Chicago is deeper and will win more in 2024-25 by adding veterans such as Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, T.J. Brodie and Alec Martinez. Meanwhile, top prospects won't be rushed.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson't won't put numbers on how much his team will improve 2024-25. Good enough to make the playoffs? It's too early to tell.
Teuvo Teravainen
USA Today Network
But Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard and the Chicago's Original Six team sure got a boost this week.
Davidson and his staff signed eight free agents, blitzing the UFA board on Monday to add veteran depth and skill. Now the NHL's youngest GM promises Chicago will be better than its miserable 23-53-6 and 31st place finish last season when its roster was thin to begin with, then depleted by a nonstop wave of injuries.
"It's a little bit of a race and just super unpredictable," Davdson said on Friday of his free agent flurry. "Just to be able to lock in what we were able to lock in, I was really pleased."
So how does Davidson define being better?
"We want to be able to go into games and impose ourself on a game more than we have in the past, rather than trying to always stem the tide or having teams take it to us," he said. "We want to be able to play with the puck more and control the game a little more and obviously get more wins as a result."
The additions of forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Patrick Maroon, Craig Smith, defensemen T.J. Brodie and Alec Martinez, and goalie Laurent Brossoit fills in the Blackhawks roster immediately with experienced players who should produce predictably.
A footnote here, forward Joey Anderson also is coming back from a solid bottom-6 season in Chicago after the team allowed him to become a UFA.
Meanwhile, Taylor Hall, who played just 10 games last season, is ready to go after rehabbing from right ACL surgery.
Davidson said Bertuzzi and Teravainen should slot in as top-6 forwards, likely on lines Bedard and Hall.
"I do believe we found players that have a true identity, either in the top-6 or the bottom-6," Davidson said. "Part of that is also having player that can be put in a certain role and execute on that role.
Prospects Can Arrive When Ready
That means the Blackhawks' bevy of talented prospects won't be pushed into NHL action earlier than should — and possibly be messed up. They'll arrive and get ice time when they're ready.
Kevin Korchinski in action for the Blackhawks.
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Even fleet and talented defenseman Kevin Korchinski, who played 76 games and averaged 19:37 of ice time as a 19-year-old rookie last season, will have to earn his spot. Coach Luke Richardson said Korchinski flashed the same skill set as Hall-of-Famer Scott Niedermayer, but the young D-man now finds himself behind five older, more reliable rearguards on the depth chart.
"If young players are ready to come in and elevate the group more so than a (veteran) player that's in a spot, then we'll make the decision on how to best find a role for them," Davidson said.
But top prospects such as forwards Frank Nazar III and Landon Slaggert, plus defensemen Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan, won't be on the NHL roster because the Blackhawks need a warm body. The Blackhawks have deepened their 2024-25 roster in July so no youngster is rushed in training camp or once the season starts via a call-up from AHL Rockford.
Frank Nazar III scored in his first NHL game.
USA Today Network, Jamie Sabau
"So right now, I think we're trying to create an environment that's of more winning than it was in the past," Davidson said. "What I believed happened a little last year (was) where we had spots for young players and them maybe they're ready, maybe not quite thriving.
"You can't fix that in September. You have to have bodies so that if you do need to give a prospect more time, you have to do that in July."
