Apr 8, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser (44) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Blackhawks Re-Sign RFA Defenseman to New Deal

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Tyler Miller | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Most NHL teams are getting set to open their training camps on September 18 and starting to put out their rosters of who will be attending, who have injuries and cannot participate, and who will not attend and be sent back to their junior teams or be cut. But for Wyatt Kaiser, none of these reasons were why he was not originally on the Chicago Blackhawks training camp roster.

His reason was because he was a restricted free-agent, and the Blackhawks had not given him a new contract yet, so he was holding out till he was given one. And that was the case as it was announced that the team re-signed him to a short two-year deal.

hi Wyatt!

➡︎ https://t.co/UDrC9Plahj pic.twitter.com/K2zGFMJtAF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 18, 2025

That is really not much for the kid as he has not yet proven himself in the league as he is only 23-years old and still has a lot to learn. But with this new deal, he really could start to prove himself and cash in again in free agency in two years if he ends up walking and not immediately re-signing with the Blackhawks.

Kaiser was drafted 81st overall in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft out of Minnesota-Duluth. He made his NHL debut in the 2022-23 season with the Blackhawks, playing only nine games and tallying 3 assists. He played 32 games in the 2023-24 season and 7 assists and played 57 games in the 2024-25 season tallying 4 goals and 4 assists.

Kaiser is part of a really young defensive core over in the Windy City. He is going to be an integral part of the team when they turn all of their down years into a contending team. They have been rebuilding for quite some time and have some nice defensive pieces like Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov along with Kaiser to really solidify their blue line of the future.

The Blackhawks have been drafting high for the past few years, and they really hope it pays off in the near future. It seems like they have at least half of their defensive core figured out for the future and Kaiser will be a huge part of that really soon.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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