Blackhawks big July a precursor of good things to come in 2026-27

It’s officially August and the dog days of the offseason in the hockey world. But for hockey fans and pundits alike, we can’t help but anticipate the upcoming 2026-27 campaign. For the Chicago Blackhawks, general manager Kyle Davidson made a plethora of moves this offseason which should help the team be much improved.

This is great news for an organization that’s been in the throes of a painful rebuild for a long time. Could this finally be the beginning of a contending team?! Let’s review the Blackhawk’s offseason moves, and how it could impact their future success.

Defenseman Ian Cole added in free agency

Davidson got to work on July 1, the first day of free agency, adding a depth defenseman and a depth forward. We’ll start with defenseman Ian Cole, who signed with the Blackhawks to a one-year contract with a $4 million cap hit.

Cole is a veteran blueliner with 16 years of NHL experience. This should be incredibly helpful for an existing defensive corps that’s otherwise extremely young and inexperienced. Davidson described the 37-year-old as having a veteran understanding of the game that allows him to be effective in the defensive zone, and well as on the penalty kill.

In his introductory press conference on July 8, Cole discussed what he felt he could bring to the team. “It’s consistency, being able to be someone that the team, the coaches, your teammates can rely on. If I can handle my business and bring a consistent product night after night, it's something that the coaches and teammates can rely on and grow with, and kind of figure out how we can all kind of meld all these different skill sets and personalities together for the best on ice product.”

Cole brings a much-needed physical element as well. “I think Ian Cole probably landed the most cross checks on me out of anyone in my life,” quipped Connor Bedard at his own offseason press conference.

The defenseman can play on both the left and right side, which is a huge asset to a team that has mostly left-handed defensemen. Cole naturally plays the left side, but he indicated he’s lined up on the right side close to half his career. He says he’s very comfortable with that. This experience and flexibility should come in handy with the D-corps.

Forward Cole Smith added in free agency

As mentioned above, the Blackhawks also added a depth forward in Cole Smith on July 1. He inked a three-year contract with a $3 million cap hit. The Minnesota native most recently helped the Vegas Golden Knights reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they eventually fell in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Smith obviously brings that recent playoff hunger to the table, as well as size (he’s 6’3”), speed and physicality. Davidson referred to the 30-year-old as a “wrecking ball” in the playoffs. While the Blackhawks have tons of skill players at forward, they could certainly use more of a physical element.

When he met the Chicago media, Smith said, “My role to me is that physicality, energy. When the team needs to kind of change momentum in the game, go and have a good shift, take D-zone face-offs and try to end in the O-zone, those kind of things. So it's kind of been my way to be successful. And obviously Chicago liked the game that I had, and I was excited to bring it to Chicago.”  

Smith should be a solid depth player for the Blackhawks. Like Cole, he also brings experience on the penalty kill.  

Bowen Byram signs big extension

Moving back to defense, the Blackhawks made a big splash by acquiring Bowen Byram (and forward Jordan Greenway) from the Buffalo Sabres on June 23, in exchange for their fourth overall pick in the 2026 draft, the 45th pick and defenseman Louis Crevier.

Fourth overall picks aren’t usually traded, so this was a rather unorthodox move by the Blackhawks. Many pundits felt this was too high of a price to pay for essentially a No. 2 defenseman. But Davidson said he believed Byram would live up to top defenseman status with the Blackhawks. He doubled down on this by offering him a massive six-year contract extension on July 1. Byram's $12.5 million cap hit made the 25-year-old the highest paid defenseman in the league, albeit his extension won’t start until the 2027-28 season.

For his part, Byram expressed his appreciation for the commitment Chicago had made to him. “Yeah, I think it's pretty special. I feel like I've touched on it prior to this, but they've showed a lot of faith in me, and they've given up a lot and committed to me in many, many ways. So, now the ball's in my court to perform, so I'm excited for that opportunity. I'm excited for that challenge, it means the world.”

Byram was the fourth overall pick in the 2019 draft, but had to play behind Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power with the Sabres. Now, he’ll have a chance to prove he can be a true No. 1 defenseman with the Blackhawks.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the other player who came over in this trade; Greenway. The 29-year-old is 6’6” and 231 pounds, making him the biggest player on the team. He isn’t afraid to use his body, and will likely be an enforcer-type. This is something the Blackhawks haven’t really had previously.

Connor Bedard commits to 5 years

Now let’s get to arguably the biggest news of the offseason in Chicago, which is the contract extension with franchise cornerstone Connor Bedard. Neither side seemed to be in a big rush to get this deal done, which was leaving the fans on pins and needles. Finally, on July 20 (the day after his 21st birthday), Bedard and the Blackhawks agreed to a five-year extension with an annual cap hit of $15 million.

This was less than the organization ideally would’ve liked (they probably wanted the full eight year term), but it also gave them a commitment from their star player. Bedard’s camp originally considered even a shorter deal to maximize his earning potential. But negotiations eventually led to a compromise with the five-year agreement.

The good news is Bedard actually left money on the table. Leo Carlsson signed an offer sheet (five years with an $18 million cap hit) with the Philadelphia Flyers that eventually led to him re-signing for that amount with the Anaheim Ducks. Macklin Celebrini also inked a lucrative deal with the San Jose Sharks for five years with an $18.8 million cap hit.

But Bedard was never interested in being the highest paid player in the league. Instead, he wanted to give the organization room to build a competitive team around him. “I'm very happy with the amount of money I'm making. It's a lot,” said Bedard. “…I was thinking, like I've said so much, and it's not anything fake. Chicago's kind of really the only place I want to play. And just seeing the growth of our young guys, and just how good of a group we are, in the room; and how tight it is, how much fun we have.”

The bad news is Bedard sustained a left shoulder injury during offseason training that required surgery. He’s expected to miss the beginning of the season, with a timeline to return in early November. But if anyone knows anything about this young phenom, he’ll be back as soon as he’s healthy, and hungry to help the team reach the next level.

Patrick Kane comes home

The fun doesn’t stop there! On July 23, Patrick Kane chose to commit to a two-year deal in Chicago ($8 million annual cap hit). It was what everyone had been waiting for, since the news had leaked the 37-year-old was debating about either joining the Blackhawks or his hometown Sabres.

Beyond the nostalgia of having this Blackhawks’ legend and three-time Stanley Cup winner back in the fold, Kane made it clear he’s not in Chicago to “ride off into the sunset”. He wants to help the team win and reach the playoffs. In his presser, he spoke about building chemistry with Bedard and Frank Nazar.

“This would be my 20th year in the league, and I'll probably see passes I've never seen before playing with him (Bedard), right? So that kind of speaks to how great of a player he is. But yeah, I mean, wherever I fit in, I fit in. No matter who it's with, I'm gonna try to make the most of it. I've been skating with Frankie a lot and try and develop some chemistry with him.”

Kane might be older and slower than he was in his prime, but he also still has elite vision and playmaking abilities. He's projected to be one of the top-five scorers for the Blackhawks next season. Kane will arguably be the best player Bedard has ever played with. That should be an exciting prospect for Blackhawk's fans!

Roman Kantserov is flying under the radar, for now

The final big piece of offseason moves was the commitment from Russian prospect Roman Kantserov to make the move to Chicago. Since being drafted in 2023 (44th overall), the 21-year-old has played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the last three seasons. Last season, he amassed a career-high 36 goals and 64 points in 63 games with Magnitogorsk Metallurg.

In May (I know it wasn’t in July but work with me here!), Kantserov agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Blackhawks. Many pundits believe Kantserov could be the perfect complement to Bedard. However, he wasn’t a big free agent signing, so he’s flown a little bit under the radar. Coming over from Russia doesn't help either, as hockey fans haven't been able to follow his progress as easily.

But Kantserov was at the recent NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Chicago last week (July 29), and met with the media for the first time. He spoke about playing with both Kane and Bedard. "Of course, if we play together with Bedard, maybe we can find the chemistry. He (Bedard) has a great shot, right-hand shot. I can play on the wing, and also last year (I) played center. I have a choice -- I can play winger or I can play center. (Whatever) Coach say, I can play.”

It goes without saying both Kantserov and Kane are huge additions to the Blackhawk’s top-six forwards. Now it’s up to head Jeff Blashill to find the right combinations for these players to thrive.

All of the above moves are certainly a step in the right direction for the Blackhawks. Let’s also not forget the plethora of young players already in the fold who are looking to further their development. I'll have more on the youth movement in a separate piece. But is all this enough to make this a contending team? It’s tough to say.

On paper, this is a much-improved roster. If nothing else, it will be super interesting to see how this group progresses, both individually and as a whole, this season and beyond.

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