We have a GM problem

[BHFAN92]

You’re totally right. We should be blowing through futures in order to acquire a bunch of players that will make the team mediocre and directionless (IE: right back where we were when this started)

I mean the goal of every rebuild is to blow your plan up and become painstakingly average because whiny fans exist right?

no the point of the rebuild is to acquire actual f***ing talent instead of 3rd and 4th line players en mass. The tear down occured in yr1 when we got rid of Debrincat (2022) and Hagel (TDL 2022) and traded Kane (TDL 2023) . This is yr 3 it in no way shape or form should still be a tear down. I am absolutely fine being terrible this yr to end up with Schaefer, Misa, or Hagens but KD is completely missing the boat by not going after some of these young guys when they are available. You cannot build solely through 2nd and 3rd rd picks and hope like hell 1 of them pans out. Hell its looking more likely that our 1st rd picks while maybe NHL level are not difference makers ie ( Korchinski, Moore). All I continue to see him do is trade washed up vets for picks that amount to nothing while eating money and helping out other teams.

 

[BHFAN92]

I don't think the trade matters at all long term, and whatever the optimal return is for Hall and 5m of cap space maybe is slightly better but also still yields nothing of importance on average but its the incremental things that add up is all I'm saying...this org has made a lot of small to medium errors in the past decade that put them at the bottom of the league, not utilizing cap space properly, poor draft picks and development, bad trades, not QO Strome, no real talent at HC position since Q etc

I appreciate you sir! Someone who can take off the rose colored glasses and see what is actually happening. I think every Blackhawks fan can agree a tear down needed to happen to rebuild. Where the difference is I believe KD has done a disastrous job in weaponizing cap, very poor drafting, and handing out contracts to washed up vets who barely should be playing in the NHL anymore. I am fine with him acquiring picks as long as he hits on them (he doesnt) I am fine with him signing players to hit cap floor like Bertuzzi and Teravainen but then he goes and gets road blocks like Martinez, Brodie, Maroon, Smith. Those guys are not vets the young guys learn from they are flat plugs taking a roster spot from young guys period.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

I appreciate you sir! Someone who can take off the rose colored glasses and see what is actually happening. I think every Blackhawks fan can agree a tear down needed to happen to rebuild. Where the difference is I believe KD has done a disastrous job in weaponizing cap, very poor drafting, and handing out contracts to washed up vets who barely should be playing in the NHL anymore. I am fine with him acquiring picks as long as he hits on them (he doesnt) I am fine with him signing players to hit cap floor like Bertuzzi and Teravainen but then he goes and gets road blocks like Martinez, Brodie, Maroon, Smith. Those guys are not vets the young guys learn from they are flat plugs taking a roster spot from young guys period.

Its been an issue with this org for years now. They flip flop around way too much with their identity/plan. Going into the teardown KD made it seem like he wanted to clear the deck for the young players to take on leadership roles and grow at the NHL level together like the last core then after that was a bit rocky he switched up that plan and signed a bunch of stop gap vets to overpaid contracts and put the kids down in Rockford, again not an issue with this at all, but stick with a plan...Then tried to trade an unprotected 1st when they're awful, he just seems to be in the mold of Bowman where he can't stick to a plan for more than 12 months, I fear he's going to make big moves prematurely in this rebuild, mess up the Lev/Demidov pick and we'll be sitting here with Bedard half way through his extension in the same position with a new GM...what we really need to move the needle on this rebuild is the hockey gods to bless us with the next two 1st overall picks

 

[BHFAN92]

Its been an issue with this org for years now. They flip flop around way too much with their identity/plan. Going into the teardown KD made it seem like he wanted to clear the deck for the young players to take on leadership roles and grow at the NHL level together like the last core then after that was a bit rocky he switched up that plan and signed a bunch of stop gap vets to overpaid contracts and put the kids down in Rockford, again not an issue with this at all, but stick with a plan...Then tried to trade an unprotected 1st when they're awful, he just seems to be in the mold of Bowman where he can't stick to a plan for more than 12 months, I fear he's going to make big moves prematurely in this rebuild, mess up the Lev/Demidov pick and we'll be sitting here with Bedard half way through his extension in the same position with a new GM...what we really need to move the needle on this rebuild is the hockey gods to bless us with the next two 1st overall picks

I want Schaefer so bad but feel like Sharks are going to out tank us again..Can you imagine where this team would be at right now if we got Celebrini to pair with Bedsy

 

[pvr]

I want Schaefer so bad but feel like Sharks are going to out tank us again..Can you imagine where this team would be at right now if we got Celebrini to pair with Bedsy

With Celebrini right now…still in bottom 3. A couple of years from now way better off.

 

[MHO]

Its been an issue with this org for years now. They flip flop around way too much with their identity/plan. Going into the teardown KD made it seem like he wanted to clear the deck for the young players to take on leadership roles and grow at the NHL level together like the last core then after that was a bit rocky he switched up that plan and signed a bunch of stop gap vets to overpaid contracts and put the kids down in Rockford, again not an issue with this at all, but stick with a plan...

There's a difference between vets who haven't been around and vets named Kane and Toews. The stopgaps are guys who are here to provide guidance and show the way. Kane and Toews are living legends and all of the kids would be in awe of them. I see a plan where you accumulate talent and let them develop properly based on where their game is at. Then fill the roster and it's likely going to be with players that aren't very good. I don't see any deviation.

Then tried to trade an unprotected 1st when they're awful, he just seems to be in the mold of Bowman where he can't stick to a plan for more than 12 months, I fear he's going to make big moves prematurely in this rebuild, mess up the Lev/Demidov pick and we'll be sitting here with Bedard half way through his extension in the same position with a new GM...what we really need to move the needle on this rebuild is the hockey gods to bless us with the next two 1st overall picks

Maybe he saw that the draft in 25 wasn't going to be very good? Nobody was talking about Schaefer back then and I given that Hagens was the presumptive top overall pick, I'd bet many would rather have Demidov over Hagens. It's not that dumb when you think about it.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

There's a difference between vets who haven't been around and vets named Kane and Toews. The stopgaps are guys who are here to provide guidance and show the way. Kane and Toews are living legends and all of the kids would be in awe of them. I see a plan where you accumulate talent and let them develop properly based on where their game is at. Then fill the roster and it's likely going to be with players that aren't very good. I don't see any deviation.


Maybe he saw that the draft in 25 wasn't going to be very good? Nobody was talking about Schaefer back then and I given that Hagens was the presumptive top overall pick, I'd bet many would rather have Demidov over Hagens. It's not that dumb when you think about it.

he obviously didn't think much of the 25 draft at all given he was willing to forgo his chance at Schaefer/Hagens etc to pick Levshunov instead of just picking Demidov 2 and holding his unprotected 25 1st or trying to trade back into top 10 with all the draft capital they had and get a defenseman that wasn't Levshunov

 

[SimpleJack]

I want Schaefer so bad but feel like Sharks are going to out tank us again..Can you imagine where this team would be at right now if we got Celebrini to pair with Bedsy

Sharks could be asking themselves same thing. Good thing they missed out on Bedard.

 

[x Tame Impala]

I'm not calling for him to be fired yet, but the only move I would argue that I like that KD has made so far is to sign Bertuzzi.

He's been great since LR was fired and being paired with Bedard and exactly what I expected.

The rest is meh like signing TT to downright bad in signing Brodie an inexplicably giving him 2 years.

The Brodie deal stands out as the particularly bad one for me. I thought getting Martinez was more than fine. Jones, Murphy, and Martinez as vets to insulate the kids would have worked just fine. It's not my money so I don't care that much about it but that cap hit is terrible as well.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

From his poor signings (Including awful extensions to likes of Athanasou) to his horrendous coaching hire there is plenty to be concerned about at this point

Failure to improve this team in offseason should be justification for termination. If Hawks are still an absolute embarrassment at this time next year it is time to move on

 

[Hawkaholic]

Lol at people thinking we still wouldn't be the worst team in the league this year.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Lol at people thinking we still wouldn't be the worst team in the league this year.

the question is did the FO think that would be the case because if they didn't then BWC has a point that they failed miserably to improve the team if that was their intention, were they trying to win or hit the cap floor and fill out the roster enough to let kids marinate in Rockford, hopefully the latter

 

[GIADF]

If I were KD I'd send Ryan McLeod an offer sheet if you can get him for just a 2nd round pick - so under $4.6M cap hit.

It's a weak draft so I don't think losing the 34th pick is all that big of a deal, and you already have an extra 2nd this year from Dallas not to mention Toronto's 1st. I'd imagine the odds of the 34th pick in this draft becoming a better player than what McLeod already is are pretty slim.

This year he's 53% at the dot, 40+ point pace over 82 games, plays the PK, and is only 25 years old so a bit more improvement from him down the road isn't out of the question.

He can essentially replace Donato as the 3C.

 

[Mrfenn92]

If I were KD I'd send Ryan McLeod an offer sheet if you can get him for just a 2nd round pick - so under $4.6M cap hit.

It's a weak draft so I don't think losing the 34th pick is all that big of a deal, and you already have an extra 2nd this year from Dallas not to mention Toronto's 1st. I'd imagine the odds of the 34th pick in this draft becoming a better player than what McLeod already is are pretty slim.

This year he's 53% at the dot, 40+ point pace over 82 games, plays the PK, and is only 25 years old so a bit more improvement from him down the road isn't out of the question.

He can essentially replace Donato as the 3C.

It would be a 2026 second round draft pick

 

[Hawkaholic]

the question is did the FO think that would be the case because if they didn't then BWC has a point that they failed miserably to improve the team if that was their intention, were they trying to win or hit the cap floor and fill out the roster enough to let kids marinate in Rockford, hopefully the latter

If the front office thinks it wouldn't be, then they were either
A) delusional
B) trying to say the right things for the fans, but knew they weren't.

I'll take B.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Top 4 draft pick might be the best thing that could happen for rebuilding team right now. We don´t know how those draft picks pan out. Too early to judge. Remember how Alex Vlasic was awful pick? Why did Kyle give AA extension? There is a cap floor and that is why.

 

[WarriorofTime]

the question is did the FO think that would be the case because if they didn't then BWC has a point that they failed miserably to improve the team if that was their intention, were they trying to win or hit the cap floor and fill out the roster enough to let kids marinate in Rockford, hopefully the latter

My assessment of the Hawks has been pretty consistent and "on schedule" from end of last year to now based on how things are unfolded.

1) Funnel out the players that aren't NHL players from last year's roster (looking through the ones they moved on, I don't see any mistakes. Most of those guys are not even on active NHL rosters).
2) Sign a few middle class NHL players to not get absolutely dominated on a game-to-game basis.
3) Don't sign or pursue anyone that commands a long-term high value dollar commitment because it could be less ideal on a longer term basis.
4) Based on a 300 foot overview of other NHL teams, realize that nobody is blowing up their teams and "entering the tank" so to speak
5) Ultimately come out of the season with another high draft selection.

I don't know to what extent any of that is conscious on GM Kyle Davidson's part. I know he said "our goal is not to finish second to last". Look, I'm not the guy's Agent, he's not related to me, so whether he is the GM five years from now or not, doesn't personally matter or to me in any way. Maybe he certainly meant it and just didn't accomplish his goal. Another possible interpretation is that he's not making a statement to the press, you or me. More so a statement to the players on the team, young guys (i.e., Bedard) in particular, that the team wants to be better.

If he is/willing to be the guy to absorb "heat" for the team still sucking that's fine with me. I still much prefer it than to aggressively chase any players 8-10 years older than Bedard just for the sake of saying "hey look, some more NHL talent, we're not the worst team in the League!" That's what Buffalo did in 2015-16. It's what the Chicago Bulls have been doing for years. It's useless and just gets you right back to where you were when you blew it up initially, in which case, why even bother blowing it up to begin with.

 

[ColbyChaos]

If I were KD I'd send Ryan McLeod an offer sheet if you can get him for just a 2nd round pick - so under $4.6M cap hit.

It's a weak draft so I don't think losing the 34th pick is all that big of a deal, and you already have an extra 2nd this year from Dallas not to mention Toronto's 1st. I'd imagine the odds of the 34th pick in this draft becoming a better player than what McLeod already is are pretty slim.

This year he's 53% at the dot, 40+ point pace over 82 games, plays the PK, and is only 25 years old so a bit more improvement from him down the road isn't out of the question.

He can essentially replace Donato as the 3C.

It has been posted probably 30 times in the trade thread but any offersheet would use our 2026 picks

the 2025 free agency literally occurs well after the 2025 draft people.