Despite their 31st place finish, the Blackhawks had a busy and successful year in many regards — thanks to nimble work from general manager Kyle Davidson.
Kyle Davidson may be turning out to be the general manager the Chicago Blackhawks needed after the team soured under Stan Bowman. The NHL's youngest GM at age 35, Davidson had a solid year bringing in and keeping the right pieces to help build a competitive team for a long time.
In the year since winning the 2023 draft lottery — then drafting Connor Bedard — a lot has happened, and most of it has been good. That's even if the Blackhawks were riddled by injuries in 2023-24 and finished at 23-53-6 and next-to-last in the standings.
Davidson has been tasked with making a U-turn after finding out Bedard, a generational talent, would come in as an 18-year-old to change the trajectory of the team immediately.
The Blackhawks have gone from just starting a deep rebuild after selling off some young and old talent. Now they're looking at the right pieces that can be acquired in order to build around a star and reach the playoffs much sooner than first anticipated.
From the draft to trades, signings and extensions, the Blackhawks have had a year to remember. Good pieces are there or on their way, so let's take a deeper look at what moves were made and why they were (mostly) the right ones.
2023 Draft
Davidson loaded up the draft picks for 2023 and it appears to have worked out well. The Blackhawks had two first-round picks, three second-round picks, two third-round picks, then a fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.
While there could very well be someone noteworthy to come out of the players taken in the fourth round or later, at least five of the seven players drafted in the first three rounds by Chicago in 2023 are looking like great picks or steals.
The draft class was led by Bedard at No.1 overall, but then Oliver Moore came at 19th in the first round to add even more to the forward prospect pool.
Roman Kantserov (second round) and Nick Lardis (third round) both have the potential to be top-6 talents, while Adam Gajan is the goalie of the future. Because the defensive prospect pool for the Blackhawks already was deep, there was only one defenseman drafted, in the seventh round, last year.
Trades That Benefited the Blackhawks
The first smart trade Davidson made last offseason was to bring in both Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno from Boston.
Hall had two years left on his deal at $6 million AAV and would have made a great winger for Bedard. Hall had season-ending knee surgery after playing only 10 games, but the former Hart Trophy winner has been rehabbing with determination and should fit right back in on the top line in 2024-25.
Foligno was acquired without a contract and was then signed by the Blackhawks for one year at $4 million AAV. Then he was extended for two more years at $4.5 million AAV in January 2024.
For the Blackhawks who have cap space, Foligno is a great leader and the perfect piece in the lineup. He's an old-school smart, solid two-way winger who produced 17 goals and 37 points in 74 games, and played in all situations.
All Hall and Foligno cost the Blackhawks were the signing rights to both Ian Mitchell and Alex Regula.
Davidson followed the deal with the Bruins by acquiring Josh Bailey's contract and a second-round pick for future considerations from the New York Islanders. Since Bailey had just one year left on his deal and the Islanders were desperate, the Blackhawks could afford it and benefited nicely by acquiring a high pick in 2026. Bailey was bought out of the final year of his deal. This was a great use of cap space when it wasn't going to otherwise be needed in Chicago this season.
Acquiring Anthony Beauvillier from Vancouver on Nov. 28 and then dealing him at the deadline put the Blackhawks in a similar position in the end, trading away a fifth-round pick and then acquiring one back in dealing him to the Nashville Predators. Beauvillier did help fill a hole in the lineup when he was healthy. He's an NHL player with experience and it was an opportunity to potentially get more out of him for a couple of months to raise his value and come out on top.
Big Year for Signings and Extensions
The Blackhawks made some nice signings that helped complement the team nicely this season. The best ones were Philipp Kurashev, Foligno, Ryan Donato and Joey Anderson. Speedy Andreas Athanasiou also was brought back on a two-year deal.
Chicago and Kurashev settled on a two-year deal at $2.25 million AAV after arbitration and he's already greatly outplayed that and solidified himself as a top line winger.
Donato was a very solid and cheaper signing for the production he brought. He found himself on the top line at times and finished the season with 12 goals and 30 points.
As for Anderson, this might have been the most underrated signing the Blackhawks have had in a while. He helped form the shutdown line with Jason Dickinson and had the highest plus/minus on the team at +5.
Athanasiou's was limited to 28 games by a groin injury The speedy forward definitely has another level to get back to and should be able to approach that next season.
Davdison signed Corey Perry in July, but had to release the 38-year-old forward on Nov. 28 after he violated team policies. Perry started well with Chicago, but the circumstances of Perry's "termination" stung the Blackhawks emotionally as Perry didn't live up to a reputation as the kind of leader the team wanted.
Contract extensions will help shape the Blackhawks for the next couple of seasons as Foligno, Dickinson, Petr Mrazek, Alex Vlasic, and Lukas Reichel all got new contracts in the past year. While the first three were earlier in the year, Vlasic's came in April and shows confidence in the young defender was outstanding in his first full NHL season.
Foligno, Dickinson, and Mrazek all got nearly identical two-year deals. Foligno earned $4.5 million AAV while the other two got $4.25 million AAV. All played major roles this season.
Dickinson was part of the shutdown line that did extremely well against top competition. Mrazek was arguably the team MVP in net as he helped the Blackhawks stay in so many games they had no business being in.
Vlasic received a six-year extension and it was well deserved. He played top line minutes and has formed chemistry with Seth Jones as well. At just 22 years old and defensively responsible already, the Blackhawks have a very good player here. At $4.6 million AAV as a top-four defender, this won't hurt the team one bit. It could turn into a bargain.
While Reichel may have had a tough year in the NHL, it was important to show some confidence in the former first-round pick that is still developing. He received a two-year extension at $1.2 million AAV, so it's modest. This should allow the Blackhawks to get a good look at how he progresses before committing to him long-term and for more money.
After how Davidson has handled the Blackhawks and steered them in a great direction so quickly, this team seems to be in right hands with the NHL's youngest general manager.
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