next year no lottery

I'm sorry. I don't want to be a dick here, but gross. I am not in favor of using such a high pick on an ALL OFFENSE defenseman. I guess he could get better in his own end eventually, but that dude is god awful defensively. I like him, but not in the 1st round. I guess it depends where that TBL pick lands, but I have a feeling there will be better options than Nygaard. We'll see, though. They have a whole season to prove themselves.

Also, not a big fan of signing Nylander. MAYBE if he is willing to take something in the 3 to 5 year range and KD were planning on adding more to speed up the rebuild (which I also wouldn't recommend), I would feel better about it, but not 7 years. Especially when half of that time we will still likely be rebuilding and his prime years will be ticking away.

Agree to disagree about the draft picks. However with Nylander, there is nobody that will reasonably make it to FA in the next 3 years that is as big of a difference maker as he is. I think it's more important to sign someone now to give the young guys an actual proven star to play with and to boost the crap out of bedard, rather than wait until later when we need to sign all our prospects to their UFA deals. I think signing Nylander now stacks cap hits and contract control a lot better than waiting two years. Another thing about ending the rebuild. If Korchinski, Nazar, Bedard, Moore, and whoever we draft in 2024 isnt enough of a "young core" that we need to keep making high draft picks to supplement them, the rebuild was never going to work anyway.

It's not just about those players themselves, but the time it is going to take for them to become the players they are going to be. More than likely, they aren't gonna step right into the league and be difference makers, if they were ever gonna be difference makers to begin with. Also, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Moore and/or Nazar go back to college for the 24-25 season, let alone however long it takes for our 2024 and 2025 picks to get into the NHL ranks. It is WAYYY too soon to be talking like that and have those kinds of expectations. This rebuild isn't even two years old yet. These things take time. We are still in the beginning stages.

When Toews and Kane came into the league, they had a much better and more experienced roster around them, who all fit the timeline and were ready to start winning. What Bedard and Korchinski are coming into is entirely different, inexperienced, built to lose, seems intent on building from within organically, and has a long way to go. Not to mention how much the both of them still have to learn. If they jump the gun and load up they are asking for trouble.

Also, It is highly unlikely the Blackhawks are knocking on the playoff door again until the 26-27 season at the earliest. That puts Nylander at 31 years old by the end of that season. He has always been good, but he really popped at like 25 years old. How long could he realistically keep it up? Most high end players start to go down hill around 30 to 32. How many NHL players or prospects will be turning 24, 25, or 26 in that same season and will just be hitting their prime that we could acquire in some fashion? How many of those players and our own prospects would we be creating a roadblock for by adding a huge long term contract like Nylander? How would that contract age?

KD has preached patience, over and over again. He has clearly stated they are building for long term success, and that he wants to build organically through the draft and development. Loading up like that is just throwing money around for short term success and asking for long term problems. Which is why I suggested, if they are going to load up for short term success, doing a 3 to 5 year contract instead. That would leave them less long term obligations that has the potential to cause a lot of headaches, and give them a short window within which they can "reload/rebuild" for another run, without having to tear things down to the studs again, and still be in the Bedard, Korchinski, Nazar, Reichel, Moore, etc., timeline/window. Which I still think would be too soon, but if they are gonna do it, that is how they should.

Then again, Nylander could be playing at a high level into his late 30's and be a great long term contract, but that just doesn't happen often.

So, what about Jake Guentzel or Sam Reinhart? Both are top-6 forwards a little older than Nylander (but not by much). Neither attracts the "star" sticker price like Nylander might, but each has put up comparable offensive numbers.

Florida probably has the space for Reinhart. Pittsburgh is at a different point in its competitive life cycle though, it will be interesting to see how they approach the TDL and offseason with so much of their cap invested in old talent.

Yeah, that was one of my points above. Nylander is realistically the only REAL difference maker that I expect to make it to FA. Florida will probably want to keep Reinhart (and no reason he wouldnt want to stay in Florida and not get taxed), and I don't see Pittsburgh letting Guentzel walk. If they decide to rebuild, they'll trade him and he'll probably extend wherever he lands simply because he won't command 10 mil a year