Has Kyle Davidson done enough this offseason?

The dog days of the NHL offseason are approaching, as the hectic draft/free agency period has passed and player movement begins to settle down as the summer progresses.

The Chicago Blackhawks may not be done making moves, as general manager Kyle Davidson could still have something left up his sleeve. It is no secret that he has been after a top-six forward who can play with Connor Bedard. Unfortunately, that will be hard to find in a dry free agent class and a brutal trade market.

Because of this, Davidson may be content with what he has accomplished to this point and feel comfortable going with this current unit for next season. The question is, has he done enough to put this Blackhawks team in contention? I recently outlined a list of post-draft offseason objectives for this team to complete prior to July 1st. Let's take a look at the results so far.

Top Line Winger Addition

As previously stated, Davidson has not been able to acquire that wingman for Bedard. In his defense, we know he has tried. The Blackhawks have been in on some of the top forward targets, including Matthew Knies and Jason Robertson. The price points have simply been too much for Davidson to pull the trigger. The rumored package for Knies would have made the Bowen Byram trade return look pale by comparison.

With that said, it is still disappointing that the odds appear likely that this team will go into a fourth season without a clear elite linemate for Bedard. While there are intriguing options within the team who could step into that role, those players are far from a certainty to deliver from the get-go. Davidson will have to hope that guys like Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov will assert themselves as top-line threats, or the lack of additions up front will come back to bite this group next year. This is especially the case as Bedard will likely be out at the beginning of the season. Perhaps this increases pressure on Davidson to make something happen.

In terms of forward additions, Davidson has made a couple of depth moves by bringing on Jordan Greenway and Cole Smith. They won't add much in terms of scoring, but they should provide some physicality to a bottom-six that needs it.

Lock up Bedard

This is another objective that the fanbase is not so patiently waiting for. While there is no definitive timeline when it comes to this Bedard extension, it is surprising that this has not come to fruition yet. There have been a couple recent developments that have likely influnced contract negotiations. Number one is Bedard's second shoulder injury, which took place during his offseason training in North Vancouver. Bedard will probably miss the start of the campaign with the four-month surgery timeline. The second is the $18 million offer sheet of Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson that has been handed out by the Philadelphia Flyers.

There is no doubt this Carlsson offer has shifted the market regarding what the Bedard camp is looking for. There have been reports that Bedard could cash in on a deal similar to the $17 million contract Kirill Kaprizov signed with the Minnesota Wild last year. And that was before this Carlsson bomb dropped. While that is an isolated situation, there's a good chance Bedard's agent has further raised the bar for his client.

Extend Byram

Davidson has gotten this done by inking Byram to the richest contract for a defenseman, coming in at $12.5 million per year. To be fair, that will not be the reality for long with the upcoming Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar extensions on the horizon. Byram has been locked up for the long haul; he will be expected to make his mark as a core player for this team. He will need to reach that next level in his game and perform among the league's best defensemen for this contract to age well. In Byram's favor, this new deal does not kick in until 2027-2028. So, he has time to make those strides with his new team and meet expectations. The pressure will be high for Byram as it was for Seth Jones in 2021. Let's hope this plays out better.

Tend to other RFAs

One of these RFA dominos has dropped with the Drew Commesso extension this past week. Commesso will have a chance to fight for a backup position in the Chicago crease. Defensemen Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro still need to be extended, but there is plenty of time to get those deals done. Korchinski and Del Mastro will have their work cut out for them when it comes to earning spots on next year's defensive core. The additions of Byram and Ian Cole have crowded up the Blackhawks' blueline. One of them will likely be the seventh defenseman, while the other plays in Rockford.

Now to the posed question, has Davidson made the necessary moves to put this Blackhawks team in the playoff race? The answer veers closer to no at the moment. It does not seem like enough has been done to address the offense. With the prospect of Bedard missing time, the lack of action up front is worrisome. However, the defense should be better with Byram entering the fray. Only time will tell; the young core will have to step up big time if this team is going to make that jump.

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