The veteran core of the Chicago Blackhawks – Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook – are fed up with the organization’s early offseason moves, according to The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus.
“You’re mad. The guys have had enough,” said a source.
Toews told Lazerus that the club’s off-season transactions were inconsistent with his desire to win.
“Bottom line is, I want to win,” said Toews. “The expectation for the other leaders of this team and myself is to be ready to play a training camp every year to become a playoff team. We are preparing to win a trophy for our fans.
“I was never told that we were going through a renovation. I was never told that. Much of it is a shock because it is a completely different direction than we expected.”
This off-season, the Blackhawks have left longtime goalkeeper Corey Crawford free, traded forward Brandon Saad, and failed to expand qualifying offers to include reliable downs in Drake Caggiula and Slater Koekkoek.
Each of these steps weakened Chicago’s roster on paper. They also come just months after the Blackhawks eliminated the Edmonton Oilers in the qualifying round in 12th place to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
