In hindsight, there had been hints the Blackhawks would be extremely active in free agency.
“This has to change drastically over the summer,” de facto captain Nick Foligno said after the season-ending loss April 18 that left the Hawks at 23-53-6.
Days later, general manager Kyle Davidson said it was time for the Hawks to take a step forward, and that he intended to “create meaningful battles” in training camp to make sure “no one’s going to walk in here next fall anointed a spot.”
And, most telling, Davidson reportedly offered his 2025 first-round pick (with no lottery protection) to the Blue Jackets in a failed attempt to acquire the No. 4 pick and draft Russian winger Ivan Demidov last week. That only made sense if the Hawks expected to finish well above the bottom five in the NHL next season.
Even so, their haul of signings Monday was jarring. Forwards Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, Pat Maroon and Craig Smith, defensemen Alec Martinez and T.J. Brodie and goalie Laurent Brossoit are all en route to Chicago.
There’s no doubt they’ll make the Hawks substantially more competitive. However, when Davidson made his “step forward” declaration, the logical assumption was he intended for his up-and-coming players to propel that improvement, with a few outside upgrades brought in to help.
That’s not what has transpired. Instead, the Hawks’ performance in 2024-25 will be driven largely by veterans on short-term deals who likely won’t factor into the long-term rebuild.
It’ll be refreshing for fans and Hawks personnel to finally experience some winning. But outside the individual play of center Connor Bedard and defenseman Alex Vlasic, little about their long-term outlook will be any clearer. Essentially, their youth movement and the fruits of their rebuild have been delayed by a year.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Hawks made this week’s decisions partly because they believe their young guys will benefit from more time developing in the AHL, college or junior hockey, and they’re willing to be patient.
“You can’t just bring up all young guys when they’re not ready,” coach Luke Richardson said Monday. “The idea for Rockford is to develop. If you pull them out of that too early, it’s hard. It takes them out of their timeline and sometimes puts them back even further behind.”
The IceHogs’ lineup this season will be stacked with notable prospects. By next summer, some should be ready to graduate to the NHL, with even more ready by 2026 — at which point the Hawks’ new generation should be wholly in place.
They currently have only three veterans signed past 2026 — Teravainen, Bertuzzi and defenseman Seth Jones — so their contract chart is prepared for that turnover. Davidson’s moves Monday added plenty of talent without mortgaging his future flexibility much.
But for now, the Hawks have created a potential logjam, with some questions that need answers.
For example, what’s the plan for No. 2 overall pick Artyom Levshunov next season? Clearly the NHL isn’t it, but will he go to Rockford or back to Michigan State?
What happens if defenseman Kevin Kor-chinski hasn’t improved since last season, the entirety of which he spent in the NHL, and makes the concept of a Rockford stint seem absurd?
What if younger players from the group that includes forwards Frank Nazar and Landon Slaggert and defensemen Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan show they’re NHL-ready right away?
If the Hawks are struggling and a prospect appears deserving of a spot, hopefully they’d be willing to cut bait on veteran depth — guys such as Smith, Maroon, Martinez, forwards Joey Anderson and Ryan Donato or defenseman Connor Murphy. It’s the only way this temporary change to their approach in roster construction is acceptable.
Regardless, the training camp battles will be fierce. Davidson was clearly serious about increasing competition.
