The 2026 Winter Olympics have wrapped up, and all of a sudden, the NHL Trade Deadline is right around the corner!
The Chicago Blackhawks are clearly out of the playoff race, and while I’m not a huge fan of them trading anyone significant, here are three Blackhawks who could be traded by the deadline.
Connor Murphy
If you were to create the average NHL trade deadline acquisition in a lab, it would be Connor Murphy. He is a 6-foot-4 right-shot defenseman on an expiring deal making just under $5 million.
The long-time Blackhawk is also the perfect trade deadline chip because of his age. At 32 years old, an extension would be a bit unusual for the Blackhawks’ timeline, and I think a team in win-now mode would be more willing to provide that to him.
Murphy has suited up in all 57 games for Chicago and has posted four goals and eight assists for a total of 12 points in those games.
The underlying numbers for Murphy aren’t great. He’s lost his minutes this season, posting an expected goals for percentage (xGF%) of 45.44, which is to be expected for defensemen on lottery teams. In fact, the Blackhawks have given 12 different pairs more than 50 minutes of ice this season, and just two of them have at least broken even in their minutes.
The two pairs that did it were Matt Grzelcyk and Louis Crevier, who posted a 57.7 xGF%, and Sam Rinzel and Wyatt Kaiser, who posted an even 50 xGF%.
Related: Blackhawks’ Vlasic & Crevier Building Strong Partnership as Top Shutdown Defensive Pairing
Murphy can be a valuable addition for teams who are looking to upgrade their right side, which is most teams come deadline time.
In terms of what the Blackhawks can get, I think they could get a second-round pick for him. Prices on defensemen typically soar come deadline time, especially guys who play on the right side and have size. I think a second is what Blackhawks fans should hope for.
Jason Dickinson
Jason Dickinson has been used in many different situations for the Blackhawks this season. The 30-year-old, on an expiring deal, is currently a third-line center and on the first penalty-kill unit.
With Dickinson making $4.25 million this season, I suspect the Blackhawks would have to use one of their two remaining retention slots. If general manager (GM) Kyle Davidson retains half of his contract, Dickinson will be much more palatable at close to $2 million than he is now, at an expensive $4.25 million.
Dickinson hasn’t been able to recreate his career-high 22-goal season he had a couple of years ago, but he is a goal away from matching the seven in 59 games he had last season. Through the 43 games he’s played this season, he has scored six goals and recorded seven assists.
With Dickinson being able to play on the penalty kill and not being too bad in the faceoff dot, posting a 51.28 faceoff percentage, GMs could value him as a depth piece for their roster.
This deal wouldn’t bring the Blackhawks a haul, but I could see Davidson getting a third or fourth-round pick for the veteran center.
Ilya Mikheyev
You’ll find a trend with my three picks in that they’re all on expiring deals. Ilya Mikheyev is making a smidge over $4 million this season and will be a free agent in the summer.
Mikheyev has scored 11 goals and posted 12 assists in 52 games this season. Teams that are looking to add some depth to their forward core in a playoff push could look at Mikheyev as a possible option if they have limited assets.
Although his numbers don’t jump off the page, Mikheyev can be a defensively responsible winger who penalty kills and adds speed to lineups. All three of those things are appealing to GMs who are looking to bolster their forward group before the playoffs.
This also opens up some space for some of the younger Blackhawks, like Nick Lardis, for example, to get some more NHL game time before the season comes to a close.
I don’t think Mikheyev brings Chicago any huge assets, but like Dickinson, I definitely see something like a fourth-round pick being available to Davidson.
I know it’s not exciting for fans to get mid-round picks, but this is what the Blackhawks need to do. They aren’t trading any of the core pieces because they’re all going to be part of the future, so you have to get what you can out of the depth on the roster who are on expiring deals.
