Kyle Davidson has the keys to the Blackhawks, and Danny Wirtz has complete confidence in him.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a rough ending to 2025-26. They finished 29-39-14 for 72 points, which was good for 31st place in the NHL. A 2-7-1 record in their final ten games contributed to that spiral.
Minutes before their final game of the season, a win over the San Jose Sharks at the United Center, Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz announced that Kyle Davidson has received a contract extension.
Although the Blackhawks had a rough second half, the foundation of a winner has been put in place. Since taking over as General Manager, Kyle Davidson has done what was asked of him.
Picking up the pieces of a tough ending to the dynasty era (on and off the ice) was his first order of business. Next was rebuilding the farm system through trades, drafts, and development. So far, that part has been accomplished.
"Kyle's done everything we've expected of him," Danny Wirtz said of Kyle Davidson. "When he got the job, his first task was to rebuild our prospect pool. If you remember, our cupboard was pretty bare. We didn't have a lot coming in. He very systematically, very confidently built that to where I believe right now we have the best prospect pool in the NHL. Many of those prospects are now actually NHL players, contributing and highly impactful on our team."
The next step, by the admission of Wirtz, is to take those prospects and use them (one way or another) to build a winner.
"At the same time, we didn't hire Kyle to be the prospect GM," Wirtz added. "He's building a championship-caliber team. It goes to the point we've extended Kyle's contract. We are committing to Kyle to continue the plan he's put in place. We feel confident in that. We believe he has the right insight, the right team around him, and the belief he can continue to build a championship team."
For the Chairman and CEO of the company to give that sort of praise means that they are sticking with the long-term plan that Davidson laid out when he first started. They aren't going to cut him off right as he's about to attempt taking that next step.
A big part, perhaps the biggest part, of their future success is the play of Connor Bedard, who they selected with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Wirtz is a believer that Kyle will get a deal done with their budding superstar.
"We couldn't be happier with how Connor has shown up every single night, the way he competes, the way he leads this team in many ways," Wirtz said of Bedard. "Our intention is to absolutely get him signed and have him be a Blackhawk for a long time."
Bedard led the Blackhawks in scoring for the third year in a row to begin his NHL career, and this year, it translated to an 11-point improvement for the team. They still finished in 31st, but the team was better in a year-to-year evaluation, despite being considerably younger for most of it.
Another 11-point increase might not be enough for the playoffs, but it would certainly have them in the mix much longer than this year. Danny Wirtz seems to be banking on another points increase.
"If we stayed flat to this year, I think we would be disappointed," he said. It might seem unlikely that they take a major jump, but the moves they make during the off-season, combined with more growth from their young stars, could lead to some magical things.
This is a big summer for Davidson and his staff. They are looking to make more additions to the roster, more than just the young prospects fighting for jobs, so that they can have another growth spurt as an organization in 2026-27. Wirtz said that he is ready to back Davidson, including financially, on any big moves that he is trying to make.
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