Blackhawks Can’t Sit Out If the Market Gets Loud

If a real star shakes loose this summer, the Blackhawks need to be more than a polite bidder. Teams in the middle of a rebuild do not get many clean chances to add difference-makers, and Chicago knows that kind of window can slam shut fast. The price will be steep, but so is the cost of missing on a chance to speed up the timeline. This is where front offices earn their scars.