The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.
The Blackhawks probably couldn’t have been happier with their trade deadline.
Seth Jones was a surprise for them, and they were ecstatic about that deal. Taylor Hall was the most likely to be dealt and the Blackhawks were pleased with their return. They also moved Petr Mrázek and don’t have to worry about buying him out this offseason. Whether the Blackhawks would move Ryan Donato was up in the air, but they didn’t receive an offer of a first- or second-round pick. We’ll now see if they extend Donato. He’s been one of the reasons why they’ve been playing better lately.
Overall, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson added a potential goalie of the future, moved his most burdensome contract, dealt some veterans to better situations and got back some more draft-pick assets. Let’s dig deeper into the Blackhawks’ deadline moves.
In: Shea Weber’s contract (from Utah), forward Aku Räty (from Utah), the rights to defenseman Victor Söderström (from Utah), forward Joe Veleno (from Detroit), goaltender Spencer Knight (from Florida), 2026 conditional first-round draft pick (from Florida), 2025 third-round draft pick (from Carolina)
Out: 2026 sixth-round draft pick (to Utah), forward Craig Smith (to Detroit), goaltender Petr Mrázek (to Detroit), defenseman Seth Jones (to Florida), 2026 fourth-round draft pick (to Florida), retention of $2.5 million of Jones’ cap hit (in trade with Florida), forward Taylor Hall (to Carolina), retention of 50 percent of Mikko Rantanen’s cap hit (in Carolina-Colorado trade)
Grade: B
The Blackhawks accomplished what they sought to do this trade deadline — and a bit more. Fans obviously will want to know how these deadline moves make the Blackhawks better for the future. This offseason should be telling. The Blackhawks have the cap space and future assets to be aggressive in free agency and the trade market. There is an expectation for them to improve the NHL roster this summer. How the Blackhawks look come next season might be a fairer way to gauge these trade deadline moves.
What they’re saying
GM Kyle Davidson on the Panthers trade: “I think we really solidified the future of our goaltending position, gained some more draft capital that we can use on the market. We made sure to find a home for Seth that accomplished kind of what he was looking for — that he expressed last week, to go to a contender. It feels like we checked a number of boxes. Got some young talent, got some draft capital and found a new home for Seth.”
Davidson on Spencer Knight: “We just love the technical side of his game, his history of being a winner. He’s had success everywhere he’s gone, whether the U.S. program, World Juniors, (Boston College) and even into pro. He’s met every challenge with success. We’re really excited about that. Spencer was someone we absolutely loved in the draft. We were huge fans then and continue to be now.”
Davidson on creating flexibility with the Jones trade: “It does provide flexibility from a financial standpoint and from a roster-construction standpoint. But there are challenges. Seth is a great player, and he filled a big role on our team. We can’t deny that’s something that’s not there anymore. We’re going to have to navigate that. We’re going to have to consider that. Any deal isn’t without its downside. Seth (is) a great player, and a very good team wanting him is very indicative of that. So it’s something we’ll have to navigate. Overall, the benefits of the deal were such that it was something we felt compelled to do.”
Davidson on negotiating a contract with Donato and not trading him: “We’ve certainly talked and kind of exchanged some ideas. I won’t get into too much, but that certainly did occur and I’m sure will continue moving forward. There was interest in Ryan. What I told other teams, our plan was, we were going to set a high price because we value Ryan. We love what he brings on the ice, off the ice, he’s a guy that never stops trying to get better. He took some very meaningful steps in trying to improve his game this summer, which I believe is translating into a career year this year. So that’s a great example that, again, you want in your organization. Ryan holds value to us, as well, and you know what, there was certainly some on the marketplace, but it never rose to the point that compelled us to move on. So we look forward to him continuing his success this year and success within our locker room, and for seasons beyond this, I guess we’ll let that play out and see where that ends up.”
On the Utah Hockey Club trade: “There’s some intrigue in Aku and also Victor. He’s having a great year in Brynäs. We scout those Swedish leagues pretty heavily, and his team’s in first place and he’s a big reason why. So, (we’ll) get a little more in-depth view into him and see if there’s something there to move forward with beyond this year. Once they finish up, we’ll kind of explore that as we get to know Victor a little bit better as a person. Taking on Shea, we just have so much room that it was the price of doing business. It doesn’t change anything that we will or won’t do in the summer. It doesn’t change any ambition from that standpoint. We still have over $30 million in cap space next year and not too many guys to re-sign. So, there are still a lot of opportunities should they come available to us.”
Davidson on the Taylor Hall trade: “It was pretty minimal on our side, obviously a pretty big deal. I think there’s a little bit of confusion on what our role was in it. I think, for us, we were happy to get the asset that we got back. In moving Taylor, I think it was something that was probably going to happen at some point.”
What it means for the Blackhawks lineup
The Blackhawks’ roster isn’t altered too much in the present. It does continue to allow them to prioritize their young players. Their young defensemen have been getting more and more opportunities and ice time with Jones gone. With Jones gone and the Blackhawks sitting TJ Brodie lately, it’s mostly a young defense along with Connor Murphy and Alec Martinez.
One of the Blackhawks’ goals of the trade deadline was creating some roster space for incoming college prospects. It’s possible forward prospects Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene and defenseman prospect Sam Rinzel turn pro after their college seasons and jump right into the NHL. By clearing out a few players, especially those being veteran players, it’ll be easier for Davidson to ask interim coach Anders Sörensen to find places in the lineup if those prospects do arrive.
Grading all of the Blackhawks’ trades
Blackhawks get: Shea Weber’s contract, F Aku Räty, the rights to D Victor Söderström
Utah gets: 2026 sixth-round draft pick
Scott Powers’ grade: C
The Blackhawks know they might have a financial issue this offseason to get next season’s cap floor. They may sign or acquire a few notable players with sizeable cap hits this offseason, but just in case they don’t, they made Thursday’s trade with Utah Hockey Club to ensure they won’t be desperate to add cap space come late summer. Weber, who is retired, carries a $7,857,143 cap hit for another year. That will allow the Blackhawks some cap flexibility over the summer. As for the other pieces of the trade, Räty and Söderström probably aren’t future NHL players for the Blackhawks. Räty is 23 and has spent this season in the AHL. Söderström, who is 24, returned to Sweden this season after bouncing between the AHL and NHL for the last four seasons.
Blackhawks get: F Joe Veleno
Red Wings get: F Craig Smith, G Petr Mrázek
Scott Powers’ grade: B
The Blackhawks couldn’t have asked for more from Mrázek for the last few years. He made them more competitive than they should have been at times. With adding Knight to the fold, it was obvious Mrázek’s future with the Blackhawks was coming to an end. Davidson was hoping to move Mrázek to somewhere he could play over the next few years, but that seemed unlikely considering he had another on his deal and a $4.25 million cap hit. To Davidson’s credit, though, he found a way to get a deal done. Smith was on an expiring contract, so that part of the deal made sense, too. Where Veleno fits in beyond this season is the unknown. Veleno has another year left on his contract and a $2.25 million cap hit. He’s probably at best a bottom-six center. He skates well but has been inconsistent in Detroit.
Blackhawks get: G Spencer Knight, 2026 conditional first-round draft pick
Panthers get: D Seth Jones, 2026 fourth-round draft pick, retain $2.5 million of Jones’ cap hit
Scott Powers’ grade: B+
This is one of Davidson’s best moves since taking over as general manager. The Blackhawks were hopeful to move Jones and his contract at some point in the next five years, but no one could have expected they’d do it this soon. The other assumption was Davidson would be firmly on the losing side of any Jones trade. Davidson proved that wrong, too. The Blackhawks did give up Jones and retained $2.5 million of his cap hit, but they got back a potential No. 1 goalie of the future in Knight and a future first-round pick. It’s a small sample size, but the Blackhawks have looked better since Jones departed. All in all, Davidson couldn’t be happier.
Blackhawks receive: Third-round draft pick in 2025. Chicago retains 50 percent of Rantanen’s salary
Hurricanes receive: F Mikko Rantanen, F Taylor Hall
Avalanche receive: F Martin Necas, F Jack Drury, second-round draft pick in 2025, fourth-round draft pick in 2026
Scott Powers’ grade: C
The Blackhawks had their reasons for the trade. The draft pick will be an early third-round pick, which helps, and the Blackhawks were motivated to move Hall and create a roster spot. Chicago was also expecting to retain half of Hall’s $6 million hit, so the added money from Rantanen’s cap hit isn’t much more. Overall, it’s an OK move for the Blackhawks. Nothing for fans to really get worked up about either way.
