Blackhawks’ funniest player? Could Alex DeBrincat return? Powers’ mailbag, part 1

Soon, there will be answers.

The constant speculation surrounding the futures of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will actually become facts. They’ll either want to stay or go and then they’ll either be dealt or not before the trade deadline. Soon, it will happen… or not happen.

But before that, we still have some time. Kane and Toews’ agent Pat Brisson said last week he didn’t expect there to be any discussions with Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson prior to the NHL All-Star Game. And prior to that game, the Blackhawks have this week off. So, to help fill the time and space, this is the first part of a two-part mailbag. I appreciate all the questions.

Let’s begin.

Note: Submitted questions may be edited for clarity and style.

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Normally I roll my eyes when I read a post about bringing a traded player right back — it just doesn’t happen that often. But after reading the piece about the Hawks having difficulty meeting the salary cap floor… I gotta ask. Considering that he’s still only 25 years old, is looking at a probable $8.5 to $9.5 million long-term contract following an upcoming RFA contract with almost the same value in terms of the cap hit, AND that the Senators are up for sale, do you think Alex DeBrincat could return to the fold in a sign and trade with Ottawa? —Al. B

Honestly, I didn’t think this was a possibility until I heard it from someone in the know. If DeBrincat doesn’t sign a long-term deal with Ottawa, which doesn’t seem to be imminent, and finds himself a UFA after the 2024-25 season, it sounds like the Blackhawks could explore signing him again.

The Blackhawks never had anything against DeBrincat when they traded him. They really liked him as a player. The trade was about positioning themselves for a top draft pick in the 2023 draft. I know not everyone agrees with the move, but I still believe the Blackhawks would have been too good with DeBrincat in their lineup this season to be in contention for a top-three draft pick. Even now, they might be too good.

Some things would have to line up for the Blackhawks to pursue DeBrincat. They have to be further along in their rebuild and be looking to add long-term pieces to their roster. As you mentioned, they will need to find a way to get to the cap floor next season, but I don’t think Davidson really starts spending until the following offseason. Part of that depends on who they draft this year, too. If they get Connor Bedard, I could see Davidson bringing in veteran talent sooner than later. He’ll want to start putting established talent around his up-and-coming prospects. DeBrincat seems like a safe bet, too. His game probably isn’t going to diminish substantially as he gets older. He relies so much on his shot and finding holes in defenses. That should be sustainable for many years.

There’s also the fact that DeBrincat and his family appeared to really like being in Chicago. I think as long as the money and term were right, DeBrincat could be swayed to return. There is a lot of time between now and then, though, so we’ll see. But I wouldn’t bet against it happening if everything aligns.

Is there any chance Frank Nazar gets signed and plays the last couple games of the season after the NCAA playoffs are over? —David T.

Nazar’s injury altered his entire timeline this season. If he had been healthy and played this season at Michigan, I think there was a possibility he could have turned pro. With his injury and him still being out, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t return to school next season. I was told recently that he has started skating on his own again, but there is still no timeline for his return. My guess would be he returns to school, and if he plays well next season, he signs as soon as Michigan’s season is over, burns his first contract year and joins the NHL roster.

What teams are most active in sending scouts to Hawks games? And what does that suggest about specific interests in players whom the Hawks could trade? Any insights on that? — Louis L.

I know everyone loves the tweets about how many scouts are at a given game. Early on covering the league, I used to as well. But, honestly, it often doesn’t mean much. It might be worth paying attention to around the trade deadline and it’s worth keeping tabs if a general manager is in the building, but there are so many NHL scouts at the United Center throughout the season. There are some scouts who work for other teams and are actually based in Chicago or are regionally based, so they’re often at Blackhawks games. There are other scouts who will come to a Blackhawks game because they can catch an NHL game one day, an AHL game the next day in Chicago or Rockford and possibly another game the following day. It’s convenient to fly in and fly out. Scouts can be there to see the other team as well. I certainly still look at what scouts are at those games and maybe you pick up a trend or notice something, but it’s not as common as you might think.

What are the Hawks doing in the analytics department under Jeff Greenberg? Haven’t heard a word about whether he’s breaking any new ground, hiring analysts, or providing valuable input. — James M.

The Blackhawks have been doing a lot behind the scenes in their analytics department with Jeff Greenberg. For one, they’ve hired a number of people. They brought on board Ryan Kruse, who worked with Greenberg when they worked with the Chicago Cubs and was previously with the Los Angeles Kings. Kruse’s title is director of hockey systems and technology. They hired Albert Lyu as an architect of hockey systems. He was previously with the Cubs and most recently with Zelus Analytics, which builds analytics platforms for sports teams. They also hired senior data scientists Sam Forstner, who was previously with the New York Islanders, Mark Weinstein, who was with the Cincinnati Reds, and senior analyst of hockey strategy Chris McCorkle, who was previously at McKinsey. Andrew Contis is the manager of hockey analytics/video analyst and has been with the Blackhawks for a number of years.

As for what they’re building? I’m not exactly sure. They’ve been pretty quiet about everything. Mike Doneghey recently mentioned the department in regards to how it might be able to assist amateur scouting and coach Luke Richardson has talked about asking the department for some data. Aside from that, it sounds like the analytics team is being given a lot of time to build whatever they’re building. Kyle Davidson wants to have everything in-house, and he gets that isn’t an easy lift.

Who’s the funniest Blackhawk you ever covered since being on the beat? Not just interviews but stuff you overheard said to teammates? Also, how many hot dogs (with bun) can you eat in 60 minutes without throwing up? — Evan K.

Brent Seabrook wasn’t always happy to talk to the media, but he had a good sense of humor when he wanted to put it on display. Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell were pretty good, too. They were obviously loved by their teammates. Something I did learn over the last few years was how funny Marian Hossa can be, too. He was much more private than a player, at least around the media.

As for the hot dogs, I have no idea, but I will say that after covering the White Sox for one summer when I was back at ESPN, it took me years to eat hot dogs again. They were free in the press box and I had very little willpower.

When looking at the entire picture of his play — both current and recent past — and salary, is there any reason not to try and move Seth Jones right now? The key word is of course ‘try.’ I would just like to stop seeing weak excuses as to his benefit and admit the Blackhawks are just stuck with him. — Michael P.

The Blackhawks are stuck with him for the near future. His high salary, no-movement clause and average play just don’t give them many options. For at least the next few seasons, the Blackhawks aren’t going to mind having him around, though. The Blackhawks need his cap hit to help get to the floor. He’s also a solid veteran defenseman and can help bring along some of the prospects. Who knows? Maybe as his role changes and he’s given less responsibility, he fits better with the Blackhawks’ long-term plans. The cap is going to go up, and the Blackhawks will probably have a number of players on their first or second contracts for some time. He’s never going to live up to that trade or his salary, so you probably need to start thinking of him in different terms. But he could have a future with the Blackhawks. If not, maybe the Blackhawks can figure out a way to trade him later on in his contract.

Assuming the plan to sell Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou goes through, what other UFAs do you see the Hawks picking up as one-year rentals to flip next year? —Gregory E.

How the Blackhawks pursue the free-agent market this summer all depends on who they draft in June. If they get Bedard, I think they become much more aggressive in putting legitimate pieces on next season’s roster. That might be the case for Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson, too. But if it’s someone else, yeah, I could see the Blackhawks looking to capitalize again on next season’s roster and sign a player or two to flip at the deadline. I quickly looked at the upcoming UFA list, and there weren’t a lot of players who jumped out. Evan Rodrigues? Sean Monahan? JT Compher? Ryan Donato? Those are some of the under-30 players who could be available this summer. Let’s circle back to this question after the season.

How do we know Davidson, an intern of Stan Bowman, isn’t just a Bowman knockoff? There haven’t been that many personnel changes in the organization (or have there been? Fans usually don’t hear about anything but the big changes). So is this really a different regime from whom we can expect different results (eg, scouting)? — Ted M.

It’s fair to be uncertain about Kyle Davidson. I don’t think any of us truly know yet whether his rebuild plan is going to work. We should learn more in the next few years. But as far as him being similar to Bowman, I don’t get that impression. The fact Davidson was willing to bring back Norm Maciver to be on his staff was a major sign of that. Maciver and Bowman didn’t share the same opinion on the team’s direction for a few years there, and it led to Maciver being iced out and eventually leaving the organization. I don’t think you’ll hear Davidson say a bad word about Bowman because he did present Davidson with a lot of opportunities, but Davidson doesn’t seem to share the same philosophical thoughts that Bowman had about running a team. That’s been pretty clear with who Davidson has traded off or walked away from.

If Luke Richardson was brought in as the right coach to undertake this three-to-five-year demolition and rebuild, would you envision him as being the coach to take them to the next level? — Vince A.

This will be an interesting storyline for the coming years. Richardson appears to be the right coach right now. He’s done a great job motivating the players and keeping a positive mood even when the losses have mounted up and his system has worked better than expected with this group. You would assume it all gets easier for him as the Blackhawks improve their roster. That isn’t a given, though. He’s going to have to continue to develop as an NHL head coach. Some of this is out of his hands, but he’s going to have to prioritize the youth over the veterans at some point. If someone like Jack Johnson is playing every day two seasons from now and all the analytics scream he shouldn’t be on the ice, that will fall on Richardson. Matching lines, ice time and all those things will be under more of a microscope too if the team is better. Time will tell, but there do seem to be a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Richardson in the long term, as well as the short term. I think that’s the silver lining for the hockey operations staff even when the Blackhawks aren’t tanking as much as they’d like.

(Top photo of Alex DeBrincat: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)