The Chicago Blackhawks continue to rebuild, but they signed a slew of veterans to help push the team forward. Adam Proteau reacts to their first day of NHL free agency.

After another season of disappointing results, the Chicago Blackhawks went out on the UFA market Monday and made a slew of signings, all of which will make them a better team in 2024-25.

The biggest signing for the Hawks thus far is the four-year, $22-million deal that brings in veteran winger Tyler Bertuzzi. The 29-year-old winger was solid for much of the past season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Bertuzzi’s play priced him out of Toronto’s plans.

Chicago GM Kyle Davidson was more than happy to step in and bring Bertuzzi aboard. He should be a top-line forward in the Windy City, and his numbers should improve when playing with phenom Connor Bedard.

But Davidson wasn’t done after the Bertuzzi deal. Chicago also signed veteran winger Teuvo Teravainen to a three-year, $16.2-million contract. The longtime Carolina Hurricanes winger returns to the Blackhawks for his second stint with the franchise. After he posted a career-best 25 goals for the Hurricanes this past season, he’ll be expected to produce big numbers on Chicago’s second line.

Another signing for the Hawks is Cup-winning blueliner Alec Martinez, who signed a one-year, $4-million deal with the team. The 36-year-old D-man has spent the past five seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, but he’s in the back nine of his NHL career. He can’t be looked at as anything other than a stop-gap solution on ‘D’ as Chicago’s young core of elite talent develops.

In net, the team added one of the best backups of 2023-24 in Laurent Brossoit to a two-year deal worth $3.3 million per year. Brossoit had a 15-5-2 record in 23 games for the Winnipeg Jets, recording an impressive 2.00 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. This should be a new challenge for the 31-year-old alongside either Petr Mrazek or Arvid Soderblom.

The Blackhawks also added to their depth at forward.

They signed former Craig Smith to a one-year, $1-million contract. The 34-year-old veteran scored 11 goals in a support role with Dallas in 2023-24, and he’ll shore up Chicago’s fourth line at a price that doesn’t hurt the team. They also signed Pat Maroon to a one-year, $1.3-million deal for his grit and re-signed Joey Anderson as a continued depth option.

After Monday's signings so far, the Blackhawks have $9.465 million left in cap space. Don’t be surprised to see Davidson hang on to at least a few million dollars in cap flexibility entering next season. Chicago still has a long way to go until they can be considered an elite team, but with Bertuzzi, Teravainen, Martinez and more now on board, the Hawks are better than they were one day ago, and that’s all that matters to Davidson.

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