Current cap: = 80.08 M
Contracts: = 47/50
DRAFT SYNOPSIS
2020 NHL Draft picks:
1 - 17) Brendan Brisson, center from the Chicago Steel (USHL)
2 - 46) Jake Neighbours, left wing from the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
3 - 79) Carter Savoie, left wing from Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)
3 - 82) Dylan Peterson, center from the USNTDP (USHL)
4 - 110) Sean Farrell, left wing from the Chicago Steel (USHL)
5 - 141) Luke Reid, defenseman from the Chicago Steel (USHL)
6 - 172) Ryker Evans, defenseman from the Regina Pats (WHL)
7 - 203) Karri Aho, defenseman from Ilves U20 (FIN)
Brendan Brisson: "This kid really knows how to negotiate with the opposition. He also knows how to generate offense. He oozes it. He's got a few years to go before he'll be pro ready, and there'll be much for him to learn in college, but we took him here with the full belief that he'll be an impact offensive player at the NHL level."
Jake Neighbours: "The kid has his detractors, but we're not among them. We see him as an intelligent, energetic player who can play the game anyway you want it. He won't be in the show overnight, but he's going to be a difference-maker once he arrives."
Carter Savoie: "He offensively tore apart a league he was too good for and will take his game to college. We know he'll have his growing pains, but we were pleased to draft him where we did, because we feel that if he makes it, he's going to be a sniper. He can play with a chip on his shoulder, but it's that shot and sniper mentality that will allow him to excel if he puts everything else together."
Dylan Peterson: "Here's a kid who will be an NHLer. As things look now, the expectation is that he'll be a big body for the third line and he'll bring a lot of intangibles. We think there's more in the tank and if anyone has been watching guys like Josh Norris in recent years, then they shouldn't be surprise with how Peterson develops over the next few seasons."
Sean Farrell: "Landing him at 110 was a gift. This kid is a gamer and has the sneaky skills that allow players to have long, productive NHL careers on a scoring line. It's all just a matter of experience and physical growth at this point, because he'll need a good bit of time to gain his man strength."
Luke Reid: "He fancies himself a Chris Letang type. We won't hold it against him. He'll need to round up a few corners of his game in college and then experience some minor pro action, but we feel the sky could be the limit if all goes well."
Ryker Evans: "Watch this guy as much as our scouts have and you'll realize that the whole package is there. You'll also realize that he's got a whole bunch of "will" to succeed. Put him on a stronger WHL club and he probably has a +30 and 50 points."
Karri Aho: "We got this pick back in a trade and Karri was one of three players we absolutely hoped would be there at this juncture. A really smart player who now needs to be exposed to more high quality competition. We're excited to see his progression."
TRADE ANALYSIS
DRAFT WEEK(END) TRADES:
- CHI sends D Olli Maatta to the Montreal Canadiens for C Jack Gorniak and pick #203 of the 2002 NHL Draft.
- CHI sends D Connor Murphy, F David Kampf, and the rights to F Maxim Shalunov to the Washington Capitals for LW Carl Hagelin, D Lucas Johansen, and the rights to RW Damien Riat.
- CHI sends LW Brandon Saad, F Jacob Nilsson, and D Joni Tuulola to the Las Vegas Golden Knights for G Marc-Andre Fleury (retain 500 k), F Pavel Dorofeyev, and D Dylan Coghlan.
"We made three trades that saw three core, veteran players be moved to other teams. Brandon has been an integral part of the Hawks since our Cup days (within an intermezzo in Columbus) and we now moved two top-5 NHL Dmen who can contribute in all three zones in Murphy and Maatta. No doubt, others in the organization will have to step up to the plate to compensate for them, but we've got plenty of hungry young men looking to make their mark in the NHL.
What we do strongly believe is that we've solidly answered our biggest goaltending question and have brought in a guy we know VERY much wants to have a big say in the goaltending ways of an NHL team. Marc-Andre and Malcolm are very familiar with each other and we want them to bring a young tradition of winning from Vegas into the Blackhawks fold.
What our moves also did, aside from bringing back one of the league's fastest and pestiest skaters in Carl Hagelin was add several prospects to the stable who we're very high on. For us, Pavel Dorofeyev is just a few years away from being a very strong NHL player who simply knows how to play the game right. Righty shot Dman Dylan Coghlan has been wonderful in his two AHL seasons to date and we fully expect him to be pushing for an NHL job sooner rather than later.
Lucas Johansen is a former first round pick who we feel needs a new lease on life and he'll get it here. First, he's gotta get back into the sway of things after basically an entire season lost over the past two years. Damien Riat is a Swiss player who we've loved internationally and we've already contacted his party about concrete interest in him coming over after this winter. Lastly, Jack Gorniak has plenty of time in college after a rough sophomore season for a Wisconsin team that saw plenty of players underachieve. His freshman season was fantastic and we feel we're going to see his best hockey over the next two years of college play."