VERDICT: A Conversation with GM Kyle Davidson

Kyle Davidson is off to an impressive start. Upon being named general manager of the Blackhawks earlier this month, he was forthright about his plan. Now that the National Hockey League trading deadline is past, nothing has changed, as you will see from this recent conversation.

Many executives in sports are reluctant to use the word "rebuild." Why did you go with it?

I see this as a longer-term project, and I want to be honest about expectations and what it will take to bring us back to where we want to be. There is a lot of work to do, more than making a couple deals like we just did.

Besides the current roster, what's in the pipeline? Is the cupboard bare?

It is thin. We aren't happy where it's at now. We have to replenish and build it up for the NHL team. We don't have the depth that we need, particularly at the forward position, and that's not something that just happened recently.
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You brought back Norm Maciver as associate general manager to oversee your scouting department. Does the timing of this affect your preparation for the 2022 draft?

Maybe in a few minor ways. But most of the reports are in. We aren't going into the draft with one arm behind our back. We will ultimately make changes on how we evaluate players, but we're not going to necessarily re-watch this class with a different lens. We have the information we need to go forward. Along the way, there will be some philosophical changes about how we look at players and talk about them.

What are the qualities that make Norm so effective?

His experience as a player, coach, and in the front office; his ability to get information and process it. He is a really great talent evaluator, and he is not afraid to go against the grain. He's not here to agree with me. No way. And there will be times when he won't. Which is the way it should be. I want independent thinking from people who will tell me when they think I'm wrong.

What are the plans for Brian Campbell?

Brian is a very valuable member of our staff. We haven't yet decided his exact role. He brings unique viewpoints, a fresh perspective. He challenges some of the norms. Not Norm, the norms. (Laughs). We haven't carved out his role, but he'll he there.

Now you have two former highly accomplished defensemen on your staff. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have not drafted and developed a premier defenseman for the roster since Niklas Hjalmarsson in 2005. Correct?

That's a major point of emphasis for us. You look at Stanley Cup teams, ours and others, and they are all driven by a strong defensive core. We have to build a high-end defense to augment what we have here in a guy like Seth Jones. We have to rectify this, for sure.

The NHL trend on the blue line is toward size, which the Blackhawks haven't had a lot of lately.

The game is so fast now, and size is a factor, but there has to be athleticism to the size. Your defense can't just be big. You have to be able to move, too. That balance is hard to find, but you have to find it.

You mentioned Seth Jones. We're pretty clear on the details of your recent deadline deals, but could you go over the particulars of his summer trade from Columbus?

If we get into the lottery and win the No. 1 or No. 2 pick, we keep it this year and our first-round pick in 2023 goes to the Blue Jackets. If we pick No. 3 or later this year, then that pick goes to Columbus and we keep our first-round pick in 2023.

Also on your list of things to do is the coaching situation. Derek King took over under difficult circumstances. What is his status?

Derek has done some really good things with our team. He will definitely be part of the process during the offseason. He's built a nice resume, with the Blackhawks and our team in Rockford.

You've accumulated a lot of draft choices. How would you evaluate the situation?

It's been a really good week or so. We have the potential for three No. 1 picks, plus we've acquired a couple of NHL-ready players in Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk with the deals we've made. That draft capital is essential when you go down the road we're headed. We now have to make sure we make the right choices.

How difficult was it to part with Marc-Andre Fleury?

He went to a good team in Minnesota, and the geography might have played a part of it. He brought his family here from Las Vegas, and with the Wild, he's still reasonably close to Chicago. And like he said, he has a chance to win there. Having had a person of that integrity here, such a professional on the ice and in the locker room, only enriches your organization. He was great in the nets and great overall for us. We tried to strike a balance on what was right for him and the organization. I think we did that did, but that doesn't make losing an individual like him any easier. Very tough.

Brandon Hagel?

Also very tough. Great kid, great person who was just coming into his own as a player. A model for young players. Never give up. He turned himself from an unsigned draft pick, then a free agent, into an established NHL player at age 23. What we got for him, two first-rounders, is a testament to how hard he worked and his value.

There is the school of thought that, if you're rebuilding, why wouldn't you do so around a guy like Hagel instead of without him.

I understand that line of thinking, absolutely. But at some point, you have to be open to asset management and when the return is to the level that you can't walk away from it. I was pleasantly surprised with what we came away with at the deadline.

You made a point of stating your rebuilding platform to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

They're legacy players for this franchise. They deserve to know what the plan is and to hear it from me instead of finding out by reading it somewhere. No secrets, no big surprises. This is what I think we have to do and how I think we get where we want to go.

After the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups in six years, fans developed a trust in the organization and its direction. Is that still there?

I hope so. Fans don't really know me and I have to earn that trust. We have to show progress. I think we've done that in the last week or so, but now we have to turn draft choices into good players. It's also important to have the trust of the locker room and I've tried to be open about what the plan is. They don't want to be kept in the dark. That's ongoing. We can say what we want to do. Then we have to do it. Prove it.

What do you tell the fans?

There are some tough decisions to be made. We just made a couple. It's really hard to tell fans to be patient. People buying a ticket are buying a ticket for that night's game. They aren't buying a ticket for a process or future considerations or a game two years down the road. They aren't buying a ticket to watch the Prince Albert Raiders. They are buying a ticket to watch the Chicago Blackhawks.

There can be a certain anticipation in this path that you're undertaking, too. Fans who bought tickets in 2008 and 2009 didn't know how things would turn out, but it had to be fun beingin on the ground floor. Especially when you look back at what happened. Three parades. And, as a fan, you were there when it all began.

For sure. Watching a group come together and grow like that one did with kids like Jonathan and Patrick building toward multiple championships. That would be cool, I think, to be a fan and kind of feel a sense of ownership, like you were there for the start of something really special.

So, you're rooting for the Minnesota Wild in the playoffs?

Yeah. If Marc-Andre wins at least four games and they go to the conference finals, it's a first-round pick for us instead of a second. And Edmonton, from the Duncan Keith deal, if the Oilers meet the Wild in the conference final and then advance to the Stanley Cup Final while Duncs does what he usually does with games and minutes, then we could get a second instead of a third. That would be a huge win for us. Something to think about.