We’ve talked about it dozens of times here over the past few years: While the Blackhawks are nowhere near the cap ceiling, GM Kyle Davidson and the front office actually have to be creative just to hit the cap floor. That’s a great problem to have, but it’s forced Chicago to make a handful of tricky moves, acquiring dead cap money and finangling the books.
The Blackhawks did just that on Thursday afternoon, shipping off defenseman Nolan Allan, goaltender Laurent Brossoit, and a 2028 seventh-round pick to the Sharks. In return, they took on the contract of 35-year-old Ryan Ellis and picked up AHL blueliner Jake Furlong, as well as a 2028 fourth-rounder.
Allan for Furlong is essentially a one-for-one swap. Furlong is still 21 years old and is a left-handed defenseman who has played in 78 AHL games over the past two years, with a contract running through the end of next year. Allan showed promise after being the Blackhawks’ first-round pick in the 2021 draft, but got shuffled to the back of a Chicago defensive pipeline that quickly became deeper than expected. He has potential in the NHL someday, it just probably wasn’t in Chicago.
Brossoit was never going to play for the Blackhawks, but he’s still the best player in the deal. After missing all of last season and half of this year, he’s been rehabbing in Rockford and has been at the center of most trade conversations surrounding Chicago. He’s a veteran netminder who has been awesome in a backup role in the past, and could do the Sharks some good when he’s ready to go.
Ellis is the real purpose of the deal for the Blackhawks. Essentially retired, he has a $6.25 million cap hit through the end of next season, making it a pure cap dump situation. With as many as nine contracts set to come off the books this summer, and several players making less than $1 million per year, Chicago achieved some stability and doesn’t have to worry as much about hitting the floor next season.
It’s not a bad deal, but this seems like a big nothing burger for the Blackhawks. The stability will help, and moving up to the fourth round a few years from now is nice, but it doesn’t seem like quite enough for the value that Brossoit could provide another team. Allan is also usable, which makes it seem like Chicago might have given up a bit too much on this one. Still, perfect cap dump situations don’t happen all that often, so it could have been a lot worse.
