The Chicago Blackhawks are walking into a season that carries real weight, and it starts Sept. 29 in Vegas against a Golden Knights team that recently reached the Stanley Cup Final. It won’t be an easy opener, and it gets even tougher with Connor Bedard out of the lineup.
What makes 2026-27 so significant is simple: this is supposed to be the finish line of the five-year rebuild Kyle Davidson laid out when he took over after Stan Bowman stepped down. Davidson told the Wirtz family the process would take five years, and he made it clear from the start that it would come with pain, losses, and plenty of long nights before Chicago could climb back toward contender status.
The path to this point has been shaped by major roster turnover. Before Davidson was hired, Bowman made one last huge move by acquiring Seth Jones and handing him an eight-year, $76 million contract.
That deal later became a burden for Chicago, and after Jones publicly pushed to leave at the 2025 Trade Deadline, the Blackhawks sent him to the Florida Panthers and landed Spencer Knight as their future goaltender. Chicago also kept $2.5 million per year on Jones’ cap hit, and that money will stay on the books through the 2029-30 season.
Once Davidson got to work, the teardown was swift. Brandon Hagel and Patrick Kane were among the players moved out early.
On the day of the 2022 NHL Draft, Alex DeBrincat was traded to the Ottawa Senators for the seventh overall pick, which became Kevin Korchinski. By the end of that season, Davidson made it clear Jonathan Toews - and Kane - were no longer part of the Blackhawks’ future.
That approach, plus additional moves in 2023, set Chicago up to draft Bedard. He became exactly what the organization hoped for, then signed a $75 million contract that made him the highest-paid player in Blackhawks history. The team also named him captain, a clear signal that this is his franchise.
The losing continued in 2024, but it came with another major asset: the second overall pick, used on Artyom Levshunov. In 2025, Chicago took Anton Frondell third overall, adding another prospect described as one of the best in the league and a player expected to be a core piece for the next decade.
Davidson’s first major move to push the roster forward came in June, when he sent the fourth overall pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Bowen Byram. On July 1, Byram signed a six-year extension worth a $12.5 million average annual value, making him the highest-paid defenseman at the time and the first major contract Davidson has handed out.
There have been other young pieces added along the way too, including Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore, who signed a five-year extension that begins next year.
Now the rebuild reaches its checkpoint. Davidson said this process would take five years, and the Blackhawks are about to hit that mark. That means it’s time to figure out what he really has, with most of his key draft picks set to play full NHL seasons and a clearer picture finally available on who belongs in the future.
No one is saying Chicago has to make the playoffs this year. That would be a big ask for a team that has missed them for six straight seasons and finished third-to-last in the league last season.
But a step forward should be there. The Blackhawks need more points, more production, and a season that stretches into March or April with something meaningful on the line.
They can’t be buried near the bottom when the trade deadline arrives.
Davidson has already received his extension as general manager, but this is the season where he has to show what all of that planning has actually built. The players have spent the offseason saying they’re tired of losing, and the front office has been promising this five-year timeline from the start. Now it’s time to see whether that promise starts looking real.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Opening Night Picture Is Still Unsettled Without Bedard
The Blackhawks may have their opening-night roster on paper, but the group that actually skates into the season still looks like a work in progress. Chicago carried eight defensemen and 13 forwards as it finalized the roster for the 2026-27 NHL season, and head coach Jeff Blashill spent practice reshuffling the forward lines while the team prepared for its trip to Las Vegas.
The uncertainty is amplified by Connor Bedards status, since he traveled with the club but will not play during the three-game road trip and is also unlikely to be available for the home opener. Blashill said the final 12 forwards for the game are still not settled, leaving the Blackhawks with a little more sorting to do before they can put a true opening-night lineup on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks May Have Their Young Blue Line Answer After All
The Blackhawks spent the preseason sorting through a familiar question on the back end, and Kevin Korchinski gave them a good reason to believe the answer might already be in-house. After a solid camp and exhibition showing, the young defenseman appears positioned to earn a place in the opening night lineup, which would give Chicago another promising piece as it continues to build out its blue line around a core that already looks settled near the top.
Sam Rinzels preseason, meanwhile, pointed in the opposite direction. His struggles have left the organization leaning toward giving him more seasoning at the next level, while the top-four defensemen are expected to stay intact and Ian Cole is set to handle a steady veteran presence on the bottom pair. For a team trying to balance patience with progress, the final call on its young defense corps is starting to feel less like a mystery and more like a development plan taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Open With Two Big Questions Fans Will Notice Fast
The Blackhawks are headed into the 2026-27 season with an opener against the Vegas Golden Knights that already comes with plenty of intrigue, and the projected lineups tell part of the story. Chicagos offseason changes and coaching updates have set the stage for a fresh look, while the leagues return to an 84-game regular season adds a little more weight to every early decision as the calendar turns toward opening night.
What stands out most is how many familiar names are still part of the conversation, even before the puck drops. The Blackhawks projected forward group points to a few competition battles that could shape the start of the season, and the status of key players recovering from injury remains something to watch as camp approaches. With the opener and the first wave of league events coming into focus, Chicagos lineup picture is clear in some spots and still very much in motion in others. [Read more 🡒]