Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman will enter this summer’s free agency period, which begins July 1, with his sights set on re-tooling the roster so they can return to the playoffs.
He has already made two trades to acquire defensemen Calvin de Haan and Olli Maatta from the Hurricanes and Penguins, respectively. Bowman is also trying to add a forward to the current group.
Unlike past seasons, Bowman has plenty of salary cap space to play with but he also must be mindful of the contract extensions Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome will need after next season. The Blackhawks have $11.93 million in cap space after the de Haan trade, according to CapFriendly.
Chicago also has 16 players in the organization set to hit free agency that Bowman could sign, trade or let them walk. He’s already reportedly in contract talks with David Kampf, Brendan Perlini, John Quenneville and Dylan Sikura.
Let’s dive in.