Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says he’s motivated to make a major offseason move

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A year ago, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson sat in a hotel conference room during the NHL scouting combine and declared he was open to acquiring a significant player in the offseason.

Ultimately, he did not.

A year later, on the same date and in the same location, Davidson said nearly the same thing. This year, though, might be different. Davidson certainly is approaching the offseason with more intent of getting something done.

“I’m certainly motivated to,” Davidson said. “I don’t know if I feel like it’s like a mandatory thing, but I want to, yeah. That’s kind of been a lot of the motivation, and a lot of the work here is trying to figure out what’s there that we potentially could add to the group. I wouldn’t say we weren’t motivated in the past to add, but there’s certainly an extra bit of willingness or aggressiveness in trying to explore what’s out there, for sure.”

Does that mean potentially acquiring Jason Robertson? Matthew Knies? Dylan Larkin? Or anyone else notable who might be made available in the coming month? Davidson wasn’t about to dive that deep into the possibilities, but he provided some insight into why he’s more willing to make such a trade now and what he has to weigh if the opportunity presents itself.

The “why” comes down to Davidson entering his fifth full season as Blackhawks GM and more of his draft picks being further along in their development process.

“I think it’s just the maturation of our team,” Davidson said. “We have a better idea of where guys are starting to fall, what things are looking like moving forward, where we need to fill some holes, which was sort of where we wanted to understand where some of these players were after this year. And so, it’s just a better understanding of what we’re actually trying to fill.

“Now, last couple of years, it’s not like there’s been some windfall of players that we’ve just sat out on,” he said. “But there’s just, as we get further into this thing and these players are in the NHL and we understand their capabilities, their areas of growth and their strengths, what do we need to augment that and what do you need to support that? And so that’s something we have more information on at this point, which allows us to be much more specific and targeted in what we might want or don’t want.”

There have been a lot of signs that some notable players could be available for trade this offseason. The question is whether the Blackhawks would have what those other teams would want in exchange. There aren’t many teams in the position the Blackhawks were a few years ago, looking to part with capable players in exchange for prospects and draft picks. A majority of teams believe they’re not far from being a Stanley Cup contender and are likely seeking trades involving players already in the NHL on both sides.

“If you are looking to find a player, (other teams) probably want a player or players back,” Davidson said. “And so, trying to figure out, are you actually better? … It feels like there’s much more of a desire for ‘hockey trades’ rather than a player for futures or prospects and stuff.”

The Blackhawks have players, including young ones, who could fit the criteria for these types of trades. It’s just a matter of whether Davidson is willing to part with players who are entering their primes.

“I do believe that given the youth throughout our lineup, we do have to be careful about not moving too many pieces for maybe one,” Davidson said. “I think it’s delicate right now, just with the youth in our lineup, to not go too far and blow holes in the roster for one thing that may or may not be an improvement.”

As of Friday, Davidson thought he’d likely keep the No. 4 pick in the 2026 draft. He said he’d trade it for the right player but didn’t think teams would want a draft pick as the major piece in a trade.

“I’m not afraid to do that, but that would require someone taking something off their team and having to potentially wait a year or two to put something back on their team, right?” Davidson said. “I get the hurdles in that, especially when you’re in an environment where so many teams are looking to push forward, looking to add. Having said that, if we’re picking, we’re going to get a really good player. … There’s a lot of calls to move up. It’s been a lot busier — way busier — in terms of trying to inquire about our pick at four for teams behind us than any year I’ve been doing this.”

Davidson didn’t get into exactly what he’s looking to add. He mentioned the possibility of a veteran defenseman after seeing how his young defensive group handled games late last season. But the sense is that if Davidson makes a major trade, it would be for a top-six forward who would help elevate his young forwards, especially Connor Bedard.

Considering how young the Blackhawks’ roster is, Davidson said ideally he’d acquire a player who would fit his core’s timeline and could play alongside those players for many years. But he also isn’t closing the door on any possibilities.

“Now I don’t want to rule out someone that’s maybe beyond that timeline … because it could be great benefit derived from that player,” he said. “ … But there’s a balancing act in establishing the value, maybe a price for a player that could in turn support the growth of these young players and really help make life easier on the young players or boost them up and improve them through someone like an older player.

“But if it comes down to paying some massive price for a player whose best years are maybe behind them or only have a couple years in their prime window, then it maybe doesn’t make as much sense. But again, it all depends on the acquisition cost and what we see that doing for us moving forward.”

For now, it is all largely speculation. Davidson said he has spoken to every NHL team and has an idea of what’s real and what’s fiction, but that is constantly evolving — Larkin’s request to be traded by the Detroit Red Wings became public only a day ago.

“I’ve talked to every team, so you have a pretty good understanding of what’s going on around the league and what’s out there and also what’s not out there,” Davidson said. “And it’s still early June, so as much as everyone is here now and talking, it’s still early. Those pressure points are usually around draft/free agency times when things have to start happening and dominoes have to start falling. That spurs some action. It’s still pretty early. We’ll see what teams actually want to do and what they are motivated to do versus what the entertainment side of hockey wants them to do.

“We’re certainly engaged and interested in trying to be aggressive and see what we can do to help the group, because we believe in the group as currently constructed. We think it would be a good thing to add if at all possible.”

© 2026 The Athletic Media Company. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by New York Times Licensing.