The Chicago Blackhawks were a part of the biggest trade of the season on Friday night when they would send Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the Mikko Rantanen trade. However, this is probably not the only trade the Blackhawks will be making and the Los Angeles Kings appear to be doing their due diligence.
On Sunday, the Blackhawks played the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings were one of a number of teams with scouts in attendance to watch the game, according to Tab Bamford with The Fourth Period. It is not uncommon for teams to send teams to other games but when considering Chicago (and Minnesota) are not on the schedule until March it would make sense this would be to scout potential trade targets.
If the Kings are looking to make a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, these are three players that could be great fits.
Connor Bedard
Let's start with the most unrealistic but one that would be franchise changing in Connor Bedard. The Chicago Blackhawks don't have any reason to trade Bedard as he is only 19 years old and has plenty of hockey ahead of him. However, there is no denying the fact that trading him would bring the biggest return and help speed up the rebuild.
The first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has already showed alot of promise in the first 117 games of his NHL career and has 35 goals and 69 assists but also has an eye-popping -66. That is more a reflection on the quality of the team around him than necessarily his performance.
It is almost a certainty that the Blackhawks won't trade Bedard but if the Kings are going to be calling Chicago, it is worth mentioning to see what the cost might be and if they would entertain the idea.