Kyle Davidson didn’t just have a busy offseason. He had the kind of summer that can reshape how a front office gets judged for years.
The Blackhawks’ GM made three headline moves: he brought in Bowen Byram, locked up Connor Bedard, and brought Patrick Kane back to Chicago. Each one came with its own kind of risk, reward, and pressure. Put together, they tell you exactly what Davidson is trying to build.
The boldest swing came with Byram.
The Blackhawks sent a package to the Buffalo Sabres that was headlined by the fourth-overall pick and defenseman Louis Crevier to land the 25-year-old blue liner. It was a steep price, and it still looks steep. But Davidson clearly saw a chance to grab a defenseman with real upside and real NHL experience instead of waiting for one to develop from scratch.
That logic mattered because a defenseman was going fourth overall anyway. Davidson’s thinking was simple: why not use that asset to get someone who can help right now, while still fitting the age curve of Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel?
Then came the extension, and that’s where the bet got even bigger: six years, $12.5 million average annual value, $75 million total, making Byram the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL.
That is a massive number for a player who still has to prove he can be a No. 1 defender. In Colorado, Byram was behind Cale Makar.
In Buffalo, he was behind Rasmus Dahlin. Now, after a career-high 42 points, he’s stepping into the biggest role of his career in Chicago.
He’ll be the No. 1 defenseman and quarterback the first power-play unit.
If he becomes what the front office believes he can be, the deal could age very well. If he doesn’t, Davidson will be living with this one for a long time.
Trade Grade: C+
Bedard’s deal was the cleanest piece of business of the summer.
The Blackhawks signed him to a five-year, $75 million contract that runs through unrestricted free agency. It was the most anticipated negotiation of the offseason, and in the end, there was no drama.
No public tension. No real scare.
Even the Leo Carlsson $18 million AAV offer sheet, which briefly made him the highest-paid player in the league, didn’t change the direction of things. A couple of weeks after Bedard signed, Macklin Celebrini pushed the number even higher, landing an $18.8 million over-five-years extension with the San Jose Sharks that also takes him to UFA status.
Bedard’s own case is already strong enough. He’s coming off a career year, his first 30-goal season, and a career-high 75 points.
He’s the face of the franchise and the future captain. He also had shoulder surgery over the summer and will miss the first couple of months of the season, but once he’s back, the expectation is that he’ll settle right back into place.
At $15 million per season, with the cap rising, the Blackhawks got him at a number that feels like a steal. By the standards of the market, he also gave them some room to breathe. Davidson handled this one exactly the way a front office wants to handle a franchise cornerstone.
Grade: A
And then there was Kane, the move that brought the most emotion with it.
Kane signed a two-year, $16 million deal to return to Chicago, choosing the Blackhawks over the Sabres. He said a phone call with owner Danny Wirtz helped sway him, and the conversation took him back through old memories. That’s a long way from 2023, when the Blackhawks had shut the door on any real hope of a return.
Even at 37, Kane still produced 57 points in 67 games last season. The hip surgery didn’t erase his offensive game.
He’s not going to turn into a heavy defensive player, but that was never the point. He can still help in the top six, and he should be a useful presence for Anton Frondell, Nick Lardis, Roman Kantserov, and Frank Nazar, especially with Bedard out to start the season.
The money is significant, but the Blackhawks weren’t exactly sitting on a better use for it over the next two years. Davidson chose to put it on Kane, and for this specific moment, that makes sense.
Grade: A -
Beyond those three moves, the Blackhawks also signed Ian Cole and Cole Smith on July 1 and gave Drew Commesso a two-year contract extension.
All told, it was a productive offseason for Chicago, and Davidson enters September with a roster that looks better than the one he started with.
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