Following the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft on Tuesday, Mark Kelley — the Blackhawks' Vice President of Amateur Scouting — revealed the Hawks attempted to trade up during Day 1.
The Hawks selected 18-year-old German forward Lukas Reichel at No. 17 overall with their first pick of the draft, but Kelley said the Blackhawks were on the horn to see what it took to move up.
Related: Five facts about the Blackhawks' No. 17 pick Lukas Reichel
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"The dialogue was there probably from right after Minnesota [picked No. 9] Stan (Bowman) was on the phone. I know we talked with Winnipeg (Jets), with Nashville (Predators) and Florida (Panthers). We looked at the possibility of moving up. The teams really weren't very receptive to trading back. So we just kind of played it out and we had to sweat out probably four names."
The Jets had the 10th overall selection and picked center Cole Perfetti. The Predators took goalie Yaroslav Askarov at No. 11, who many consider to be a generational netminder. The Panthers got center Anton Lundell at No. 12.
Based on who Chicago spoke with, one could surmise they were trying to move up to grab Askarov.
After establishing some recent cap space, the Hawks should be able to lock up two-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Corey Crawford for another year or two, but beyond that, they'll need a starting goalie for the future.
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Related: What Blackhawks can do with newfound cap space
Kelley also said the Blackhawks will be looking at goalies on the board Wednesday in rounds 2-7.