Blackhawks GM's obsession with Sam Lafferty is underwhelming and unnecessary

Every general manager has their guy. Sam Lafferty seems to be Kyle Davidson's.

The Blackhawks general manager has now traded for Lafferty three times after sending a sixth-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres.

At least, he is only trading away a minor draft pick to continue getting his guy. It is not like he is trading away a reigning Calder Trophy winner like his predecessor Stan Bowman once did. Brandon Saad seemed to be Bowman's guy. Bowman traded Artemi Panarin to bring Saad back to Chicago in a trade that turned out to be horrific for the Hawks.

Panarin went on to an All-Star career in Columbus and New York. Saad struggled like the rest of the Hawks toward the end of the decade, and the team decayed into its current sad state.

Bringing back Lafferty is not a terrible move. At least this time, Davidson acquired him when he was under contract. Last year, Davidson acquired his exclusive negotiating rights before free agency. Lafferty elected not to sign and ended up joining Buffalo.

Lafferty's presence feels underwhelming and unnecessary.

It is underwhelming because the hope was that the Hawks would make some major trades or a big free agent signing to add some upgrades to the forward unit. Instead, Lafferty is the main veteran addition.

Davidson had a golden chance to lessen the disappointment had he communicated that the free agent market dried up quickly before it even began.

The free agent market went from potentially featuring stars such as Mitch Marner and Sam Bennett to having Nikolaj Ehlers as the top player available in free agency.

It makes sense, then, to sit out free agency because there is not much there. That is all that needed to be said.

Instead, Davidson said he wanted to give younger players room to grow in the NHL. That makes Lafferty's addition not only unnecessary but also is a contradiction.

He contradicted himself by adding Lafferty, who makes the forward unit older. The Hawks now have seven forwards in their 30s.

Oliver Moore, Colton Dach, Ryan Greene, Samuel Savoie, and Aidan Thompson are going to have to compete for one forward spot in training camp instead of two.

That is not exactly making sure veteran players are taking away precious developmental ice time.

Lafferty does bring size and speed to the fourth line, but that should be a spot Dach should have if this is about giving young players an opportunity.

Lafferty's presence only makes sense because he provides a safety net in case Dach gets hurt again. The argument could be made to just go with the younger players already signed to cover for Dach in case of an injury.

If it is about adding veteran leadership, the Blackhawks have plenty of it in Nick Foligno, Connor Murphy, and Jason Dickinson.

That is why Lafferty's addition just reeks of Davidson wanting to bring in his guy. That makes it all the more underwhelming and unnecessary.