Free agency starts tomorrow. For some, this can mean the end of their tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Unrestricted Free Agents or (UFA)'s will work closely with their respective agents actively looking for a team to play for next season; because the team has decided to let them walk away. Slowly but surely forcing the filler players out, making way for the future of the team. For players like Collin Blackwell, who has played with Chicago for the past two seasons, it will be a mutual thank you for filling in for our rebuild. But for other Restricted Free Agents or (RFA)'s maybe it's just not the end just yet and indeed, it shouldn't be.
For fans who do not know the difference, here it is in simple terms. Per (PuckPedia), A player qualifies for a UFA if their current contract ends after either 7 Accrued Seasons or they are 27 or older as of June 30. An Accrued Season is defined as a year in which a skater is on an NHL roster for at least 40 games (30 games for Goalies). In short, they are free from the respective last season's club; to sign anywhere that a team offers a contract to.
The difference for a RFA is that they typically are under 27 years old, and not on their Entry Level Contract anymore. This is important because for these players, when July 1st hits, if qualified by the previous team, the club had previously played for still has the respective players' rights. Any other team can offer the player a contract, however, the team previously played for has the option to match that other team's contract, to secure the player for however long the offered contract may be.
The Blackhawks UFA's include 31-year-old Collin Blackwell, IceHogs cornerstone David Gust, Veteran Tyler Johnson, Luke Philp, Rem Pitlick, Jason Megna, Jared Tinordi, and likely going overseas to the KHL is Nikita Zaitsev. All of these players above will hit the Free Agency market as soon as tomorrow July 1st hits. The spots will likely be filled by upcoming youth Hawks prospects
Chicago still owns the technical rights to their RFA's. These include the 26-year-old Joey Andersen, almost the longest-tenured Blackhawks Mackenize Entwistle, an IceHogs favorite Mike Hardman, Reese Johnson, following a disappointing season Taylor Raddysh, Michal Teply, six-foot-eight Louis Crevier, Issaak Phillips, IceHogs blueliner Filip Roos, and IceHogs fan favorite goaltender, Jaxson Stauber.
The team is still in the midst of a rebuild. It wouldn't make sense to let even some of these players walk away from the young, upcoming team led by Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson. Entwistle could become a consistent fourth-liner for a cup-winning Blackhawks team. A grinder, who has shown flashes of skill throughout his four seasons with Chicago. While Raddysh had an off year, declining from 37 points in 78 games in the 2022-2023 span to 14 points in 73 games this past season 2023-2024. It just would not make sense to let go of these players.
Furthermore, Louis Crevier could be a huge asset for the team if developed properly. Having a six-foot-eight player on the back end is always valuable unless he poses as a liability. Increasing from 5 points in 62 games to 11 points in 41 games played. Why not, give him a qualifying offer? Most importantly, IceHogs favorite Jaxson Stauber. Who in fact, had the best start to any Blackhawks goaltender's career (5-1, .911 SV, 2.91 GAA). His season in Rockford was full of ups and downs. In his first half of the season, he put up an underwhelming .888 SV%. and a 5-7-2 record averaging over three and a half goals per game (3.54 GAA) in 14 starts. However, he incredibly turned his season around. On Corey Crawford night, Jaxson stopped 15 of 16 in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Wolves. Just nights later, a historic night for Stauber. Scoring the 23rd AHL goaltender goal, becoming the 1st AHL goalie in history to do so while getting a shutout. Finishing his season going 13-1 (IceHogs record 13-game win streak) with a 2.00 GAA and staggering .922 SV%. It would be foolish to not let him compete for the backup spot to Petr Mrazek next season.
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