The Blackhawks and GM Kyle Davidson couldn’t wait any longer to make their first draft deal happen.
On Friday afternoon, Chicago announced it had made a deal with the Islanders to move up two spots from the second of their two first-round picks, rising from No. 20 to No. 18 overall. They also improved their position by four spots in the second round, jumping from No. 54 to No. 50, all at the expense of the No. 61 pick.
The move initially strikes me as a puzzling one given the time frame in which it was executed. It isn’t often that a deal, especially one involving picks later in the first round, is struck more than a month before the draft.
The deal allows the Blackhawks to move past the Vegas Golden Knights who hold the No. 19 pick, which initially seems like the reasoning behind the trade. If the two teams seem to have a common need, and Davidson and his staff envision a prospect they really like being snatched from them, it’s a good move to lower the chances of that happening.
Just as they stole Oliver Moore last summer at No. 19, the move could allow the Blackhawks to grab a truly elite prospect once again this year. Players like Michael Brandsegg-Nygard or Beckett Senecke, who may have been out of Chicago’s reach in their initial spot, are opened up as legitimate possibilities.
In addition to a potential improvement in player value, the move could be a precursor to a trade for a veteran. We’ve already discussed this summer that it’s possible the Blackhawks look to package their second first-rounder in trading for a big-name player to help Connor Bedard, and while it’s certainly a stretch, perhaps Chicago was narrowly shot down with an offer including the No. 20 pick. Could a slight bump be enough to change other GMs’ minds?
In getting solid value at little cost, the Blackhawks opened up a world of new possibilities. Could they steal another elite prospect from their new slot? Could they package the new pick into a deal for a star? Whatever Davidson’s plan with the trade is, there’s certainly a goal in mind.
