Kyle Davidson Wins Blackhawks’ GM Sweepstakes
UPDATE: On Tuesday, March 1, 2022 the Chicago Blackhawks announced Kyle Davidson is the tenth general manager in team history.
Davidson is in his 12th season with the Chicago Blackhawks organization and was a member of the front office when they won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015.https://t.co/48WlboXWI4
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 1, 2022
We have already started tracking every move Davidson has — and will — make as TM of the Blackhawks. CLICK HERE to see that list.
On Monday evening, Frank Seravalli tweeted that the Chicago Blackhawks are expected to remove the interim tag from Kyle Davidson’s job title on Tuesday, making him the team’s full-time general manager with the authority to start making changes to the roster.
The NHL Trade Deadline is now less than three weeks away.
Davidson was reportedly one of three finalists. Now, we’ll see how much he really saw eye-to-eye with Stan Bowman, who he will now officially replace. With the playoffs out of the picture and the Blackhawks’ first-round pick being only top-two protected; if it’s lower than the second overall pick, the Blue Jackets get it.
The Blackhawks tweeted a tease…
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 28, 2022
Absolute fcking joke.
Let’s hope he does a better job than Stan
Seravalli reported a few other items. He said Brian Campbell will be assuming a front office role (seems like they like these inexperienced guys). He also reported that KD has been managing day to day operations since SB left “with a smaller than usual support staff.” If that is true then this whole charade has likely been an effort to save as much money as possible.
What a f**king farce this organization has become
I guess Sharpie, Edzo(Nick), Hoss and company need a job in the future
Please no Eddie O – we have had too much of the “friends and family” approach. Call me crazy but I would try hiring people with proven success in the role. Let Eddie O become the head ambassador.
Well wanted them to name somebody, now see what living with that decision means. Sounds like Brian Campbell could be asst. Gm maybe. See how he handles tdl, who he hires as coach and other possible front office positions. What happens with 88 and 19, who is offered another contract and who isn’t, what he does or doesn’t do around draft and trades/acquisitions in off season. Should get a pretty good idea in a hurry what he is going to bring and where he sees team going.
players likely knowledgeable of the 2010 scandal involved in advising on this decision. players likely knowledgeable of the 2010 scandal still on the team. the candidate who was involved in the personnel decisions crippling this team chosen as the new gm. absolutely pathetic. doesn’t mean davidson can’t become a viable gm, but who besides davidson is happy with this selection?
it isn’t enough this team is a laughing stock on the ice. the owners had to prove beyond a doubt they are as well. thanks rocky.
anybody got a good address to box up all my blackhawk jackets,jerseys,shirts,misc. and send to mr r. wirtz?thanks. lets go panthers.
crap
Curious if someone (cough Darche) declined an offer before they went with Davidson.
This doesn’t surprise me, though it is very disappointing.
Meet the new boss…
Good luck Kyle be your own man try to unload as many players as you can get assets take bad contracts try for a three year turn around talk to everybody show no loyalty going to be a long hard road !!!
SS…
Ill give him a chance. But I also agree with Ian that it won’t take more than about 6 months, maybe 8 to have a good feel for where this is going.
I’m willing to bet we end up worse next year than this, and that would be a good thing.
Lots of egg on faces tomorrow if a different name lands.
OK who didn’t see that one coming??? Anybody?? Can’t wait to see him get fleeced on trades like his “mentor” did. Bet anybody $$$ KD doesn’t breathe the word “rebuild” when introduced to the press.
The Internship Part II – The Hiring of Harry and Lloyd.
If you had been interviewed, wouldn’t you feel like Brian Flores knowing that Harry (KD) has already been promised the job, and they still have Lloyd as Head Coach.
I’ll take a clean house this year. Only DCat untouchable unless someone triple over pays. Stock up with picks and prospects. Hopefully get #1 in 23 to draft Bedard and build from there.
Silent Spot: I suppose your right to wait for the official announcement before we pounce on ownership for the “fix”.
’29’ good post.
Hammer it sure feels to me like the name is right. But I will give him a chance to prove himself, and I hope it goes the way of flush and start over. Ian’s timeline fits my patience level for KD. For someone new to the team, I would give 2 seasons.
Trade away, rack up draft picks …. doesn’t mean these picks will be worth anything. That’s the whole point of having a decent GM and scouting staff, which the Hawks have neither.
At least Rocky saved himself a ton of money and any worries that a real wrecking ball was coming to destroy his son,s new woke toy of an organization. The hiring process and EDZO alumni selection committee was a joke and insult to Hawk fans. Now complete the farce by hiring Brian Campbell as head coach and EDZO has team president. That will show the rest of the league that you mean business ROCKY!
It’s done so time to move on, but I would like an answer to why a team in such a mess couldn’t go outside the Chicagosphere and get a highly qualified person-and we’ll never get a legit, truthful answer.
It would of been nice to get ‘new eyes’ to do this right, but maybe that will be coming in a few years if this doesn’t turn around.
Well, the I’ll be happy as long as Bowman and Colliton are gone and somebody else gets a chance, conversation didn’t age well on this board.
Agree with some points.
1) the process saved the organization money, 2) there may be no mention of full rebuild, 3) if this doesn’t work, they will do it again in a few years.
Considering the financial hit from covid and from their own doing, saving money i guess should be expected. With S. Jones under contract and alot of potential coming on the blueline in next few years, plus goaltending has potential or always only one move away from respectable. There very possibly was likely no intention of a full rebuild at this point on alot of levels with a few forwards available who could be pert of a revamped top 9 forward core. The last comment speaks for itself, let’s see what KD can do, give him a chance, re-evaluate every 6 months and see where this is going in a year or 2, see what kinds of ideas he brings, what he can add to the equation. No other alternative for now.
I’m experiencing PTSD from the trauma of recovered memories of Bill Wirtz hiring Pulford as GM – just as well they won those 3 cups because they don’t seem serious about competing for another any time soon – anybody else would see that they needed to go outside the organization to hire someone but not the Wirtz’s – it’s Bill’s playbook all over again
I suppose there is an outside chance that KD proves to be an excellent GM right off the hop but odds are he will need a few years of on the job training during which time the Hawks will continue to suck
It’s hard to feel optimistic with this hiring – KD has some work to do to win fans over
Could this team be more pathetic? Top to bottom, this organization is a pair of clown shoes. If I’m Kane, I ask to go to a contender.
It seems that going outside the organization would have been prudent. However, we have no idea what Davidson brings to the table. His first move as interim GM was to fire Colliton, something that Bowman would not have done and something that every poster on this board was happy abou. Maybe he isn’t a puppet. Surely, he has presented his “vision” for the future. He might be a very smart, perceptive guy.
The negative knee jerk reaction from fans is understandable, but seems to be emotional rather than logical. We just don’t know enough to be this negative. However, the potential to be negative surely exists and we can pile on when the time is right – if it is right. In the meantime, we have an unwatchable team we have to live with for the rest of the season.
This TDL is going to be fascinating.
This TDL better be fascinating. Or KD won’t be given any more time by the people here. Perhaps rightfully so.
I get the money argument. Been saying that for a year that owners really took it on the chin – pretty much every sport. But the light theoretically is in full view right now.
It’s hard not to see the “sham” argument. Maybe we can get lucky and find some patience. I have it through the deadline and into the next draft.
To be clear – I am not a fan of another band aide approach like last summer. We need to get the system replenished and sort out what we have. Dumping a dozen kid Dmen into the system may have paid dividends, but we won’t know if we don’t give them shots. Unfortunately for most here – Dmen take time.
Ian: If KD is indeed the GM, this grandiose “process” of hiring a GM was nothing more than an elaborate ruse to keep the fans coming in the door. How many people predicted this and knew KD was going to be the choice?? KD ranked 2nd to last (over the Cubs “prospect”) in candidates with experience for the job. What I’m waiting to find out is if they did offer the job to another candidate, did they do it with “conditions”, stating how they wanted to approach this “rebuild” and if that candidate declined. That means a lot to me going forward in supporting this team. In my opinion, they were looking for a “yes” man that Danny could control and if they did offer it to somebody else, they said “NFW”. There is no transparency from this organization unless the real story gets out, then there’s “transparency”. The real story will come out, eventually.
I was thinking about this late last night, and most people are right. Let’s give the “intern” a chance. He did fire Colliton, but he did hire The Clown King, so that’s a wash. What really pisses me off is that they brought in all of these ex-Hawks to help with the “decision”, and yet they made the expected choice. It was just a sham! They should have either given the job outright to the “intern” or not let him be part of the process and brought in someone from the outside. Especially since they had this search committee. The Hawks “shit-show” continues. I’m just surprised that they didn’t interview Kyle Beach! At least he’s a hockey guy!! Shit-Show!!!
Today I can say that I’m so proud of my son Rocky and my grandson Danny. They learned more from me that I ever thought possible. Saving so many $$$$ while making it look like they were actually looking to pay for a real GM-Prez of Hockey Ops warms my tummy.
If they knew KD was going to be the guy they should’ve done it pronto. Everyone that”s claiming KD’s firing of JC and trading of Nylander gives him the bonafides to be the GM are whistling dixie. Most
everyone in Chicago including the Zamboni driver knew that JC was in over his head. Trading Nylander gives KD the chops to be a GM is also quite laughable….one trade and he’s the anti-Stan, give me a break.
I wish KD well, but this organization is still controlled by Rocky, what Rocky doesn’t realize is that all the goodwill built by the “dynasty” is long gone.
All we have to do is look at the “Foley Replacement Folly” to see where this organization is at.
As I said before KD’s first move should be to fire his NA scouts and bring in new ones
@Hammer we will never find out what the process was
@Tommy…spot on!
Hey lets not forget he already let Gaudette walk, basically gave away subban, traded chad krys for kurtis gabriel. I do like lafferty, but in the smallest of sample sizes, Davidson already seems like he’s making mistakes.
If the process was indeed a pr move for the organization that isn’t on KDs plate. Neither was promoting King something as interim Gm he may not have wanted to do but necessary until permanent Gm named as really it shoulda been.
SS not in favor of a band aid solution either. However some creative thinking on how to approach this is needed. My own thoughts, I wonder trading for picks 3 or 4 years down the road, where other Gms see picks less valuable and be more willing to part with a higher pick would work. Take what you can get this year and next summers drafts, then become players for ufas and big trades to work towards becoming contenders. As cap issues arise, instead of trying to dump bad contracts of aging stars to budget teams, be in postion to have young star type players developed stepping in and moving legitimate players with a couple of good years left for future down the road picks to win now type teams keep your system stocked with picks and get better contend at the same time. Not sure if that could work with this team or not, what do you think.
Excellent posts across the board. Everyone is pretty much on the same page. Over the years we have been correct almost always in our collective analysis. This will replicate circa 1997 – 2008, likely longer bc during the second portion of that time period the foundation of players was laid by Smith & Tallon.
Good day to all.
Dollar Bill: You raised your son and grandson well; they are chips off the old block. LOL!!! The real story will leak out eventually as it usually does. Might not be 100% accurate but people will get the basics on it. Somebody in the hockey media will come very close on pinning this down.
Tommy Ivan: Exactly!!! Why this elaborate production number to sucker the fans into believing they were going to really search for a qualified candidate?? They wasted people’s time in this farce when they could have just been honest and say they are going with KD sink or swim. What they did is tell everybody in the NHL just what kind of organization they really are: Don’t believe a word they say, what happens if/when KD falls flat on his face and they want to hire somebody else?? What type of candidate would apply for that?? A desperate one.
From what I have heard — which echoes some of what has been reported elsewhere — Davidson was not in agreement with Bowman on some of what the Hawks did last summer. Did he work with him for 12 years? Yes. Is he the same guy? We’ll see.
Davidson now has roughly 3 weeks to show us — the fans — who he is as an NHL GM. NOW we can start evaluating him as a GM. And NOW he can show us his vision for the franchise and what he wants the on-ice product to look like.
I think we all agree this team needs a lot of work. And one trade deadline can’t/won’t fix everything. So let’s have at least an ounce of patience as the guy starts the job. There’s plenty of reason for pessimism in the fan base, but the guy just got the job. Let’s see what he does before throwing him out.
I wish he would tell us which moves that Stan made that he did not agree with. He will never do that, but I would love to know. Of course we will give him a chance, but the rope is short with the fans. Just by how the Hawks ownership screwed up this entire process, they gave us a ready made scapegoat – the “intern”.
Like a lot of posters on this board, I have been a fan for a long time. The only time I lost interest for any length of time was for a couple of years starting in around 2004. The team was pretty much unwatchable, management was abysmal, there just wasn’t a reason to stay engaged. I’m now at that point again. I’ll watch the TDL for sure and I’m always interested in the draft, but other than that I have no reason to commit any time (let alone money) to such a bad product. Being loyal doesn’t mean you have to suffer through all of it. None of us owe the Wirtz family a damn thing.
The guy has been there for over 12 years. He gets a deserved short leash. He has had a 4 month unprecedented honeymoon period to put together his future vision for this organization. He better hit the ground running and make the earth shake.
Hammer, If he falls flat on his face he also trashes the evaluation reputations of Edzo,s Star Chamber committee. Big gamble Eddie,Hoss,and Sharpie. Hope it was worth whatever they promised you guys for your relative silence.
Very disappointing selection when compared to some of the candidates that were interviewed that came from teams that have been well managed. The concern I see is that Davidson learned the job under Stanley. He has been assistant GM since 2018. Stanley did not keep Kyle around because he disagreed with Stanley or was the voice of descending opinions when Stanley continued to draft miniature defensemen. Kyle has worked at the NHL level for 13 years and most of that time as Hockey operations administration and as Stanley’s wing man. He has not experienced or contributed to a successful hockey organization rebuild. His first NHL job was PR customer relations in Ottawa in 2009. The Hawks have not drafted a player that has exceeded expectations since the Cat in 2016. The organization does not draft well, cannot develop talent, overpays for free agents and in the end, you hire the assistant the contributed to this mess. The Hawks took the easy and comfortable way out and selected someone they know, can control and will be cheap. I’m sure he will manage the salary cap efficiently. It reminds me of Pulford, Dollar Bill would be proud.
Once again, I hope I am wrong!
Thank you for a great comment HHNL
And yes I feel so proud today!
All that for this? The return of the lousy organization…… what a total joke.
Fair point brought up by Tab requiring a bit of patience to see what the “GM” will do now that he has the reigns. My question to Danny would be what exactly were the “tough decisions” did KD make when he was appointed to “interim GM”?? Was it dumping Nylander or trading for Gabriel??? LOL!!!
i am a big fan of addition by subraction.
it will be interesting to see what return de haan and/or gustafsson brings if davidson is able to move them. doesn’t much matter to me because both will be gone next year either way, but it would be nice to have any type of draft choices coming back. no more sam laffertys though. the hawks have plenty of bottom six forwards. you don’t get lucky and hit the jack pot with a sam lafferty. you might with a low round draft choice.
i will quickly be on the davidson bandwagon if he can dump mc cabe and murphy for anything. draft choices of course would be great, but saving the money on the cap by moving them and opening up two slots for young d-men next year is even more important. if he can’t get what he feels the value for these two are it is important to lay his pride aside and take whatever he can get. mc cabe will be 29 when next season starts and murphy will be 29 a year from now. these guys are as good as they ever will be and that isn’t all that wonderful. the largest benefit the team will glean by moving them is the cap space and playing time for rockford d-men knocking on the varsity door. whatever draft choices come back are the bonus of the trades. if all four of these guys are gone three weeks from now with no salary holdback it would be a huge step in the right direction for davidson. this team cannot possibly be competitive next year with mc cabe and murphy on the backline. much better for two young d-men playing their spots, taking their lumps, and learning how to play the game at the nhl level. galvas, regula, mitchell, kalynuk, beaudin, phillips ….. throw all of them out there in a rotation and let’s see who rises to the top.
if davidson considers mc cabe and murphy as building blocks we will know for sure he was the wrong choice.
A few comments:
I wish KD success. That being said he is being put in a very tough situation. He will be on a short leash with the fans and media as a result of 12 years in the system. A competent outsider would have much more leeway to fix things. As an example, If the trade market only brings a 2nd pick for MAF he will get hammered.
The Wirtz family must really believe the fan base is a bunch of morons. First there was the exhaustive search for a new President that resulted in identifying Danny boy as the best candidate. Then Rocky’s lovely press conference where he basically said f-off to anyone that wanted to ask tough questions. Now we have an extended search far and wide for a new GM and low and behold we find that Kyle was the very best option. I think Danny and Rocky abused the trust of the Advisors in this situation and it will be interesting to see how they feel about “rubber stamping” this decision.
Lastly, correct me if I am wrong but KD has only worked for one organization. In my personal experience one of the best ways to develop as an executive was to be part of different organizations and be exposed to lots of new ideas. It will be very telling to see if he is able to hire real top flight talent instead of more inexperienced friends and family like Brian Campbell.
ui; I completely agree with your post. I said last season to let the young guys play to get the experience. Who knows where their development would be now. Murphy has never been more than a third pairing defenseman. Should try to get rid of as many of the “veteran” d-men as soon as possible. If they can’t be traded, cut them loose.
We’ll see what he’s got when he deals MAF. Right now he’s the big fish at the TDL. This move might make or break him.
Very disappointing selection when compared to some of the candidates that were interviewed that came from teams that have been well managed. The concern I see is that Davidson learned the job under Stanley. He has been assistant GM since 2018. Stanley did not keep Kyle around because he disagreed with Stanley or was the voice of descending opinions when Bowman continued to draft miniature defensemen. Kyle has worked at the NHL level for 13 years, started as PR for Ottawa, Hockey operations administration for the Hawks and as Stanley’s wing man. He has not experienced or contributed to a successful hockey organization rebuild. The Hawks have not drafted a player that has exceeded expectations since The Cat in 2016. The organization can not draft well, cannot develop talent, overpays for free agents and in the end, the Hawks retained the assistant that contributed to this mess. The Hawks took the easy and comfortable way out and selected someone they know, can control and will be cheap. I’m sure he will manage the salary cap efficiently. It reminds me of Pulford, Dollar Bill would be proud.
Once again, I hope I am wrong!
Sorry for the confusion Dollar Bill. I was referring to William Wirtz (RIP) and how he retain Pulford who was very controllable as his GM .
No worries, HHNL it was just my bad attempt at having some humour
It’s so very disappointing that they didn’t hire Darche – experienced hockey executive who also has NHL playing experience from a well run organization that develops players (not the Hawks) and still relatively young and progressive – his only downside is that he didn’t seem to have a personal relationship with Danny so…
Having said that I’ll try to be positive about KD – I actually think he could be a good GM one day but the Hawks need a good GM today – this is a huge TDL for them
If KD pulls off some good to very good transactions he’ll buy himself some more time with the fans
Let’s see if he can recoup a first rounder for MAF or anybody else (Connor Murphy, Patrick Kane?) – that would go a long way to creating some optimism
I was waiting for Rocky to tell Danny…..shut the f up….I got this, then go bat shit crazy on the press ” This was my decision, and íts none of your business on hów or why we came to this choice for GM !! Period…..next question !! “
Saying the right things, rebuild throughout if it takes 3 or 5 years do it right. Now lets see if he can walk the walk.
Beer League: The visual on your scenario is truly hilarious!!
Wraparound: Agreed, if he could get a 1st rounder or two for getting rid of a couple of players that would be a promising start and would buy some time and optimism (even from me) for the future.
Rebuild is here. Per davidson and the wirtz’s words.
KD said the right things so let’s get it started – in no particular order
1) hiring new staff around him
2) TDL – need at least 1 first rounder
3) a new coach not named Derek King
4) 2022 draft
5) summer trades/signings
By September I think we’ll know if KD really is the man for the job or not
Wonder what his comments mean for not only 19 and 88 but 5 and 6 as well. T. Johnson unlikely to draw much interest liable to be more of a place holder until his contract is done. A traditional won’t happen in 3 years or even 5 years is a long shot, so interested how that is interpreted. Has a busy 6 months to make his 1st impressions.
Traditional rebuild, sorry.
None of the 3 brought in to assist in search were there to give KD an endorsement is something that was missing to me.
so all hawks fans were thinking the hawks would go outside the box….yeah ok see what happened when they hired the blowmans(tit sucking daddy boy and his father).
loyalty is one factor the wirtz have. wirtz did it right by promoting inside the club. give him a chance, we all knew the hawks were going to do this. this is old man wirtz and bobby Pulford.
can it get worse, yeah it could but we all went through this in 1999-2006.
shitbrook is gone, Keith is gone, Crawford gone, Kane soon will be, Toews too.
the past is the past; that is why review mirrors and side mirrors are small you don’t look at them constantly. that is why the windshield is big, to see better into the future.
be lucky we went on a run, we had mostly good coaches, we saw 4 players make this organization a powerhouse, and saw 3 cups.
looks we could be like Toronto and the oilers and don’t win dick.
Great post Wraparound .
Finally this is done. Time to get to work and prepare for the TDL to start the process of improving this team. Management has made its choice and have no excuses left. Adapt or die.
The press release failed to mention that he works for peanuts.
wirtz still the owner and 3 lawsuits to come
Go Blue hear ya, my biggest fear from what i heard today, as this hiring process the last few months seems to be guise to a cost cutting exercise, so will the talked about rebuild be a guise to cost cutting exercise for the next number of years as many teams have done. Hard to know where this is actually going to go at this point.
“Still circling the drain” is the new slogan.
Wake me in about 3 yrs so you can tell me how bad we still suck ok. Thanks
TSN Canada reporting that MAF is inclined to finish the year in Chicago. If true, this will be another challenge for KD right out of the box. They also reported he will be sitting down soon with Pat Brisson (agent for Kane and Toews) to have initial discussions about the impact of the rebuild on them.
No president of hockey ops, don’t hire the most qualified candidates for the Gm job, promoting from within to avoid spending on new personal. Does that sound like somebody putting the best team together to rebuild a winning team on the ice or a team that is cost effective whose job is to keep costs low for a few years. Is 3 to 5 years just a business plan that they hope the organization is back to a place financially that the owner may start spending money again. No mention as to what the on ice expectations were in 3 to 5 years and very vague about anything to do with the roster today. Didn’t get a good feeling from that presser at all. No urgency about tdl or hiring a coach or team around KD, or dealing with players needing signed, very scary.
Does this Kyle Davidson fellow have an age?
he is 33
There are 28 games left. If the Hawks inform Marc Andre that he will likely start about half with Lankinen and Soderblom splitting the other 14, perhaps he might be inclined to accept a trade to a playoff contender.
I realize his family might not want him to leave Chicago for potentially two months but if he “wants to win” as he said in an interview last week, is sitting and watching a team assess its young players what he really wants to do with the second last Spring of his career ?
I don’t know the answer to that question. But I know he is the best hope the Hawks have of landing something really good at the trade deadline.
I wonder if the “intern” addresses MAF as Mr. Fluery or Monsieur Fluery when asking him if he’d like to be traded. Or, if he just asks – would you like cream in your coffee Sir?
If he really is the “anti-Bowman” then trading MAF shouldn’t be a problem
@Craig Nigrelli ….why give Flower more than the occasional start here on out
if you are rebuilding?
@Ian …..if you’re concerned then it has to be worse then us half empty guys
believe it to be.
@Tommy….. with a teaspoon of sugar please!
i liked this by jordyhawk
”Being loyal doesn’t mean you have to suffer through all of it. None of us owe the Wirtz family a damn thing.”
egg-zackly
ui- excellent post on McCabe and Murphy… these guys are 5th/6th men on a great team
maybe #4’s on a solid team.
I would take Rosi at half their cap hits – all day long as a 4th d-man or worse.
Would love to see GM move them for picks- they have value on really good teams w/ injuries or lack of depth. No Value on Hawks- period