Just before the Chicago Blackhawks took on the Utah Hockey Club on Friday night at the United Center, GM Kyle Davidson spoke at his post-trade deadline press conference.
He talked about a lot of hard hitting topics surrounding the organization. In addition to going over the moves that were made ahead of the deadline, there was some great insight on what his plans are for the future.
The Blackhawks took on Shea Weber’s cap hit so that they have no trouble reaching the floor and Davidson confirmed that this move won’t stop them from making more moves at any point.
“It doesn’t change anything that we will or won’t do in the summer.” Davidson said on the Weber money. “It doesn’t change any ambition from that standpoint. We still have over $30 million in cap space next year and not too many guys to resign. There is still a lot of opportunity should it become available to us.”
Not only does this give insight into the Weber move not hurting the Blackhawks, but it also implies that Kyle knows how rich the Blackhawks are this summer and wants to go shopping with some of that money.
Kyle Davidson wants Ryan Donato to remain a part of this team. He didn’t trade him because he didn’t get offered what he believes is proper value. Now, he’d like to strike a deal with his player. According to him, they have “exchanged ideas” when it comes to an extension.
“We value Ryan.” Davidson said. “We love what he brings on the ice, off the ice. He’s a guy that never stops trying to get better. He took some very meaningful steps in trying to improve his game this summer which I believe is translating into a career year this year. That’s just a great example that you want in your organization.”
We’ve heard Connor Bedard and Pat Maroon amongst others praise Donato but hearing it from the GM like that speaks volumes about his character.
Kyle confirmed he is ready to move on from some picks and prospects for NHL-ready players. He said that it was “safe to say” that they will make more hockey trades going forward. That is important as they try to take another step in the rebuilding process which should include some winning.
There is a lot more work to do to make this team a contender again and the path won’t be pretty at times. However, Kyle and his staff have a plan. It’s on them to execute the plan in a way that works. The insight he gave on it during Friday’s presser made it seem like the plan is to be a winning team again soon.
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