mave. So, Ryan Donado, keep this one’s an interesting one because he’s young enough that he could be part of this growing core, but to me his role’s been interesting and I don’t know if he fits. Um, but Colton Doc, keeper cell, keep for sure. Yeah. Where do you on that note, I want to keep going with more players, but where do you see his fit? Do you see him as the the championship third liner for this team? Bottom six, you throw him out there like fourth line probably. And when I talk about bottom six, I would be like n like ninth to 12th forward. So, it’s just like you throw him out there on a line, you want him to hit as many players as possible in a playoff game. Like an Andrew Shawesque type. Gotcha. Yeah, it makes sense. Um, and there’s this one’s controversial because he’s a massive veteran. He’s been on the team for a while. Keep or sell Conor Murphy. You sell. You sell. You get a second round pick for Conor Murphy. You say yes. Yeah. Do it. Yeah. 100%. Okay. Wow. I’m sure some Blackhawks fans are going to feel differently about that. I’m going to be curious to see the comments. Uh, this is another interesting one just in terms of the fit and left’s rise a little bit and in terms of how the Blackhawks are structured. Are you trading one of the younger defenseman for in a package for a forward that could end up being Bard’s winger? So, I’m going to throw some names at you and you tell me how you maybe see the road map. So, if we’re splitting it up as like Sam Renzel, Kchinski, Delmastro, I’m probably missing one or two. Um, like I guess maybe I’ll ask it this way. In terms of rankings of defenseman that you’re 100% going to keep down to the younger defenseman that are top four potential, where do you rank in terms of Blackhawks 100% keeping down to like, hey, I could see them being included in a package for a top six forward? So, it’s it’s more about like trade value. Um, I feel like Renzel and Arty are untouchable at this point unless you get like a Katon Verhoff and you just walk into it and you want to reset. I I even think that you shouldn’t even do that. Just take Ivar Stenberg or Titan Lawrence. But then it would be Kaiser because I think Kaiser has fit in into the core for the Blackhawks defense. EDM as well is in there where he could be. I think Kchinsk’s kind of on a trade block that if you can get a core piece that you solidify yourself as a core piece, then you might trade him. But at the same time, he’s put up really good numbers in the AHL. His offensive skill set is really showing as he gains more confidence. So, I do feel like he’s one of those players that I would like to see stick in the Blackhawks organization, but at the same time, if you’re getting Bard’s winger, like he’s a player that you have to just dangle in my opinion. Um, I think Nolan Allen is probably on his way out. Former first round pick to the Blackhawks, but I I just don’t really see a fit for him. Krevier, I do like really big right-handed defenseman. He shoots the puck pretty hard. One of the hardest shots in the entire NHL based this year. So, I do feel like he could have a fit on the Blackhawks. Was his draft capital was very like sixth round pick, seventh round pick. So, they didn’t really give up anything to get him. So, you kind of just want to keep him. Um, there’s not a lot of Blackhawks defensive prospects. They’re probably going to try to draft a couple of them next year, but there’s really nothing else. So, I think Kaiser would be the one you dangle. I mean, uh, Kchinsky. Kchinsky. Okay. So, if they make no veteran moves on the back end, don’t change anything. You could see it as Velic, Krevier, Kaiser, Lefchinoff, Delmastro, and Renzel. Is that fair? Yeah. Yeah. Like on the right side, if you do trade Conor Murphy, then you would have Krevier fitting into the right side in that third pair, then you have Renzel and Levchinoff. So, it’s Renzel, Levino, Crevier on the right side. Classic Kaiser EDM. Yep. That makes total sense to me. And then that’s why it made sense that you talked about potentially Allen and Kchinsky being traded. And honestly, there’s good value still for Kinsky, obviously a former higher first round pick. I think that’s a guy that you dangle. I know I I to me the reason I I didn’t include Kinsky in that Buffalo mock trade is because Buffalo already has so many left shot defenseman, they don’t need another Kchinsky type. So that’s why it doesn’t make sense in that trade. But I do know there’s a lot of teams out there that are looking for a puckmoving sizable guy like Kchinsky to go into the top four. So the Blackhawks could definitely utilize that ass asset into a potential trade. So Anthony, thank you so much for coming on. Uh I love talking Blackhawks, but I also just love talking hockey and prospects with you. So, if you could plug everything you got going on, uh, what’s to come and I know you already plugged some of your interviews, but just overall, uh, what are you up to and where can people find you? Yeah, thank you so much for having me on. I love coming on. Uh, well, love talking to you, but this is my first time on, so thanks for having me on. Uh, Draft Prospects Hockey, we are a scouting service. We just are, you know, partnering with a lot of these junior leagues and bringing coverage like the USHL, you know, some Brford coverage as well. Like, you know, we’re I’m interviewing a couple players in the next couple days and one of them is going to be Mason West. I interviewed, you know, my Daxon Rudolph interview is out now. Uh, I have Ethan Belchetts who I’m interviewing as well. JP Herbert I’m going to be interviewing. So, a bunch of these guys that, you know, you can’t don’t really want to miss. I have a VGO BORC interview as well. So, it’s just a lot of like interviewing prospects. Last year, we were the I guess scouting service that interviewed the most prospects out of anybody, which was really big for us because of our digital footprint. We want to get bigger. We want to, you know, just partner with more of these agencies and try to talk to these players, talk about their strengths more than anything because at the same time, like they’re 17, 18 year old kids, you know, like I talked or 16, 15 year olds like Land Dupont I talked to. Uh, so that interview is going to be coming out in the next couple days and we talked about Denny’s. Like you you got to remember these guys are so young that the first thing they’re going to talk about is the last thing that they did. Like it’s so interesting to look back at how old I am now. Like I I like I turned 27 and I feel like I’m so old compared to these guys that I’m talking to now, but I I feel like I was their age, you know, just a couple years back. So you got to realize that these guys are kids. They’re going through a lot with their draft and some of these guys are the face of the franchise like Matthew Schaefer. So, it’s really interesting to get to know them as people and their strengths and that’s kind of what we want to bring in our scouting reports and kind of our reports on the players and their profiles. I’m going to be going to a Madison Capitals game and we have a bunch of interviews lined up with I have Nathan Grav coming with me. So, we’re going to be doing some cool stuff there with the USHL. um the NHL draft simulator we just like I coded somehow like with some app and now it’s awesome and I have these creator rankings that we have like Stephen Ellis Gra is going to be coming on and doing featured stuff. Uh so that’s pretty cool and you can like create your own rankings too. It’s really simple to do. It’s drag and drop then you could share them with your friends. So check out draft prospectshockey.com. We have a lot of cool features and all of all of our scouting reports are there and on X at the Prosprosspect Dawn, Tik Tok and YouTube. But uh yeah, thank you so much for having me on. This is awesome. Sweet. Thanks, Anthony. Appreciate it. And uh yeah, looking forward to the next one.

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