Chicago Blackhawks UFAs – Andrew Shaw, Calvin de Haan, Erik Gustafsson, Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen, Kurtis Gabriel, Liam Coughlin, Ivan Nalimov and Victor Ejdsell.
Chicago Blackhawks RFA – Dominik Kubalik, Dylan Strome, Kirby Dach, Philipp Kurashev, Cameron Morrison, Wyatt Kalynuk, Andrel Altybarmakyan and Cale Morris.
Ben Pope: Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson when asked if he wants to have Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane with the team through their rebuild.
“There’s definitely a place for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane moving forward. I don’t think there’s any question about that. What their roles are and how they fit into things, that’s part of the dialogue that we’re having. being very honest with how we see their role and what we need out of them moving forward. They’re full aware of what those are, and there’s going to be questions and further conversation to really firm that up because it is something that isn’t… solved with one conversation or understood in one conversation.
Having them around is something we’re never going to shy away from, because they can show this next wave of players how it’s done. And you never know, maybe they could be part of when we’re back having success. We don’t know the timeline of any of that yet, but amount of experience, the understanding of what it takes to be a good professional, what it takes to develop into a high quality professional and then win at the professional level, that experience and understanding is invaluable, so absolutely there’s a place for 19 and 88 with the Blackhawks in any form that they wish.”
Ben Pope: Davidson when asked if Kane, Toews or other players have said they think it could be a quick rebuild: “It’s not that we don’t want to win as soon as possible. It’s just when you look at the bigger picture, you realize it might take a little longer than they may hope, perhaps.”
