1 Worthwhile Forward Blackhawks Can Still Sign

The Chicago Blackhawks have made a few trades and signings to start to surround Connor Bedard with some talent and more experience, but it doesn't seem like enough yet. Andreas Athanasiou was signed, Taylor Hall was traded for, and Corey Perry and Nick Foligno were inked to one-year deals.

While it doesn't appear like the Blackhawks will be competing just yet, they have the opportunity to get a bit better and shore up their top-six. Philip Kurashev is the player that pops out at me as someone who should be playing lower in the lineup. He's a promising young player, but hasn't shown that he can be anything more than a third line player at this time. Thus, the forward the team can still bring in and capitalize on is Tomas Tatar.

Tatar has strong regular seasons and at this point in free agency, it is possible both sides could just settle on a one-year deal and move him at the trade deadline. He gets some playing time with Bedard and on the power play to get his numbers up, then he is moved to a contender where the 32-year-old gets another shot at a Stanley Cup. The Blackhawks have the cap space and roster spots to execute this signing, and when he's most likely traded, they have space open for a younger player to be moved up the lineup and someone else to be called up. Watch for the Blackhawks or another team with cap space to try to bring Tatar in on a one-year deal to do this exact thing.