Trade rumors have started to swirl now that the Chicago Blackhawks‘ offseason has started. The one player who has been the object of such rumors the past week is Kirby Dach. Most teams aren’t usually willing to part with a former third-overall pick (2019), yet, the Blackhawks are in a predicament where all bets are off, and anyone can be moved in a rebuild. In Dach’s case, two teams may push to acquire him. Here’s a look at the media speculation.

Dach to the Bruins?

Kevin Dupont of the Boston Globe published an article less than two weeks ago detailing players that the Bruins need to acquire to help change their roster. He suggested that they could offer forward Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Brandon Carlo in a package deal to acquire Dach.

Dupont’s reasoning is that because DeBrusk and Carlo are both established, 25-year-old players, they could entice a general manager to move on from a young, legit center. “Dach projects as a No. 1, and yes, it’s debatable if he has shown enough yet (59 points in 152 games) for the Bruins to consider parting with DeBrusk and Carlo — a top-six forward and top-four defenseman, respectively,” Dupont argued. “However, it offers an example of the kind of discussion Sweeney could have right now for a high-end young center that he otherwise would have zero chance of landing. It takes assets to acquire assets” (from ‘Early playoff exit means Bruins may need to be bold in rebuilding roster, especially up front,’ Boston Globe, 05/21/2022).

DeBrusk and Carlo are assets that could fit nicely with the Blackhawks. DeBrusk requested a trade in 2021, and the Bruins signed him to a two-year, $8 million extension in March, hoping a contract would make him easier to move at the deadline. Although that never happened, DeBrusk could provide an offensive spark for Chicago. He finished the season with 25 goals, 17 assists, 42 points, and was a plus-6 in 77 games. He accomplished this while playing on the first line alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand and his 42 points would make him fifth on the Blackhawks in scoring.

Carlo finished the season with 6 goals, 9 assists, and a plus-2 rating in 79 games. He has a cap hit of $4.1 million for the next five years. The issue here is that the Blackhawks have 14 defensemen signed. Unless they have a grand plan to reconstruct their blue line, I don’t know if acquiring another blueliner is on their radar.