Analyzing the rest of Kyle Davidson’s Tenure as GM of the Chicago Blackhawks

Frank Nazar also signed his ELC towards the end of the 2023-2024 season where he played 3 games and even scored his first career goal. While he showed promise the team was in no hurry to repeat the mistake they made with Korchinski and decided to start him in the AHL for the 2024-2025 season. With no immediate help coming up through the pipeline the Blackhawks turned to free agency signing most notably Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi, as well as veterans Patrick Maroon, Craig Smith, Alec Martinez, Tj Brodie, and a goaltender Laurent Brossoit. This free agency class has been a mixed bag to say the least. Tj Brodie was a disaster on ice and was bought out the following offseason, Laurent Brossoit still hasn’t played a game for the Blackhawks and at this point and it doesn’t seem like he ever will. Smith, Martinez, and Maroon did provide good leadership off the ice but their actual impact on games was limited, which you should expect from three players with a combined age of 108. Martinez and Maroon both retired as Blackhawks at the end of the season and Smith was dealt to the Red WIngs on March 7th, 2025 he is currently a free agent. While none of those 5 players worked out or were at best mediocre signings they won’t really affect the Blackhawks future in any meaningful way. Three of them are out of the NHL, Brodie’s buyout will be over after the 2026-2027 season, and Brossoit’s contract is over after this season. The more important players to talk about are Bertuzzi and Teravainen. Bertuzzi signed a 4 year $22 million contract and Teuvo signed a 3 year $16.2 million contract.