Rumor: Blackhawks trying to push Kane and Toews towards a trade.

 The Chicago Blackhawks left doubt about their plans for the immediate future coming off the heels of the 2022 National Hockey League Entry Draft. The Blackhawks made a number of trades that allowed them to stockpile both picks and prospects for the future, but did so at the expense of stripping their current roster of much of it's talent.

The two big names that departed over the course of this week were forward Kirby Dach, who was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens, and forward Alex DeBrincat, who was dealt to the Ottawa Senators in what has been a highly scrutinized and criticized trade on the part of Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson. That left the Blackhawks with a significantly less talented group of forwards than they had coming into the draft, and that may very well have been by design.

Recently a pair of NHL insiders have shared their insights into the situation in Chicago, and both appear to have come away with similar conclusions. On the most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman expressed his belief that the Blackhawks are looking to push star forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews towards a trade.

"It's real now for Kane and Toews," said Friedman on the podcast. "But I really think Chicago, they want Kane and Toews to make this decision for them... I think that's what they want."

NHL insider Frank Seravalli recently discussed the busy week for the Chicago Blackhawks on the latest episode of his own podcast, and he indicated his belief that the recent moves from the Blackhawks may have shaken things up in Chicago.

"I think the other big one that I'm watching is Patrick Kane, what happens with Patrick Kane?" admitted Seravalli on the podcast. "They are in a spot in Chicago where they've made it very clear that they are not gonna be approaching those guys to say, 'Are you willing to move on?' But they are in a spot where things are changing."

If the Blackhawks are indeed trying to push their two high paid stars towards a trade, they may have succeeded in doing so.

"And then you've got the Alex DeBrincat trade, you're taking his star winger off that has been piling up the goals for you, I think that changes the dynamic a bit," said Seravalli.

As of right now, according to Seravalli, it sounds like Patrick Kane may be at somewhat of a loss moving forward.

"Patrick Kane to this point, I've been told, is not sure what to do," said Seravalli.

Both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have been cornerstones of the Blackhawks franchise since they were drafted, that being said the Blackhawks appear to truly be tearing it all down and starting over from scratch, and at this point no one should be surprised if either Toews or Kane, or perhaps even both, decide that playing somewhere else may be the best option moving forward.

For what it's worth, Seravalli made his comments on Kane after being asked about players who could potentially be traded prior to the opening of free agency this coming Wednesday, so this could be something that develops very quickly.