What I’m hearing and seeing about the Blackhawks: Mitch Marner, Ryan Donato and more

There’s an assumption around the NHL that the Chicago Blackhawks are going to be aggressive this offseason.

It’s understandable. A lot of signs point in that direction: Their abundance of cap space, bursting draft capital and recent standings finishes position the Blackhawks to do almost anything this offseason. From trading the No. 3 draft pick to signing offer sheets to spending $15 million-plus to lure Mitch Marner, it could all be on the table.

But it isn’t likely to be.

The Blackhawks could be aggressive this offseason, but if they are, it won’t be just to meet outside expectations. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson remains firm in his rebuild plan and continues to believe in the strategy of building through the draft. While Blackhawks fans may be growing impatient, Davidson intends to see that plan through, and vital to that is chairman Danny Wirtz’s continued patience and support of Davidson.

So what does that mean? What could be in store for the Blackhawks this offseason?

For one, if Marner does hit the open market, the Blackhawks, like everyone else, would likely inquire about him. The Blackhawks just aren’t expected to open their checkbook and allow Marner to fill out the amount. That alone probably wouldn’t make them a true player for him.

As much as they like Marner, they don’t see him — or any unrestricted free agent — as an essential piece to add, considering where they are in their rebuild. He isn’t the Brian Campbell or Marián Hossa that puts them over the top. Two years from now, as the Blackhawks’ youth grows older and more established, that could be different. But as of now, the Blackhawks don’t believe there’s enough upside in making Marner one of the league’s highest-paid players.

The Blackhawks still don’t know exactly what they have in their developing forward prospect pool. They don’t know what Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar and a few other young players will be worth or could demand in their second deals. And probably most importantly, they see more potential negatives than positives in signing a 28-year-old to a seven-year contract at that price while knowing they’re still at least a few years away from being a competitive team.

The Blackhawks aren’t alone in that thought, either.

“They might be hard to hold off the dogs, but I think the Blackhawks need to stay out of that game for another two to three years,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “To have players declining on huge tickets when your core is about to break out is a fool’s errand.”

It’s also unlikely the Blackhawks will sign a significant restricted free agent to an offer sheet this offseason. As much cap space as the Blackhawks have, plenty of other teams have it, too. Offer sheets, especially for the higher-tier players, are expected to be matched.

With major splashes in unrestricted free agency and offer sheets likely out the door for the Blackhawks this offseason, one potential path to adding a notable player is through trade.

If another team is looking to move a young restricted free agent because they’re struggling to work out a deal, that’s where the Blackhawks could be aggressive. Someone like Buffalo Sabres winger JJ Peterka could intrigue the Blackhawks. They have draft picks they could trade. It wouldn’t be shocking to see someone like Lukas Reichel involved in that type of scenario.

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Ryan Donato and the Blackhawks have talked about a new contract since the season ended. They haven’t come to an agreement yet, and time is obviously running out until Donato becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but there is still a chance he could sign with Chicago.

The Blackhawks’ offseason plan would be slightly impacted if Donato doesn’t re-sign. They’d have to fill that spot and some of Donato’s offense elsewhere.

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The Blackhawks aren’t expected to sign defenseman Victor Söderström, whose rights they acquired from the Utah Mammoth at the trade deadline in March.

The Blackhawks were unsure whether they’d be able to sign Söderström, but they thought it was worth exploring as part of the multiplayer trade. Söderström, 24, decided to return to Sweden this past season after previously playing mostly in the AHL while with the Arizona Coyotes. He won the Börje Salming Trophy in the SHL this past season as the league’s top defenseman. With Chicago’s young defensemen playing as well as they did last season, the Blackhawks aren’t likely to guarantee Söderström a full-time NHL spot.

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The Blackhawks unveiled renderings for their Fifth Third Arena practice facility expansion and gave media a first look at the construction during a walk-through on Wednesday. Here are some of my takeaways:

• Based on the size, the explanation of the details and the renderings, it’s going to be an impressive facility. From the additional ice sheets to the indoor and outdoor lounge areas to the restaurant/bar to the Blackhawks Hall of Fame, there will be something for everyone.

• It’s not surprising that the USHL’s Chicago Steel is being moved there from suburban Geneva. That always seemed like a possibility when the Wirtz Corporation purchased the Steel. The move does come with some potential hurdles, especially with housing, billet families and schooling, though it does sound like a lot of the players attend school online now. But from a facilities standpoint, it’s a no-brainer.

The Steel is going to have everything it needs to develop its players. This move could also help its recruitment efforts as it becomes more challenging to attract players, especially Canadian ones, with the NCAA rule change that allows CHL players to play in college.

• The rink, which is being called Championship Arena, has the potential to bring in some marquee junior events to Chicago. It has a 2,000-person capacity.

“We’re talking to the USHL about the USHL showcase,” Blackhawks executive vice president of affiliates Ryan Snider said. “We’re in the circuit for upcoming NHL rookie tournaments. So, there’s a lot of things that we have baked right now, but we are going to be as aggressive as possible looking at all those opportunities.”

The Blackhawks were going to host the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase this season, but they switched with the Minnesota Wild, allowing the Blackhawks to host it at the expanded facility in 2026.

• After the Blackhawks announced their Hall of Fame will be located at Fifth Third Arena, some fans were disappointed it won’t be at the United Center and as easily accessible. I asked Wirtz about that on Tuesday.

“Immediately, instinctually, you think it should be at the United Center,” he said, “but you think about half the season the Bulls are in the building, it’s not opened during the days, the days it’s blacked out for other events and then you really just get down to game days, which obviously limits yourself to a ticketed customer opposed to somewhere that is more accessible 365 (days per year).

“So that was kind of the intention. And then obviously try to tie into game days. We host a lot of ticket-holder events (at Fifth Third Arena), pregame skates, things like that, that involve going to the game. You’ll see more of that connection. And then obviously once we build up the plaza for the 1901 project, just that experience from going from this building to the United Center through the Malcolm X corridor into a beautiful plaza with restaurants and bars and that kind of stuff is just going to be a much nicer, seamless experience.”

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Ilya Safonov (sixth round, 2021) re-signed to a one-year deal with Ak Bars in the KHL after the Blackhawks didn’t offer him an entry-level contract. Safonov’s camp is still holding out hope for a future NHL contract, but it’s unlikely to come from the Blackhawks unless something drastically changes over the next year. Safonov’s age is part of the picture, too. He recently turned 24.

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As expected, the Blackhawks officially relinquished their draft rights to Alex Pharand (fourth round, 2023), Marcel Marcel (fifth round, 2023), Milton Oscarson (sixth round, 2023) and Victor Stjernborg (fourth round, 2021) because they weren’t signed before the deadline on June 1. Marcel has been on an AHL contract the past two seasons and could return to the Rockford IceHogs again next season.

It also still sounds like Dominic James (sixth round, 2022) will not sign a contract with the Blackhawks and will become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15.

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