The Chicago Blackhawks don’t have the highest average salary in the NHL, and that means there are quite a few players with lower cap hits in 2024-25. That said, there are only a few players set to make six figures this season: Connor Bedard, Joey Anderson, and Kevin Korchinski, per the players projected to earn a spot on the team at Puck Pedia.

This could change when the puck drops in October, but let’s assume that Puck Pedia’s projection is accurate. Which of the three players listed above will be playing on the lowest salary of $800,000 this season?

The answer is Joey Anderson, and it makes sense, considering what his role will most likely entail in 2024-25. Regardless of where he’s played in the past, Anderson has never factored in as a full-time player, finding ice time in what was a career-high 55 contests and, predictably, playing bottom-six minutes, last season.

If he maintains the productivity he achieved with the Blackhawks last year, Joey Anderson makes for an exciting role player in the Windy City. Overall, he ended the year with five goals, 12 assists, and 17 points in 55 games, good for 0.30 points per game, and adjusted to 25 points in an 82-game season.

That said, if injuries struck Chicago’s lower lines and someone like Anderson needed to take a full-time role, he makes for one of the more reliable extra forwards in the NHL. He also wouldn’t be a liability defensively, and I say this because, despite playing in just 55 games and averaging 13:33 of total ice time, Anderson still had 30 takeaways.

Let’s again do the math: It means Anderson logged 0.545 takeaways per game, which gives him between 44 and 45 over 82 outings. Not bad numbers at all for a part-timer on the bottom-six, so what I’m getting to is, the Blackhawks have some incredible value in Anderson.

I’ll concede and say he shouldn’t be playing full-time on any team, but it doesn’t mean he won’t be a solid part-time player for yet another season.