Chicago Blackhawks Need to Sign Mario Ferraro

Heading into the offseason, the Chicago Blackhawks once again find themselves in a position with a top-five pick in the draft. While it’s exciting that they could be looking to add yet another young, talented player to a roster filled with them, they need to make some additions that will affect the roster now.

The free agent class this offseason is the weakest we’ve seen in years, with no real stars available, but one target I think would be a perfect fit for the Blackhawks is San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro.

Why Ferraro Is a Good Fit

The Blackhawks have so much talent up front that they’re already facing somewhat of a log jam with players like Anton Frondell, Sacha Boisvert, and Roman Kantserov looking to crack the everyday lineup.

It’s a different story when it comes to how the blue line is shaking out. Matt Grzelcyk is an unrestricted free agent (UFA) while Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro are both restricted free agents (RFA).

Although Grzelcyk was a good leader in the room, I would let him walk this offseason, and that is where Ferraro fits in for me to fill that spot on the left side.

It was reported by Elliotte Friedman on his latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast that it sounds like Ferraro will make it to free agency.

Other teams around the Blackhawks have made additions to their young roster to help in the present, while it feels like Chicago has lacked that a little bit. Kiefer Sherwood is a good example of that in San Jose, regardless of what you think of the contract he signed during the season.

Ferraro would slide into the lineup pretty well. He’s not a quick skater and won’t put up the big offensive numbers that a player like Rasmus Andersson, who could hit the open market this summer, might, but I do like Ferarro’s fit.

Where Ferraro will excel for this team is in the defensive zone, where he can be a reliable player in the defense unit. He posted a 2.56 goals against per 60 minutes (GA/60) last season, which isn’t bad for a team like the Sharks, who had a lot of trouble keeping the puck out of their own net. In fact, the Sharks allowed the fifth most goals in the league per 60 minutes, at 2.89, with the Blackhawks coming in third with an equally abysmal 2.93.

He is a shot-blocking machine, blocking 150 shots last season, which was good enough to rank him 18th in the league. The next closest Blackhawk was Connor Murphy, who was later traded at the deadline to the Edmonton Oilers. He posted 138 blocked shots.

The Sharks relied on him heavily in the defensive zone, giving him 39 percent of the defensive zone starts. I’d expect him to have similar numbers if the Blackhawks signed him, filling the role Murphy played in Chicago prior to being traded.

Murphy started in the defensive zone 40 percent of the time this season, over his time with both the Blackhawks and Oilers. With the trade, Chicago could use a guy to take the brunt of those minutes.

I also think he’d be the ideal partner for Artyom Levshunov, who’s heading into an important second full year in the NHL. He needs to make some serious strides next season after struggling at times this season and having to be seriously sheltered by head coach Jeff Blashill.

Levshunov excels at moving the puck, creating opportunities offensively and is an unbelievable skater. Blackhawks fans already know this, but his struggles come in the defensive zone. Ferraro can be an anchor for Levshunov to lean on and learn from, which will be very valuable for the Belarusian defenseman.

What Would the Contract Look Like?

Projecting what the Blackhawks would have to pay is pretty difficult with how much the salary cap has been going up over the last couple of years, plus where it’s going in the future.

His last contract was a four-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $3.25 million. At just 27 years old, he’ll be looking for a raise and some term as well.

I’m assuming Ferraro will be looking for a four to five-year deal with an AAV of around $5 to $5.5 million. The Blackhawks have tons of cap space with a projection of just over $40 million for next season. Connor Bedard will obviously eat up a good chunk of that space, but there is more than enough room to fit in Ferraro.

As I mentioned earlier, Blackhawks general manager (GM) Kyle Davidson needs to help this team now, and Ferraro is a fantastic fit.