Examining Kyle Davidson's 2024-25 Season

Kyle Davidson set a goal during the summer of 2024. The goal was simple: finish the 2024-35 season better than the 2023-24 season, when the Blackhawks finished in 31st. 2023-24 was an understandably bad season. It was the start of an ugly, necessary step in the rebuild. Nearly a year later, now that the Blackhawks' 2024-25 season is over, they once again finished 31st overall. 

In the big picture, finishing 31st or last doesn't hurt the Blackhawks' rebuild. It actually helps it, so long as the draft lottery balls bounce in Chicago's favor. Davidson's public "goal" may have been a bit premature, considering the players currently signed and the ones that Davidson brought on. 

Today, we're going to examine the moves Kyle Davidson made this past season. While I think Davidson has drafted well, draft picks won't include that in this article. We are still too far away from being able to assess Davidson's drafts. No matter how promising they may look at this very moment. 

Signings

Kyle Davidson hasn't exactly hit his free-agent signings out of the park. We need to remember that Davidson is planning to build a team through the draft, so any players signed in the off-season aren't exactly meant to be here long-term. But the summer of 2024 was a glimpse at Davidson's free-agent process. 

T.J. Brodie's signing was the worst contract of the Davidson era. And it's only two years long. With one more year left on his contract, Brodie will most likely get bought out. While the contract length is questionable, his signing blocked younger players from getting more NHL ice time. 

Teuvo Teravainen was fine, but at times he made really bad decisions. Worse, was that the coaching staff never played him with Connor Bedard. It seemed like Teuvo was brought on to be a player for Bedard, but the two only played 229 minutes together. 

Tyler Bertuzzi was ok when he scored, frustrating when he didn't. Alec Martinez was injured most of the time and is retiring. Laurent Broissoit is... somewhere. You would think his potential injury problems popped up in scouting reports. Pat Maroon and Craig Smith both did what they needed to do (be bottom-six players). 

But the goal was to win more games. And the Blackhawks' pro-scouting department missed the mark. The best players at achieving that goal were already in the pipeline. The players brought on to help with offense spent most of their time away from Bedard.

Last season, Davidson made questionable signings on players like Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno, and Petr Mrazek. Dickinson and Mrazek arguably should have been dealt when their value was at its highest.

Which brings me to Ryan Donato. By not trading Donato at the deadline, you are banking on signing him for next season. But Donato has all of the negotiating power with the ability to say "no." Any draft pick the Blackhawks could have received in a trade would have benefited the Blackhawks long-term, no matter how many picks they have stockpiled.

Trades

Davidson made an excellent trade when he sent Seth Jones to Florida in return for Spencer Knight, a first-round pick, and only retaining 25% of Jones' massive contract. That trade alone is impressive for Davidson. Even more so when it sounds like Florida was the only suitor. 

The Ilya Mikheyev trade doesn't get much love. Mikheyev scored 20 goals and 34 points in 80 games. He wasn't just a fast player; Mikheyev was extremely effective on the penalty kill as well. The Blackhawks also received Vancouver's second-round pick and Sam Lafferty's contract, all for the price of a fourth-round pick.

The only trade that I wasn't a fan of was the Taylor Hall trade. Davidson essentially gave his word that he would retain money on an unnamed contract (Mikko Rantanen) for the remainder of the season. Hall by himself wasn't going to get you much, even though he's playing top-six minutes on the Carolina Hurricanes. 

My issue with that trade was that he got nothing in return for taking on that money. Is it a big deal? Yes and no. That's leverage that you gain to your advantage, even if it's small. People overlook this because Taylor Hall was playing on the Blackhawks' fourth line at the time of his trade. 

What's On Tap Next?

Overall, I've liked most of the decisions that Kyle Davidson has made. He has a plan, and he's sticking to it. But my concerns lie with the pro-scouting department and Davidson's ability to sign players who can help meet the team's goals.

Davidson set out to build a winning team through the draft. Which takes a really long time. His next move is probably his most important decision in his early career, and that's picking the right coach for this Blackhawks team. 

While building through the draft is a nice fantasy, Davidson will have to acquire players through free agency and trades. Players who aren't mere placeholders.

This is going to be a big summer for Kyle Davidson.