After trades, Blackhawks motivated to make this the last time they sell at deadline

Just two weeks ago, Blackhawks forwards Connor Bedard, Ryan Greene and Colton Dach were vacationing together in Mexico during the Olympics.

"We were talking about, 'After we win the [Stanley] Cup, we're going to go back,'" Bedard recalled Thursday.

Now, Dach is no longer a Hawk, having been traded to the Oilers alongside Jason Dickinson — joining Connor Murphy — as the organization goes through the familiar dance of converting pending free agents and on-the-outs players into draft picks ahead of the NHL deadline at 2 p.m. CT Friday.

Bedard and the rest of the Hawks understand why that's smart and necessary from a managerial standpoint. But that doesn't make losing friends sting any less.

"It's motivating that this is the last year that we're in a spot where we're moving guys that help us win," Bedard added. "That's a [expletive] feeling. [We'll] just try to not let that happen [again]."

Hawks captain Nick Foligno, who might no longer be the captain very soon, has heard that same sentiment throughout the locker room.

He called it a "wake-up call to a lot of guys" that the Hawks need to finally be in the playoff race next season to avoid going through this dance yet again.

"This is the tough part of the season, right?" Foligno said. "These are the emotions and feelings you have when you lose some really good people. You don't want to be in this spot too many times.

"That's probably the message that's been heard the loudest the last few days here from the group. I think they're getting tired of being in this spot. So hopefully it's a motivating factor for years to come."

Foligno spoke in past tense throughout his interview Thursday. There's a sizable chance the pending free agent will move Friday and finish out elsewhere what might be the last season of his career.

The Blue Jackets, whom Foligno formerly captained and who have enough salary-cap space to absorb Foligno's $4.5 million cap hit easily (despite the Hawks' lack of available salary-retention slots), would make sense. They're in the East playoff race, and Foligno owns a home in Columbus.

"It's been an absolute honor to be the captain here, so I'm still fully committed to that until told otherwise," he said. "But there's a competitor inside you, too, that wants to be playing meaningful games."

If he does move, the Hawks will have traded their entire leadership group — their captain and both alternate captains — in the span of a week, which would be unprecedented.

Coach Jeff Blashill said his staff is working on deciding who besides Bedard, who had already filled in as alternate when Foligno was injured in November, will inherit those letters and leadership roles.

But it's clear they'll be distributed within the group of youngsters that compose an increasingly large percentage of the Hawks' roster. Alex Vlasic and Frank Nazar have to be strong candidates at the least.

"I've had it in my career where you wonder, 'What's it going to be like to lose this guy?'" Foligno said. "And then you realize, 'Well, there's more that I can give.' That's the message that these guys have to understand: 'There's more of yourself to give.'

"[Murphy, Dickinson and I] were once in your position and had to figure out how to be good pros, how to be the guys that people look to. That's the journey these guys are going to go on now."

Notes

Andrew Mangiapane, a salary dump from the Oilers, will "get an opportunity to be a good player" for the Hawks after his U.S. immigration paperwork clears, Blashill said.

Oliver Moore slid into the third-line center role vacated by Dickinson, and Wyatt Kaiser (knee injury) fully participated in practice and should play Friday against the Canucks. Kevin Korchinski was sent down to Rockford.