Blackhawks cut ties with 2 more players.

Over the course of the last several days the Chicago Blackhawks made a series of moves that drastically altered the direction of their franchise, steering it towards what appears will be a lengthy rebuild for the organization.

In spite of the fact that the Blackhawks have already stripped their roster down considerably by moving forwards Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach in a pair of trades with the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, it appears they intend to continue the teardown this week by cutting ties with 2 more forwards.

On Sunday, Blackhawks insider Mark Lazerus reported that the Blackhawks will not be extending a qualifying offer to 26 year old forward Dominik Kubalik, meaning he will become an unrestricted free agent when free agency begins in the NHL on Wednesday. Kubalik is coming off a 76 game season for the Blackhawks in which he scored 15 times and added an additional 17 assists for a total of 32 points on the season.

Lazerus also expressed his belief that Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome will share the same fate as Kubalik, with no qualifying offer expected to come his way. Strome, a former 1st round pick (3rd overall) of the Arizona Coyotes at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, likely won't be a free agent for very long. In spite of his struggles at times in Chicago he is coming off a 22 goal season in which he added 26 assists for 48 points in 69 games.

What will make this particularly frustrating for fans in Chicago is the fact that the Blackhawks will see no return on investment for either player, when they could have in theory traded them during the course of the regular season. That may have been easier said than done though for general manager Kyle Davidson who, for example, was looking at a qualifying offer of $3.6 million to retain the rights to Strome who is arbitration eligible. That would have made Strome an expensive asset, something opposing general managers would have been well aware of themselves.

This tear down in Chicago may not be over yet.