Blackhawks To Utilize Cap Space To Load Up On Draft Picks And Prospects

NHL insiders Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed what options the Blackhawks have going forward this season on 32 thoughts. Due to Taylor Hall's season-ending knee injury, the team suddenly finds themselves with plenty of cap space to bring on bad contracts from other teams in exchange for future assets.

Hall signed a two-year deal with Chicago this offseason. His 6 million dollar cap hit will come off the books for the rest of the season, giving the team a serious amount of cap room to work with. The team currently has just under 10 million dollars in cap space. Fans have already begun to speculate as to what kinds of trade the team may be working on.

The Blackhawks seem to be one of the teams with the brightest futures in the entire league. Their current prospect pool is already solid with key prospects like Oliver Moore coming to the NHL soon. Additionally, the team already has 5 first round picks and 8 2nd round picks in the next three drafts. Even then, the team still has plenty of time to add even more future assets with Hall being out for the rest of the season.

Corey Perry also remains away from the team, but Friedman believes that a trade involving him is unlikely at the moment.

Regardless, neither Hall nor Perry figure to be long-term fixtures of this Blackhawks team. Any additional future assets the team can bring in for either of them, or anyone else for that matter, could accelerate the team's rebuild to the point where they are contending for the playoffs much faster than anyone is expecting.

As seen on Insider Reveals Chicago Blackhawks Exploring Trades Involving Prospects