The Chicago Blackhawks have the best seat at the table ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft. One NHL writer has a trade in mind so the Blackhawks could steal the league's best player in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers this offseason.
Via lottery luck, the Blackhawks are in a position to land Connor Bedard. Most hockey analysts consider Bedard to be his generation's best player. The Blackhawks have an easy choice going into July's draft - even though Bedard has stressed multiple times he's not assured of being drafted by Chicago at No. 1 overall. However, Bedard won't be a magic fix for the Blackhawks in one season.
Joe Yerdon with Bleacher Report recently wrote about "dream scenarios" for NHL teams to trade with the Blackhawks for the number one pick. Yerdon doesn't think the odds are high that the Blackhawks would consider trading the chance to draft Bedard but believes this "what if" scenario with the Oilers could cause a pause in the Blackhawks' thought process before the draft. Yerdon wrote the Oilers could try and swap the best player in the league, Connor McDavid, for the best prospect, Bedard:
Now that we're eight years past McDavid's draft and the Oilers haven't been much closer a Stanley Cup since they've added him (under no fault of his own, mind you), a change of scenery would be the best thing to happen.
...
Edmonton could loosen their salary-cap situation and get a player that may well be the next McDavid. They'd also be able to do with Bedard what they haven't done with McDavid: give him a deeper supporting cast to win a Cup or two."
McDavid is a six-time All-Star. He's been a major part of the Oilers making the playoffs the last three seasons. However, the Oilers still haven't been able to get back to the Stanley Cup Final with McDavid. (Though they battled hard, losing in a 4-2 conference semi-finals series to the eventual Western Conference champion Las Vegas Knights in this year's playoffs.)
The Oilers conceivably could want to reset their window with Bedard; but this doesn't seem like it's in the best interest of the Blackhawks. Sure, Bedard might be a bust and we know McDavid is great. However, the Blackhawks must reset their roster and build around a young talent like Bedard. The Blackhawks don't need to spend money on McDavid when they can get sellout crowds from a 17-year-old.
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