Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has decisions to make as training camp gets closer. The roster isn’t locked yet, and with a surplus on defense, the possibility of a move before the season can’t be ignored.
Wyatt Kaiser Still Unsigned
One of the first items on Davidson’s list is to finalize Wyatt Kaiser’s contract. The 23-year-old defenseman is part of Chicago’s young core, and while both sides want a deal done, the sticking point appears to be term. Until that’s resolved, the defense picture remains a little cloudy.
Defensive Depth Creates Options for Davidson
Right now, Chicago has eight defensemen competing for spots — five left-shot and three right-shot — and that doesn’t even include Connor Murphy. The group features Alex Vlasic, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Kevin Korchinski, Louis Crevier, Nolan Allan, Wyatt Kaiser, and Ethan Del Mastro.
Several of these young players are waiver-exempt, which gives Davidson flexibility. He doesn’t have to rush into a trade today — he can shuffle players between Rockford and Chicago while evaluating the roster. That luxury allows the Blackhawks to play it patient and only make a move if the right opportunity presents itself.
In hockey, you can never have too many defensemen, but the Blackhawks clearly have a surplus. Insiders don’t believe Kaiser would be the one moved, yet the math suggests at least one young blueliner could become available if the right top-nine forward is dangled in return.
Salary Cap and Expiring Contracts
The Blackhawks are in a strong salary-cap position. Davidson has six players entering the final year of their contracts: Nick Foligno, Connor Murphy, Laurent Brossoit, Sam Lafferty, Jason Dickinson, and Ilya Mikheyev.
That flexibility gives Davidson options:
- He could make a trade now to reinforce the forward group.
- Or he could wait until the trade deadline, when those pending UFAs could bring back more assets.
The Coaching Factor
While Davidson handles the roster decisions, new head coach Jeff Blashill faces his own challenge. This is a very young core of defensemen, and his system will play a major role in their development. Building structure around Vlasic, Levshunov, Rinzel, Korchinski, and others is key to turning potential into results.
September Is About Evaluation
For now, September is about rookie camp, evaluation, and shaping the roster. Davidson was recently in Detroit with the league’s other 31 GMs — maybe talks happened, maybe not. But the timing makes sense: before camp begins, Davidson will know whether he wants to roll into October with the current group or pull the trigger on a move.
The Bottom Line: Davidson has choices available
It’s not a “must” for Davidson to make a trade before the season, but the conditions are there:
- A logjam of young defensemen, many of them waiver-exempt.
- Cap flexibility.
- Expiring contracts that could bring value later.
I know if the right opportunity comes, Davidson could make a move — but I don’t see it just yet. His patience during the season shows me he wants to see more from his prospects and pipeline before pulling the trigger. And honestly, that makes sense to me.
I like the way he’s thinking and the direction he’s taking this team. Blackhawks fans should be excited. I can’t wait for the puck drop on October 7th.
Note: The Upper Deck Rookie Showcase is happening this week, and the Blackhawks’ representative is Oliver Moore. Tomorrow we’ll dive into Moore’s progress and what it means for Chicago’s future. Stay tuned.
Regarding waivers exemption among the young defenseman. Kaiser and Crevier are no longer exempt. This upcoming season is the last year for exemptions for Allan, Del Mastro and Korchinski. So at the start of the 2026-27 season, spots will be required for these 5 (along with Vlasic, Rinzel and Levshunov). Definitely some type of transaction will take place within the 12 months because you can’t play them all. I also think KFC will hold off on any trades now. I agree with you Frenchy that he’ll shuttle Allan, Del Mastro and Korchinski back and forth to Rockford to play as much as possible in Chicago to determine the keepers. Look for a trade or two next summer.
Thanks for your comment! You’re absolutely right about the waiver exemptions — that clock is ticking fast for the young defensemen, and Chicago can’t carry everyone forever. The next 12 months will be all about figuring out which guys are true keepers.
I agree with you that KFC will shuttle Allan, Del Mastro, and Korchinski between Rockford and Chicago as much as possible this season. That gives them the reps they need while still buying Davidson some flexibility. By next summer, though, decisions will need to be made.
If the Hawks really struggle, I could see Davidson adding a veteran defenseman midseason just to steady things. And once Murphy moves on, I think they’ll absolutely look at adding one or two experienced guys — ideally 25 to 32 years old — through trades or UFA. The good news is Chicago has depth on both sides (left and right), which makes those future moves a lot easier to navigate.
Regarding the Kaiser signing, it was mentioned in a podcast that perhaps the management could be intent on signing him, but if they did sign him early in the off season, especially with a substantial raise, it could possibly point to Kaiser earning a spot right off the bat. If he were to sign at the last minute, it would look more like it was a stalemate, but we had to get him here into camp type scenario. This would at least fare better for the compete for your spot aspect. I hope this is the case. I’ve seen several offseason clips and articles with Kaiser and other young Hawks prospects participating in gatherings and other off ice activities, and he looks rather care free, so hopefully that’s a good sign.
I see where you’re coming from, but I’m not really buying that take from the podcast. In my view, if management truly values a player and wants him to be part of the team, they negotiate and sign when both sides reach agreement — no need to delay. To me, the holdup seems more about term than intent.
That said, I completely understand your perspective. I just think players today are very professional with strong work ethics. None of them come into camp assuming their spot is guaranteed, especially on a blue line as competitive as Chicago’s. So while I respect your point of view, I approach it with a different philosophy. thanks for your comment “Haru”
No doubt KD has flexibility and some of that is due to him not painting himself into a corner with any bad contracts with term. That of course will get harder and harder to do every yr but so far he has diligently stayed the course by not signing older expensive FA to be a bit better today.
Thanks for your comment! I agree with you — Davidson has shown great discipline by avoiding those long, expensive contracts that would only give the Hawks a short-term bump. That flexibility is exactly what allows him to build patiently without closing doors.
Like you said, it will get tougher every year as expectations grow, but for now, he’s stayed true to the plan. The key is adding the right players at the right time, not rushing just to look better today. Long term, that patience should pay off big.