The Blackhawks were going to proceed on the path of this offseason only by trading Marian Hossa’s contract.



It was the key to unlocking any hope they had of making significant changes to their roster prior to the 2018-19 season.



By trading Hossa along with Vinnie Hinostroza — the true price of the deal — and Jordan Oesterle to the Arizona Coyotes in a multi-player package, the Blackhawks ultimately ended up with an additional $4.65 million of cap space for the upcoming season and $10.2 million in future seasons. The latter number will be useful when they work to re-sign Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat.



The focus is on the present, though. The Blackhawks are expected to put their cap space to use.



1. Let’s try to figure out how much cap space the Blackhawks actually have to work with. Here’s my projected lineup as of now:



Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Player X



Victor...