What I’m hearing, seeing from the Blackhawks so far this season: Could they be buyers?

It may be odd to bring this up at this time of year, but with the arrival of The Athletic’s first trade board, I feel I have permission to do so.

Here it is: Could the Chicago Blackhawks be buyers instead of sellers at the trade deadline? I know there are many games still to be played, and it’s a complete hypothetical at this point, but there’s no harm in having the discussion. It’s certainly more entertaining than discussing which Blackhawks could be dealt at the deadline.

My sense is the Blackhawks wouldn’t be interested in buying. General manager Kyle Davidson hasn’t drifted much from his larger plan. A rental may disturb what the Blackhawks have going or take important ice time from the young players. It may very well depend on the health of the current NHLers and the potential status of incoming prospects.

The only reason it might cross Davidson’s mind is that the Blackhawks are sitting on three second-round picks in 2026. It’s unlikely they use them all. If he could acquire someone who could help the team improve down the stretch and allow the young players a chance to play competitive games, even potentially in the playoffs, that might be worth discussing. There are plenty of trades that go down at the deadline for second-round picks or conditional picks.

Connor Murphy was the lone Blackhawks player on Chris Johnston’s initial board. That’s not surprising, given Murphy is on an expiring contract and so many newer players are arriving. He was on the board last season, too.

If the Blackhawks could find a suitor, they might be willing to move Murphy sooner rather than later. Louis Crevier has emerged as a reliable, right-handed defenseman and is being utilized in a similar shutdown fashion to Murphy. Over the last 10 games, Murphy played 106:39 in five-on-five play and had an 8.33 offensive zone starting percentage. Crevier played 129:41 at five-on-five and had a 20.59 offensive zone starting percentage. During that same stretch, Murphy played 26:48 on the penalty kill while Crevier played 22:48.

Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill likes to have both players to lean on in defensive roles. Still, the Blackhawks will likely want to have a more standard six-defensemen lineup and ensure Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel are getting consistent ice time. For example, in Tuesday’s win, Levshunov was second among the defensemen with 17:46 of ice time, and Rinzel was sixth at 14:16. In the previous game with six defensemen, none played less than 16:28, and Levshunov and Alex Vlasic played a team-high 21:34. Rinzel was a healthy scratch that game.

Blashill was asked recently if he thought a player like Rinzel could benefit from more ice time.

“That’s a chicken-or-egg question first,” Blashill said. “You have a lot of ice time, then you make mistakes, so then your ice time gets diminished, and then you make more mistakes. So it just keeps going, or do you just keep playing? Those are always tough decisions as a coach. …

“Would it help him if there were six? Maybe, maybe not. I can’t answer that, but I do know he has to learn to excel within the framework that we’re playing in, and if that’s seven D, he has to learn to excel with seven D. He’s played great games with seven D, so to me, on those games that he had lots of minutes, yes. But when you play great, you get put out there more.”

The Blackhawks will also want to get Kevin Korchinski some NHL time again. He’s still a major part of the Blackhawks’ plans. The reports from Rockford have been mostly positive. Korchinski is trying to be more dynamic offensively and putting himself in better positions to do so. Through 15 games he’s second in the AHL among defensemen with 10 points and 10 assists.

“Korch, he’s been great,” IceHogs coach Jared Nightingale said recently after a win over the Chicago Wolves. “He’s gotten better each game. You know, a young D that plays those big minutes, (you) can’t expect a perfect game, but I thought his (recent) games have been his best, just playing within himself and taking what’s given.”

Korchinski may have to wait for an injury for that next chance, but that’s not exactly ideal for the Blackhawks. There’s always the chance that an injury doesn’t come. Matt Grzelcyk has played well for the Blackhawks, but he was ultimately seen as a stopgap until newer players were ready.

The Blackhawks’ early-season success obviously complicated that in a way. As much as Korchinski and other young players are vital to the long-term plan, the Blackhawks can’t ignore how well they’re playing and the possibility that anything can happen if they’re still in a playoff race come March and April.

“We’ve tried to be process-oriented our whole time,” Blashill said. “So I think by being process-oriented, you take away the emotions of winning and losing, and you judge your team with a clearer lens. What you need to get better at and what you need to continue to excel at, and that’s the way we look at it. … I think the positive for us is (that), because of how young our team is, as we continue to instill better habits, as guys continue to grow their games, I think our ceiling can continue to get higher and higher and higher. Where sometimes you have an established team, your ceiling is what it is.”

The Blackhawks fast-tracked Oliver Moore to the NHL, but don’t expect the same from Nick Lardis. They were open to keeping Moore out of camp, but he was going to have to really prove himself. Between his hot start in Rockford, injuries and Landon Slaggert’s slow start, the Blackhawks believe Moore deserved another NHL look.

With Lardis, the Blackhawks are going to be even more patient. The Blackhawks think Lardis can be a threat at the NHL level. His skill, speed and instincts are off the charts. What the Blackhawks want to see him do, though, is play through contact. He doesn’t have to be a physical player, but he must be able to absorb opponents’ physicality and not let that aspect of the game hinder his offense. A player that comes to mind is Jake Guentzel. He isn’t the biggest player, just like Lardis, but he plays through contact and still creates a ton. The more Lardis can do that, the better chance he has to be part of the team later in the season.

Might a late-season arrival come from within the organization? Two potential candidates are Roman Kantserov and Anton Frondell. It will depend on how their respective teams perform.

Kantserov’s team, Metallurg, will be one of the favorites in the KHL. It won the Gagarin Cup two seasons ago and leads the Eastern Conference. The KHL regular season ends on March 20, and the Blackhawks’ regular season ends on April 15. If Metallurg were to be eliminated in time, it would also have to let Kantserov out of his KHL contract early, as SKA did for Ivan Demidov and the Montreal Canadiens last season.

Frondell’s team, Djurgården, has been one of the surprises of the SHL so far. It worked its way out of the second division last season and is in fifth place in the top division through 19 games. Djurgården’s regular season ends on March 13. Frondell is already signed with the Blackhawks, so the logistics wouldn’t be too challenging if Djurgården finishes in time.

Not that it’ll matter much given the Blackhawks’ cap space, but Connor Bedard could be racking up performance incentives this season. He has the potential to hit $3.5 million in bonuses.

The “B” bonuses are the more expensive. There is a possible $2.5 million in there for him. According to Puckpedia, Bedard can receive that bonus if he’s either among the top-10 forwards in goals, assists, points or points per game; wins either the Ross, Hart, Selke, Richard or Conn Smythe Trophy; or makes the first or second NHL all-star team.

In case you were wondering, the Blackhawks’ six-game point streak is their longest since the 2019-20 season. They had a stretch in which they went 5-0-1 in November 2019. Their longest before that was a seven-game points streak in 2018-19, when they won seven games in a row.

It doesn’t sound like the Blackhawks have a definitive plan for goalie Laurent Brossoit if he returns to health and is ready for games. He still has a way to go before he’s at that point, but even if he recovers, he doesn’t fit the Blackhawks’ goalie needs in Chicago or Rockford. His $3.3 million cap hit is another possible obstacle for another team that wants to acquire him.

One thing to watch for in the next few years is how aggressively the Blackhawks continue to sign college prospects. While there will be fewer and fewer NHL roster spots available, the Blackhawks won’t want those prospects sitting in college too long, wondering if they might have a better opportunity in another organization. Dominic James opting to wait out his draft rights and hit free agency is a cautionary tale for the Blackhawks.

Chicago can sign their prospects sooner, give them a taste of the NHL and start paying them. Those prospects would have to be a lot more patient if they went the free-agency route.

The Blackhawks probably don’t want first-round picks Sacha Boisvert, Václav Nestrašil or Mason West spending more than a couple of years in college because of that. They must be discussing how quickly to sign a prospect such as John Mustard, who is showing real promise as a sophomore at Providence. If Mustard had been drafted out of the CHL, it’d be a no-brainer to sign him for next season. Adam Gajan, a sophomore at Duluth, might be seeking that discussion after the season, too.

Speaking of West, he and Edina High School will be playing for Minnesota’s Class 6A football championship on Friday. For the season, West has completed 176 of 269 passes for 2,311 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He’s also run for 164 yards and five touchdowns. He caught one pass, a 12-yard touchdown reception, and averaged 34.7 yards on 31 punts.

West officially signed to play hockey for Michigan State last week. He also plans to play for Fargo in the USHL when his season is over.

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