The Chicago Blackhawks are having a difficult start to the 2026-27 season. They’ve got the second-worst record in the NHL at 4-13-1 thus far, and could be described as outright gunning for the Vancouver Canucks’ designated last-place spot in the standings.

The major difference between the two teams? The Canucks planned to be this bad. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, expected to be on the up-and-up this year, finally making that climb out of the rebuild and toward the postseason. That has not happened.

A ‘last straw’ of sorts for the Blackhawks seemed to occur this past Saturday, as they dropped an embarrassing 9-2 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes. That led to both a players-only meeting, and a press conference from GM Kyle Davidson, each aimed at stemming the bleeding. The Blackhawks have made it clear that, so far anyway, they have no intention of getting rid of either Davidson – who signed a multi-year extension in April – or coach Jeff Blashill. But some form of change almost has to be coming to Chicago at this point.

We certainly don’t expect anyone in the Vancouver market to shed any tears over the misfortunes of the Blackhawks. But looking to take advantage of their situation? That’s a lot more palatable. And if the Blackhawks are really going to try to turn their season around without a round of firings, that almost has to mean a trade of some sorts.

We can even guess the shape of said trade. The Blackhawks are decidedly short on veteran depth, especially in their forward ranks. Adding more seems crucial at this point, but there are precious few teams selling off assets in the NHL right now. Moreover, the Blackhawks somehow have just over $2 million in cap space, and thus not a lot of purchasing freedom. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Blackhawks have multiple first- and second-round draft picks “in play” for a trade. The Blackhawks would presumably be looking for a team with some relatively low cap-hit veterans for sale, and the Canucks might be the only club on the block currently playing that tune.

There may be an opportunity here for the Canucks to strike a deal with the desperate Blackhawks, and that’s an opportunity that GM Ryan Johnson and Co. should definitely pursue. But what would such a trade look like?

It’s tempting to think that any team looking to purchase offensive depth from the Canucks would start with Jake DeBrusk, and that’s perhaps especially true of the Blackhawks, who are the lowest-scoring team in the league with just 39 goals through 18 games. But DeBrusk’s $5.5 million cap hit is a lot more than the Blackhawks can afford right now.

There might be the potential for some sort of cap swap, in which the Blackhawks send a pick or prospect along with an undesirable veteran contract of their own, like Teuvo Teravainen, in exchange for DeBrusk. But then that would also require DeBrusk to waive his no-movement clause to go to a team that is almost as bad as the Canucks, and that seems outright unlikely.

Chances are if the Blackhawks target anyone on the Canucks’ roster in the immediate future, it is going to be someone with a lower cap hit and fewer trade restrictions.

A name that might make more sense is Drew O’Connor. At a $2.5 million cap hit, he’s someone the Blackhawks could afford to add to their roster with just a single reassignment elsewhere. O’Connor isn’t off to that great of a start to 2026-27 with just two goals and five points through 19 games, but he’s heating up a bit of late, and has scored as many as 17 goals in a season as recently as last year. Moreover, O’Connor plays the kind of high-speed, effortful game that might help shake the Blackhawks out of their doldrums. His ability to play any forward position and to kill penalties is an added bonus.

O’Connor does have a no-trade clause of his own, but can only block a move to 12 teams. For him, the appeal here might be the opportunity to play on the Chicago top line, perhaps with Connor Bedard, in a contract year.

A few other names might make sense. The Canucks would be loath to part with him, but Linus Karlsson is another low-cap, high-effort forward who could greatly improve Chicago’s forward depth. Unlike O’Connor, Karlsson is off to a great start with four goals and ten points through 19 games, and unlike O’Connor, he has no trade protection. With Karlsson being younger, more productive, and signed for an additional year over O’Connor, the asking price would have to be higher. But the Blackhawks can always attempt to make an offer the Canucks could not refuse.

Other names the Hawks could consider include pending UFA Paul Cotter, a slightly-retained Brendan Gallagher, or, if some sort of salary could be exchanged, perhaps Marco Rossi. But we’d think O’Connor and Karlsson are the two names most likely to draw sincere interest from Chicago, and the sincere assets that might come with that interest.

What would those assets be? Well, they’d almost certainly be of the future-based variety and, on that front, the Blackhawks are loaded.

Part of the reason their forward depth is struggling so much is that it is stocked to the brim with highly-drafted, but questionably-developed, under-23 forwards. The Canucks pro scouts could take a look at them and figure out which one they think has the most upside between names like Marek Vanacker (27^th overall in 2024), Sacha Boisvert (18^th in 2024), Ryan Greene (57^th in 2022), or maybe a few of their defensive options, too, like Kevin Korchinski (7^th in 2022). At the high end, we might even be talking names like Oliver Moore (19^th in 2023).

Beyond that, the Blackhawks haven’t really stopped drafting, so they’ve got a bevy of unsigned prospects ready to be sold, like last year’s second-round picks Xavier Villeneuve and Ryan Roobroeck.

Nor have the Blackhawks stopped accumulating picks themselves. They’ve got up to three first-round picks in this upcoming draft with their own, Florida’s, and Edmonton’s (conditionally). We don’t think any of the names we’ve mentioned here will garner a first-round pick, unless some sort of salary dumping gets involved, but the Blackhawks also have two picks in the second round in each of the next two drafts, and two thirds in 2027. And if Filip Hronek were willing to waive to open trade talks around him? That opens up a whole other can of worms, and almost certainly brings at least one of those first-round picks into play.

In other words, there’s plenty of room here for a deal to be made that both sides find suitable. That the Blackhawks are more desperate to make a move at this point than the Canucks would suggest that the Canucks are, at the very least, at an advantage in any negotiations. Where they take it from there remains to be seen.