Hawks ready to move out of Central Division basement

It seems like the Chicago BlackHawks have been in the news frequently through the off season, but a look at the moves made shows mostly lateral moves.

Without a doubt, the most interesting move – the one that has the potential to be huge or disastrous the trade of first round picks with the Buffalo Sabres on July 9.

The Hawks acquired Alex Nylander in the trade for Henri Jokiharju.

Both were first round picks by their respective clubs, Nylander taken eighth overall by the Sabres in 2016 and Jokiharju late in the opening round by the Hawks a year later.

We had a pool in our office this past season and I picked Jokiharju to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, so maybe I have a little more love for him than most.

He had a great camp but ultimately ended up splitting time between the Hawks (38 games) and the team’s AHL affiliate in Rockford (30 games). He picked up a dozen assists for the Hawks and another 17 points for the IceHogs

Jokiharju played on both the Finnish World Juniors team and the National team that won the World Championship this spring and all things considering, it wasn’t a bad season at all.

I felt like he would be an important player in the future as the defense corps in Chicago that was a key part of three Cups earlier this decade is suddenly starting to look a bit old.

The 20-year-old Finn is known to be a solid puck moving defender. The knock on him seems to be his size (listed at six-foot even) and play in his own end. Personally, I liked the right side defender on the Hawks and figured he could be a future top pair guy.

Perhaps the late June trade for Calvin DeHaan and forward Aleksi Saarela from the Hurricanes for Anton Forsberg and Gustav Forsling ultimately made Jokiharju expendable, but I still feel like there was still room for him on the Hawks.

Clearly, the team didn’t just give Jokiharju away and if Nylander is able to find his game with the Hawks, they could be considered the winners of this trade. Nylander has the tools to be a big part of the Hawks offense.

The knock on him is consistency and intensity which make him a bit of a wild card, but playing on the Hawks, a team that has a knack for getting the best out of players abandoned by other teams, I would not be surprised at all to see him have a breakout in Chicago.

Clearly both players, taken in the first round of the draft in 2016 (Nylander – 8^th Overall) and 2017 (Jokiharju – 29^th Overall) had scouts believing in them. How they adapt to new surroundings over the next few seasons will determine which team is the winner of this trade.

Other moves by the Hawks included July 1 signings of:

Robin Lehner, a 27-year-old Swedish goaltender coming off the best season in his career as he appeared in 46 games and posting a record of 25-13-0-5 with a 2.13 Goals Against Average and a .930 Save Percentage. Lehner split time with Tomas Greiss in the New York Islanders’ goal and ultimately shared the William Jennings Trophy as the best goaltending tandem in the league and;

Ryan Carpenter, a 28-year-old forward who played 68 games and collected 18 points (5g, 13a) for the Vegas Golden Knights last season, his fourth in the NHL and first that didn’t involve time in the AHL.

Also, the Hawks resigned David Kampf, a 24-year-old forward who will be back for a third season having played 63 games and collecting 19 points (4g, 15a) in 18-19.

The pickup of Lehner could be another good one as both veteran Cam Ward and young prospect Forsberg failed to carry the load when Corey Crawford was absent last season. If one of them had stepped up, the Hawks might have been in playoff contention down the stretch.

Crawford was out at least twice last season and missed a substantial part of the season. He still has the ability to put the team on his back when he’s healthy and the team played its best when Crawford was between the pipes. But who knows how the injury bug will be this season? The addition of Lehner should give the players a little more confidence playing in front of him though.

There are likely more to consider, but forward Dylan Sikura and defenseman Adam Boqvist likely have the best shot of making the Hawks out of came. Sikura already has a half-season under his belt and was the IceHogs’ leading scorer when called up mid-season in 2018-19.

Expectations are high for Boqvist as well and he has a shot at ultimately being the replacement for Duncan Keith, still one of the league’s best, but now in his career twilight at 36 years of age.

The Hawks drafted third overall in June and selected Kirby Dach from the Saskatoon Blades. A rugged 6’4” center who can contribute on both offense and defense, Dach has a legit shot at making the Hawks out of camp as well.

The Central Division is the toughest in the NHL, but the Hawks, but barring key injuries, the Hawks have a shot at getting off the map and being a playoff contender this season.