Looking back at Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks lackluster 2024 offseason moves

The Chicago Blackhawks are looking to improve this season, moving out of the basement of the NHL standings.

With the Hawks looking to improve, general manager Kyle Davidson needs to be smart with how he spends his money this offseason, and who he decides to bring in.

Free agency can make or break an NHL team. Just look at last year's acquisitions for the Blackhawks.

Looking back at Kyle Davidson's lackluster 2024 NHL Offseason.

In free agency last summer the Blackhawks brought in Tyler Bertuzzi and TJ Brodie from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Laurent Brossoit from the Winnipeg Jets, Patrick Maroon from the Boston Bruins, Alec Martinez from the Vegas Golden Knights, Craig Smith from the Dallas Stars and Teuvo Teravainen from the Carolina Hurricanes.

All in all, the 2024 offseason was a pretty active for Chicago. Davidson brought in help in the top six with Bertuzzi and Teravainen, bolstered up the blue line with the additions of Brodie and Martinez, added help in net with Brossoit and bolstered the team's depth wtih Maroon and Smith.

The additions looked good on paper.

Davidson's signings didn't really pan out well. Teravainen and Bertuzzi might have been third and fourth respectively in points, but neither stuck on a line with the Hawks young generational talent in Connor Bedard.

Additionally the Hawks moves on the blue line didn't standout with TJ Brodie struggling to find a spot in the lineup and averaging less than 16 minutes a night.

When Martinez was in the lineup, he was a good anchor for the blue line, especially with how young the group ended up being. Still both Martinez and Brodie didn't stand out in Chicago, and now Brodie looks like a prime candidate for a buyout.

Speaking of buyout candidates, another offseason addition from last summer could be heading that direction. Laurent Brossoit was signed to a two year $3.3 million AAV contract last summer. Brossoit looked like a solid option to backup Petr Mrazek in the net and potentially split duties with him if Brossoit played well.

Now here we are in the offseason and Brossoit has yet to play a game with the Blackhawks. Brossoit, who struggled with a knee injury last season, was rumored to return last October, then maybe in December or January and then it was just quiet.

The Blackhawks netminder never suited up for the Blackhawks and with Mrazek getting shipped out in favor of Spencer Knight, a late season acquisition, it seems unlikely Brossoit will ever play a game with Chicago.

The Blackhawks 2024 offseason looked good on paper. Unfortunately, none of Davidson's acquisitions ended up panning out, and as result Chicago finished with the second worst record in the league.

Davidson has done a great job at the draft in his first few seasons as general manager, but he has yet to really make his mark on the team through free agency.