Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman will have seven picks for the 2020 NHL Draft, which will be held virtually from Oct. 6-7. The NHL Draft was scheduled for June 26-27 at Bell Centre in Montreal, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s how he acquired them.
First round — No. 17
The Blackhawks and Canadiens were the 23rd and 24th teams, respectively, to earn spots in the NHL’s 24-team Return to Play Plan. Both teams upset the fifth seed in their respective conference (Oilers and Penguins) in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to avoid being one of the eight losing Qualifiers teams the second phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, but then fell in the first round of the playoffs.
Montreal will have the No. 16 pick because the draft order for the eliminated playoff teams is sorted by inverse points percentage from the regular season, and the Canadiens (.500) had a lower points percentage than Chicago (.514).
It’s the first time in Blackhawks history the team will select a player from the No. 17 position.
Second round — No. 46
Chicago traded its own second-round pick (No. 48) to Montreal to re-acquire forward Andrew Shaw on June 30, 2019, but the Blackhawks got the Penguins’ second-round pick (No. 46) from the Golden Knights for goaltender Robin Lehner on Feb. 24. Vegas previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade June 21, 2017, that ensured the Golden Knights would select goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Pittsburgh.
Chicago’s past No. 46 picks: Centers Rick Paterson (1978) and Geoff Peters (1996) and left wing Dmitri Levinsky (1999).
Third round — No. 79
This is Chicago’s own pick.
Chicago’s past No. 79 picks: left wing Mark Murphy (1978), defenseman Tarek Howard (1983), center Chris Tucker (1990), defenseman Klas Dahlbeck (2011) and right wing Chris Calnan (2012).
Third round — No. 76 OR No. 81
Chicago acquired the earlier of Calgary’s two third-round pick in the defenseman Erik Gustafsson trade Feb. 24. Here’s the explanation from Flames.com on the situation:
“The Flames may acquire the Oilers 2020 third-round pick after the NHL ruled Edmonton will transfer their own third round pick in either the 2020 or 2021 NHL Draft to Calgary. The Oilers have until the beginning of the third round in the 2020 NHL Draft to make the decision on which year the pick will be transferred. Currently, the Oilers have the 76th overall selection in this round. In addition, the Flames have sent their earliest third round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks as a part of the trade that brought defenceman Erik Gustafsson to Calgary, which is currently the 81st overall pick this year, so if the Oilers opt to keep their pick this year, that is the pick that will go to Chicago.”
Chicago’s past No. 76 picks: defenseman Rob Hoffmeyer (1975) and centers Ryan Huska (1993) and Tony Lagerstrom (2006).
Center Terry McDonald (1976) is the only No. 81 pick in franchise history.
Fourth round — No. 110
This is the Blackhawks’ pick.
Chicago’s past No. 110 picks: defenseman Maco Balkovec (1991), center Ben Simon (1997) and defenseman Lucas Carlsson (2016).
Fifth round — No. 141
This is the Blackhawks’ pick.
Chicago’s past No. 141 picks: left wing Steve Alley (1973) and defensemen Mike St. Cyr (1974) and Luc Snuggerud (2014).
Sixth round — No. 172
This is the Blackhawks’ pick.
The Blackhawks have never selected at the No. 172 position.
Seventh round — None
The Blackhawks traded their pick (No. 203) to Montreal in the Shaw trade. The Canadiens then sent the pick to the Blues on Sept. 2 as part of the trade for goaltender Jake Allen.