Blackhawks Future Outlook: Phase 2 of the Rebuild Begins

Blackhawks Bertuzzi — *Tyler Bertuzzi #59 of the Chicago Blackhawks looks on in warm up before a game (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)*

Between two games and a few days off, I decided to take a deeper look at what the Chicago Blackhawks roster could look like next summer — and the picture is starting to take shape.

At the end of the season, eight players on the current roster will become unrestricted free agents, and all of them are over 30 years old. On top of that, there are two RFAs on the NHL roster, one RFA with the IceHogs who turns UFA, and six more RFAs in Rockford.

When you add everything up, the Blackhawks currently have 14 players signed for 2026-27 with over $54 million in cap space to spend. That’s a lot of flexibility — but also a lot of decisions for General Manager Kyle Davidson.

2026-27 Salary Cap Overview

Category	Amount
Projected Cap Hit	$49,349,991
Projected Cap Space	$54,650,009
Players Under Contract	24 of 50 SPCs
Estimated Active Roster	~14 players

The Blackhawks have one of the cleanest salary cap structures in the NHL, setting them up perfectly for the second phase of their rebuild — Roster Construction.

Forwards (2026-27 Cap Hits)

Player	Cap Hit	Contract Ends
Andre Burakovsky	$5.5M	2027
Tyler Bertuzzi	$5.5M	2028
Teuvo Teravainen	$5.4M	2027
Ryan Donato	$4.0M	2029
Frank Nazar	$6.6M	2033
Ryan Greene	$0.95M	2027
Oliver Moore	$0.94M	2027

Total (Forwards, active): ≈ $28.0M

Depth and prospects under ELC:
Marek Vanacker, Landon Slaggert, Paul Ludwinski, A.J. Spellacy, Gavin Hayes, Nick Lardis, Samuel Savoie, Martin Misiak, Aidan Thompson, Anton Frondell.

The forward group is built around the franchise trio of Bedard, Nazar, and Moore, with Burakovsky, Bertuzzi, and Teravainen offering proven NHL experience. This balance gives Davidson flexibility to shape his top six while the next generation matures.

Defensemen (2026-27 Cap Hits)

Player	Cap Hit	Contract Ends
Alex Vlasic	$4.6M	2030
Wyatt Kaiser	$1.7M	2027
Artyom Levshunov	$0.975M	2027
Sam Rinzel	$0.942M	2027
Louis Crevier	$0.9M	2027

Total (Defense, active): ≈ $8.1M

Prospect depth includes Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, Dmitri Kuzmin, Ryan Mast, and Ben Harding — all part of one of the NHL’s deepest young blue-line systems.
Vlasic and Korchinski anchor the present, while Levshunov and Rinzel represent the future top-four core.

Goaltenders (2026-27 Cap Hits)

Player	Cap Hit	Contract Ends
Spencer Knight	$5.83M	2029
Arvid Söderblom	$2.75M	2027

Total (Goalies): ≈ $8.6M

For the first time in years, the Blackhawks have true goaltending stability. Knight looks like a long-term No. 1, and Söderblom has shown flashes of solid backup potential.

Buyouts & Retained Salary

Player	Type	2026-27 Cap Charge
T.J. Brodie	Buyout	$0.26M
Seth Jones	Retained	$2.5M

Total Dead Cap: ≈ $2.76M

With minimal dead money, Davidson’s cap sheet remains one of the cleanest in the league — a huge strategic advantage.

Contract Expirations — End of 2025-26

Roster UFAs:
Nick Foligno (38), Jason Dickinson (30), Ilya Mikheyev (31), Sam Lafferty (30), Connor Murphy (32), Matt Grzelcyk (31), Shea Weber (40), Laurent Brossoit (32)

Roster RFAs:
Connor Bedard (20), Colton Dach (22)

Non-Roster UFAs:
Joey Anderson (27)

Non-Roster RFAs:
Kevin Korchinski (21), Ethan Del Mastro (22), Ryan Mast (22), Nolan Allan (22), Dmitri Kuzmin (22), Drew Commesso (23)

Phase 2 of the Rebuild: Roster Construction

The first step of the Chicago rebuild — collecting picks and prospects — is mostly done. Now comes the hardest part: building a real NHL roster around your core pieces. This is where Kyle Davidson enters the crucial Roster Construction Phase.

Before free agency, Davidson and his staff will have to make one of the toughest calls for a rebuilding team:

Do you sell veterans to stockpile more assets, or do you keep them to let the kids play meaningful hockey in a playoff race?

If the Hawks are close to a Wild Card spot, it might make more sense to keep some veterans and let Bedard, Nazar, and the young guns experience pressure hockey.

Among the pending UFAs, Ilya Mikheyev could bring solid value if traded — but he might also be one to keep if the Hawks remain competitive.

Who Should Stay, Who Should Go

Veterans who could stay and help lead this young group:

Ilya Mikheyev – reliable, experienced, still has wheels.
Jason Dickinson – a trusted 200-foot player and respected leader.
Connor Murphy – steady presence on the blue line.

All three could return on short-term deals (2–3 years) as transitional leaders while the next wave of players takes over.

Who’s likely out: Foligno, Lafferty, Grzelcyk, Weber, Brossoit, and Anderson. It’s not personal — just the direction of the rebuild.

With 18–19 players likely under contract next year, there should be five open roster spots. Prospects like Frondell or a defenseman from Rockford could earn full-time NHL roles, while Davidson might explore 2–3 external additions via trades or UFA signings.

Don’t forget — the team must spend at least $40M to hit the cap floor, so they’ll have money to use.

The Next Big Blackhawks contract: Connor Bedard

Now let’s talk about the franchise player — Connor Bedard.

This will be Bedard’s second NHL contract, and it’s shaping up to be the most important move Kyle Davidson makes in this rebuild.

Bedard has already proven that the hype was real. In just his second NHL season, the 20-year-old has been nothing short of electric — leading the team in goals, points, and power-play production. He’s averaging over 20 minutes per game, facing top defensive pairings nightly, and still finding ways to dominate with his elite shot and hockey IQ.

Through his first two seasons, Bedard’s production already ranks alongside Toews and Kane at the same age — and that’s without the supporting cast they enjoyed. His consistency and impact have made him the clear face of the franchise, driving nearly all of Chicago’s offense every night

Earlier this year, I projected Bedard’s next deal between $10–12 million AAV for eight years. Since then, we’ve seen other young stars sign massive extensions that have reset the market:

Logan Cooley — $10M
Martin Nečas — $11.5M
Kyle Connor — $12M
Jack Eichel — $13.5M

Forget McDavid’s $12.5M for now — Bedard’s extension will likely land around $11–12M AAV, assuming Davidson locks him in before the new CBA kicks in.

Under that new agreement, players can only sign seven-year deals, and signing bonuses will drop to 60%, a clear disadvantage for star players. That’s why timing is crucial.

If the salary cap climbs to $104 million, a deal in that range would represent between 9.6% and 11.5% of the cap — perfectly reasonable for a player already producing at an elite level.

This is the next franchise-defining decision for Davidson. Bedard’s contract will officially mark the moment when Chicago’s rebuild transitions from potential to purpose — from hope to expectation.

What’s Next for the Blackhawks

The next nine months will define this franchise’s direction. Davidson must decide:

Who to move or keep at the deadline
Which veterans to re-sign
How to shape the roster around Bedard, Nazar, and Knight

This is the point where Chicago’s rebuild turns into construction.

Back to the Ice

The Blackhawks return home tonight to face the New Jersey Devils, one of the NHL’s fastest and most skilled teams.

The Devils come in with a 3-1-1 record in their last five games, continuing their strong start to the season, while the Blackhawks are riding a three-game winning streak after a successful road trip.

If Frank Nazar is ready to go, expect a few lineup tweaks — with Jeff Blashill sticking to his 7D-11F system that’s worked well.
Spencer Knight is expected to get the start at 8:30 PM CDT.

The next chapter of the rebuild continues tonight — one game at a time.