Petr Mrazek (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)

There are a number of ways the Petr Mrazek situation with the Chicago Blackhawks can play out. He has done well considering what was expected of him, but with the acquisition of Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom stepping up and playing well, the time of the veteran goalie in Chicago is done and the future is now.

This leaves the question of what can be done with Mrazek. Frank Seravalli reported that the Blackhawks are aggressively trying to trade the veteran goalie before the trade deadline. This will have to be done without any salary retention from the Blackhawks as they are using all three spots.

Just because there’s a great deal of effort being put in by Kyle Davidson, it doesn’t guarantee a trade will be made in the next couple of days. The opportunity has to arise. The fortunate thing about trying to move Mrazek is his extra year could attract non-playoff teams as well.

This opens up the possibility that the Blackhawks could find a trade partner in a team looking to solidify goaltending for next season if they have unsigned goalies or injury risks.

Mrazek has a cap hit of $4.25 million AAV and is 33 years old. He has a career .906 SV% and is very used to moving teams as he’s played for five different NHL clubs in his career. He had a much better season in 2023-24, but it’s still tough with a young and inconsistent Blackhawks team at the bottom of the standings.

Either a team lines up their goaltending for next season like the New Jersey Devils did by acquiring Jake Allen at last year’s trade deadline, there’s a contract coming back to the Blackhawks that can offset most of the money to trade Mrazek, or Chicago will have to wait until the summer. The summer may be the most likely, but with what Davidson has been able to accomplish so far, I’m not counting out his ability to make a move.

The Blackhawks are currently running with three goalies and I expect Knight to get the majority of the starts through to the end of the season. The Blackhawks will want Soderblom to continue playing as well, so I don’t anticipate Mrazek getting much more playing time over the next 21 games if he isn’t moved.

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