{"id":16699,"date":"2025-03-07T23:28:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T23:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=16699"},"modified":"2025-03-07T23:28:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T23:28:25","slug":"blackhawks-trade-deadline-report-card-grading-kyle-davidsons-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=16699","title":{"rendered":"Blackhawks trade deadline report card: Grading Kyle Davidson\u2019s moves"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Chicago<\/p>\n

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Blackhawks probably couldn\u2019t have been happier with their trade deadline.<\/p>\n

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 Mr\u00e1zek and don\u2019t have to worry about buying him out this offseason. Whether the Blackhawks would move Ryan Donato was up in the air, but they didn\u2019t receive an offer of a first- or second-round pick. We\u2019ll now see if they extend Donato. He\u2019s been one of the reasons why they\u2019ve been playing better lately.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s dig deeper into the Blackhawks\u2019 deadline moves.<\/p>\n

\n

In:<\/strong> Shea Weber\u2019s contract (from Utah), forward Aku R\u00e4ty (from Utah), the rights to defenseman Victor S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m (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)<\/p>\n

Out:<\/strong> 2026 sixth-round draft pick (to Utah), forward Craig Smith (to Detroit), goaltender Petr Mr\u00e1zek (to Detroit), defenseman Seth Jones (to Florida), 2026 fourth-round draft pick (to Florida), retention of $2.5 million of Jones\u2019 cap hit (in trade with Florida), forward Taylor Hall (to Carolina), retention of 50 percent of Mikko Rantanen\u2019s cap hit (in Carolina-Colorado trade)<\/p>\n

Grade:<\/strong> B<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks accomplished what they sought to do this trade deadline \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re saying<\/h2>\n

GM Kyle Davidson on the Panthers trade: <\/strong>\u201cI 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 \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davidson on Spencer Knight:<\/strong> \u201cWe just love the technical side of his game, his history of being a winner. He\u2019s had success everywhere he\u2019s gone, whether the U.S. program, World Juniors, (Boston College) and even into pro. He\u2019s met every challenge with success. We\u2019re really excited about that. Spencer was someone we absolutely loved in the draft. We were huge fans then and continue to be now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davidson on creating flexibility with the Jones trade: <\/strong>\u201cIt 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\u2019t deny that\u2019s something that\u2019s not there anymore. We\u2019re going to have to navigate that. We\u2019re going to have to consider that. Any deal isn\u2019t without its downside. Seth (is) a great player, and a very good team wanting him is very indicative of that. So it\u2019s something we\u2019ll have to navigate. Overall, the benefits of the deal were such that it was something we felt compelled to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davidson on negotiating a contract with Donato and not trading him:<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019ve certainly talked and kind of exchanged some ideas. I won\u2019t get into too much, but that certainly did occur and I\u2019m 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019ll let that play out and see where that ends up.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the Utah Hockey Club trade:<\/strong> \u201cThere\u2019s some intrigue in Aku and also Victor. He\u2019s having a great year in Bryn\u00e4s. We scout those Swedish leagues pretty heavily, and his team\u2019s in first place and he\u2019s a big reason why. So, (we\u2019ll) get a little more in-depth view into him and see if there\u2019s something there to move forward with beyond this year. Once they finish up, we\u2019ll 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\u2019t change anything that we will or won\u2019t do in the summer. It doesn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davidson on the Taylor Hall trade:<\/strong> \u201cIt was pretty minimal on our side, obviously a pretty big deal. I think there\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it means for the Blackhawks lineup<\/h2>\n

The Blackhawks\u2019 roster isn\u2019t 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\u2019s mostly a young defense along with Connor Murphy and Alec Martinez.<\/p>\n

One of the Blackhawks\u2019 goals of the trade deadline was creating some roster space for incoming college prospects. It\u2019s 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\u2019ll be easier for Davidson to ask interim coach Anders S\u00f6rensen to find places in the lineup if those prospects do arrive.<\/p>\n

Grading all of the Blackhawks\u2019 trades<\/h2>\n

Blackhawks get: <\/b>Shea Weber\u2019s contract, F Aku R\u00e4ty, the rights to D Victor S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m
\nUtah gets:<\/strong> 2026 sixth-round draft pick<\/p>\n

Scott Powers\u2019 grade:<\/strong> C<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks know they might have a financial issue this offseason to get next season\u2019s cap floor. They may sign or acquire a few notable players with sizeable cap hits this offseason, but just in case they don\u2019t, they made Thursday\u2019s trade with Utah Hockey Club to ensure they won\u2019t 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, R\u00e4ty and S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m probably aren\u2019t future NHL players for the Blackhawks. R\u00e4ty is 23 and has spent this season in the AHL. S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m, who is 24, returned to Sweden this season after bouncing between the AHL and NHL for the last four seasons.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks get:<\/strong> F Joe Veleno
\nRed Wings get:<\/strong> F Craig Smith, G Petr Mr\u00e1zek<\/p>\n

Scott Powers\u2019 grade:<\/strong> B<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks couldn\u2019t have asked for more from Mr\u00e1zek 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 Mr\u00e1zek\u2019s future with the Blackhawks was coming to an end. Davidson was hoping to move Mr\u00e1zek 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\u2019s 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\u2019s probably at best a bottom-six center. He skates well but has been inconsistent in Detroit.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks get:<\/strong> G Spencer Knight, 2026 conditional first-round draft pick
\nPanthers get:<\/strong> D Seth Jones, 2026 fourth-round draft pick, retain $2.5 million of Jones\u2019 cap hit<\/p>\n

Scott Powers\u2019 grade:<\/strong> B+<\/p>\n

This is one of Davidson\u2019s 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\u2019d 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\u2019s a small sample size, but the Blackhawks have looked better since Jones departed. All in all, Davidson couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks receive<\/strong>: Third-round draft pick in 2025. Chicago retains 50 percent of Rantanen\u2019s salary
\nHurricanes receive<\/strong>: F Mikko Rantanen, F Taylor Hall
\nAvalanche receive<\/strong>: F Martin Necas, F Jack Drury, second-round draft pick in 2025, fourth-round draft pick in 2026<\/p>\n

Scott Powers\u2019 grade:<\/strong> C<\/p>\n

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\u2019s $6 million hit, so the added money from Rantanen\u2019s cap hit isn\u2019t much more. Overall, it\u2019s an OK move for the Blackhawks. Nothing for fans to really get worked up about either way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Blackhawks probably couldn’t have been happier with their trade deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-16699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks","tag-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\nBlackhawks trade deadline report card: Grading Kyle Davidson\u2019s moves - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=16699\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blackhawks trade deadline report card: Grading Kyle Davidson\u2019s moves - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Blackhawks probably couldn't have been happier with their trade deadline.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=16699\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-07T23:28:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/chicago-chay-16.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=16699\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=16699\",\"name\":\"Blackhawks trade deadline report card: Grading Kyle Davidson\u2019s moves - 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