The Chicago Blackhawks may have a chip on their shoulder after a strong start, but looking at their roster, few expect this early-season production to continue. How long can an underwhelming and banged-up lineup keep winning? Not for long, especially as other teams find their footing.
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The Calgary Flames are also off to a strong start (5-1-0) and have beaten some Stanley Cup contenders already. Though the team’s goals-per-game average is 3.67, most of their scoring has come from the second line, primarily Nazem Kadri. Though Tyler Toffoli and Dylan Dube have been solid, the team is lacking depth scoring, and the Flames’ biggest need is on the right wing. As the Blackhawks are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, there are a few players who could help shore up the wing.
Andreas Athanasiou
The Blackhawks signed a couple of players to one-year deals to fill their lineup and, hopefully, provide trade value by the deadline. Andreas Athanasiou is currently playing on the top line but can play both wings too, so the Flames should be interested.
Athanasiou would not be a first-line talent on any other team, but he has proven to be an efficient scorer in his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings. In 2018-19, he was a 30-goal scorer for the Red Wings, and despite a couple of down seasons, he scored 11 goals in 28 games for the Kings last season. He would likely slot in on the third pairing to help provide offence on a line that has three goals and five points through six games, and he would replace Trevor Lewis on the right wing. Athanasiou doesn’t have the best 200-foot game, but Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman could effectively cover for him on the third line.
Max Domi
Max Domi was also brought to Chicago on a one-year, $3 million deal and is currently lining up beside Athanasiou and Patrick Kane on the top line. Again, Domi isn’t a top-line talent anymore, but he is on a Blackhawks team that traded away a lot of talent.
He is off to a strong start, with three goals and four points in the team’s first six games. Domi could be the most intriguing player for the Flames to acquire for the wing, especially considering that head coach Darryl Sutter must like the way he plays the game.
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Domi is a hard-nosed physical player with offensive upside, even if he hasn’t shown it in the past couple of seasons. Some may forget that he scored 28 goals and 72 points in 2018-19 as a first-line talent with the Montreal Canadiens. He appears to be getting some confidence back, playing with an elite player like Kane, so Domi could start to attack the net more and contribute more than he has recently. He would be a great affordable addition to the Flames’ middle-six, and he is a playoff-type player who is a great option at centre if the team needs a safety net.
Philipp Kurashev
If the Flames want to conserve cap space, there is a third option. Philipp Kurashev might be young, but the Blackhawks have proven that nobody is safe from being traded. He is in line for a much bigger season that his first two in the NHL considering his role has been limited.
Last season, Kurashev increased his points per 60 minutes (from 1.4 in 2020-21 to 1.5 in 2021-22), primary assists per 60 (from 0.3 to 0.8), shots per 60 (from 5.5 to 6), a 71.43 individual points percentage (IPP) which was higher than Alex DeBrincat, five penalties taken as opposed to 15 drawn, 20 takeaways and 11 giveaways, and he is a great forechecker. Young players haven’t been favoured by coaches the last couple of seasons in Chicago, so his ice time dropped from 2020-21 to 2021-22. He is averaging 15:28 per game this season, and his stats have started to improve, scoring two goals and four points in six games.
He is primed for a breakout season and is an underrated trade target, who could ideally slide in on the third line and be effective. Kurashev also has a cap hit of just $750,000, so there is more than enough room to add him.
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The Blackhawks aren’t going to limit themselves at the trade deadline since they didn’t this past offseason. They will try to get whatever they can for the two unrestricted free agents and hope for more of a return on Kurashev if he can be moved out. The Flames have options that would benefit them from the Blackhawks and should be in talks throughout the season.