{"id":570481,"date":"2026-05-09T04:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T04:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/570481\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T04:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T04:18:16","slug":"three-blockbuster-trades-of-no-4-pick-that-could-land-the-blackhawks-an-nhl-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/570481\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Blockbuster Trades Of No. 4 Pick That Could Land The Blackhawks An NHL Superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re now three days removed from the night the Chicago Blackhawks lost the NHL Draft Lottery, with both the Maple Leafs and Sharks jumping over them and the Canucks for picks No. 1 and 2. The rumor mill has been flying, with analysts and insiders admitting that the pick is wide open if the Blackhawks make it, as Chicago could end up with anyone from Ivar Stenberg to Caleb Malhotra.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But what if they don\u2019t make the pick at all?<\/p>\n

When GM Kyle Davidson spoke with the media on Tuesday, he noted the rarity of trading a top-five pick in the NHL, but also mentioned that he\u2019s open to trade talks. And with the Blackhawks looking to make a splash on the trade market this summer, packaging the No. 4 overall pick might be the way to do it. If Chicago wants to acquire a big piece to accelerate its nearly-completed rebuild, the best way to do that isn\u2019t by taking a player No. 4 overall, so the fact that they lost the draft lottery might be a blessing in disguise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the No. 4 pick included, the Blackhawks could pick up a real superstar to play next to Connor Bedard, which was the plan all along. We\u2019ve made it very clear that they don\u2019t need any more prospects and the cupboards are fully stocked, and they own three second-rounders this year and three first-rounders next year, so Davidson has plenty of ammunition to work with. When he picks up the phone this month to make a deal, four names stand out as superstar trade targets.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd25 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel<\/a> to hear Chicago legends tell stories you\u2019ve never seen in headlines \u2014 real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs: William Nylander OR Matthew Knies<\/p>\n

Blackhawks Receive: William Nylander OR Matthew Knies<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs Receive: 1.04, Oliver Moore, 2026 2nd<\/p>\n

Now that the Leafs own the first overall pick, they won\u2019t be entering any sort of rebuild after all\u2014but they can\u2019t pay everyone. Knies has been tied to the Blackhawks for months now, and the rumored mutual interest is promising. Both he and Nylander would probably fetch a similar asking price at this point, but the above package might be enough to get the job done. Nylander is 30 years old and will be paid $11.5 million annually through 2032, while Knies is 23 and will earn $7.75 million until 2031. Knies fits Chicago better at this point, but Nylander is the bigger star. Either way, the Blackhawks would be getting a superstar to play next to Bedard on the top line, and with the Leafs having less than $1.8 million in projected cap space, Chicago might be able to pounce.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Predators: Filip Forsberg<\/p>\n

Blackhawks Receive: Filip Forsberg<\/p>\n

Predators Receive: 1.04, Martin Misiak, 2026 2nd<\/p>\n

Forsberg may not be as appealing of a candidate as Nylander or Knies, but Nashville\u2019s asking price would be lower. Now 31 years old and being paid $8.5 million until 2030, Forsberg\u2019s production hasn\u2019t slipped, notching 40 goals this season. The Predators aren\u2019t in much cap trouble, but after a sixth-place finish in the Central Division, a hard reset could be just what they need. What better way to do that than picking up another top-10 pick and a raw 21-year-old prospect? In return, the Blackhawks would lock down a proven veteran winger without an absurd cap hit.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks Receive: Elias Pettersson<\/p>\n

Canucks Receive: 1.04, Oliver Moore, 2026 3rd<\/p>\n

Yet another team already picking inside the top 10 adds a pick. The Canucks, who already own the third-overall pick this year, seem to be entering full rebuild mode after trading Quinn Hughes and finishing with the league\u2019s worst record. With $2.7 million in projected cap space, they\u2019ll be looking to sell some of their biggest cap eaters, so this move seems like a win-win. Vancouver offloads by far its biggest contract ($11.6 million until 2032) and owns picks 1.03 and 1.04 while picking up Oliver Moore, and Chicago buys low on a 27-year-old (previously) point-per-game scorer who can play a huge role on the top line\u2014and one they can afford to pay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re now three days removed from the night the Chicago Blackhawks lost the NHL Draft Lottery, with both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37,96,5263,2318,3577,5,797,4,465,591,1114],"class_list":["post-570481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-blackhawks","tag-blackhawks","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-chicagoblackhawks","tag-elias-pettersson","tag-filip-forsberg","tag-hockey","tag-matthew-knies","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-draft","tag-nhl-draft-lottery","tag-william-nylander"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116542695230115534","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}