The Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres both missed the playoffs last season, and one insider believes they will make a major five-player deal.
NHL insider Zoro Sekhon of NHLTradeRumors criticized a scenario in which the Blackhawks would acquire JJ Peterka in a five-player megadeal.
The Blackhawks acquired:
JJ Peterka and Bowen Byram are the 2025 first-round picks (ninth overall).
Sabres acquire Luke Reichel.
Nolan Allan and Laurent Brossoit are the third overall picks in the 2025 first round.
The proposed transaction would be a blockbuster, but it makes sense for both parties.
Chicago would drop in the draft, but would land two key NHL players. The Blackhawks would acquire Peterka, a pending RFA who would be a top-six player in Chicago.
Last season, he scored 27 goals and 41 assists for 68 points in 77 games.
The Blackhawks would also acquire Byram, who would be a second or third-line defenceman. Byram is also a pending RFA and would need to be signed. In 82 games, Byram scored 7 goals and added 31 assists for a total of 38 points.
In exchange, the Blackhawks would transfer the third overall pick and three players. Chicago would trade Reichel, a first-round pick in 2020. Reichel may be a middle-six forward for Buffalo, having scored 8 goals and 14 assists for 22 points in 70 games.
Buffalo would also acquire Allan, a first-round pick in 2021, who would replace Byram on the blue line. Allan is a good defensive defenseman, but last season he only had one goal and seven assists for eight points in 43 games.
The final player Buffalo would acquire is Brossoit, a seasoned goaltender. Brossoit might be Buffalo’s backup, as he has one year remaining on his two-year, $6.6 million contract.
Analyst explains the Blackhawks-Sabres trade.
Sekhon’s proposed trade would be a blockbuster, but it would also benefit both teams.
“Buffalo would secure a top-3 pick, targeting a franchise cornerstone like James Hagens, Michael Misa, or Porter Martone,” Sekhon said in explaining why the trade makes sense. “Chicago gets immediate reinforcements: Byram bolsters their young defense, while Peterka could form an electric duo with Bedard.”
The commentator then described the transaction as a win-win for both the Blackhawks and the Sabres.
“This transaction could be a rare win-win. The Sabres would stockpile top prospects, while the Blackhawks may accelerate their return to competitiveness. Sekhon stated that they may even consider a wild-card position in 2025-26.
Buffalo and Chicago both missed the playoffs last season and hope to push for a position next year.
Blackhawks GM is optimistic about the team.
Kyle Davidson, the Blackhawks’ general manager, believes the squad is developing something unique.
Chicago is a rebuilding team, but back in January, Davidson thought his team was on the edge of something extraordinary.
“I’m probably more optimistic having seen the years our young players are having throughout the organization,” according to Davidson. “I’m probably more optimistic now than I was in the summer in that respect.”
Although he is more positive, Davidson wishes his team would win more games and be more competitive.
“For this group at the NHL level, I did expect a little more and we made a coaching change because of that,” Davidson explained. “That’s a fairly good indication that I didn’t think the group was where it needed to be. So, while that is sad, from a macro and much higher-level perspective, I am quite excited and happy with where things are going. As you mentioned, I wish we had had more success in the first half as an NHL squad. But it doesn’t lessen the progress that I believe we’re making in the big picture.”
Chicago finished the season with a record of 25-46-11.
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