Congratulations to the Florida Panthers on winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history last night. Last night was arguably the biggest game in NHL history, and it is safe to say that it lived up to the hype. If watching that game doesn’t remind you why you love hockey, then you should probably check to see if you have a pulse. For me, watching the Panthers hoist and pass around the cup makes me hungry for the Hawks to get back to that level and be on top of the hockey world once more. However, to get to that level, there is still some work that needs to be done, and that work will continue this week.

First up, we have the NHL Draft this weekend. I talked yesterday about who I believe Kyle Davidson should be taking at number two on Friday, but there are still a lot of opportunities to land more solid players after that pick. The team holds eight picks this year, with six of them being in the top 75 picks of the draft. Players I like for 18, 34, and 50 include Konsta Helenius, Cole Eiserman, Michael Hage, Stain Solberg, and Tanner Howe. Now for Helenius and Eiserman to reach 18, there will need to be some help with teams going in other directions and letting those guys slip, which I don’t see happening. The other option I see with the 18th, depending on who is available, is to trade it to the Jets for Rutger McGroarty, who is at odds with the Jets on his path to the NHL. McGroarty was drafted 14th overall in the 2022 draft and has been playing his last two seasons with the University of Michigan, where in 75 games he put up 34 goals and 57 assists. He has good size, coming in at 6'1" and 205 pounds. He can play all three forward positions and isn’t afraid to muck it up. Depending on who is on the board at 18, trading that pick for him might be a better option and give the Hawks a player who is ready to make the jump as early as this season.

We are in full-blown off-season mode with this being a very hectic week, and I hope the league looks into ways to give a little break between the end of the Cup Final and the start of off-season activities. Here is a quick look at important dates coming up for the Hawks and the rest of the league.

June 26th: Buy-Out Window Opens

June 28th–29th: Entry Draft

June 30th, 4 p.m: Central Qualifying Offer Deadline 

July 1st, 11 a.m.: Central Free Agency Opens

September 25th: Hawks vs. Red Wings to open preseason schedule.

That’s going to be it from me for now. I will be back later in the week to preview what the Hawks could be doing when it comes to the open market, but spoiler alert: I don’t think it's going to be big name hunting that a lot of people are hoping for. Until then, have a great day, everyone.

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