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The Chicago Blackhawks were sellers at the 2020 NHL trade deadline. There are plenty of reasons why this team was in that state.
The Chicago Blackhawks were sellers at the Trade Deadline in 2020. It is not ideal for a team with players like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in the middle of their prime. They are both playing so well in a season that the rest of the team really isn’t getting it done. Not everyone on the team has been bad but the depth on the team is not what it once was or could have been.
They traded Robin Legner to the Vegas Golden Knights and Erik Gustafsson to the Calgary Flames for picks and prospects. It is not the way anybody saw either of their years going down this year. The fact that they moved a flawed puck-moving defenseman and an elite goalie might not come as a surprise to a lot of people based on their spot in the standings but it should. This team should not have had the fall from grace in the manner that they did.
So with all of these moves that they were forced to make, it is pretty clear that they are giving up on making it to the playoffs this year. Obviously, being eight points out of the playoffs in late February isn’t something to see as a positive but the players are still going to put forth their best ever. The bottom line is the good players and fans were let down by the organization’s management team.
Anybody who wonders why this team had to be sellers this year can look in a few different directions. They were never going to be as good as management made it seem going into the season. There are three really good reasons for why they were sellers this season: