The Blackhawks ultimate checklist for a successful 2024 offseason

The Chicago Blackhawks 2023 offseason was a resounding success simply because they drafted Connor Bedard, and he rewarded them with an outstanding rookie year. The presumed Calder Trophy winner has 59 points and 22 goals in 63 contests as of April 9th, and his three-zone game will only improve as he becomes more acclimated to the NHL when next season rolls around. 

But as we have seen this season, Bedard’s presence alone won’t change the Blackhawks fortunes, and it shows just how important it is to build a complete team, even around a generational talent. If the Blackhawks can do something similar to what the Pittsburgh Penguins managed with Sidney Crosby, then this team has the brightest future of any non-playoff team in 2023-24. 

Blackhawks need another outstanding offseason to take a few steps forward

The Blackhawks aren’t a good hockey team, but one look at their lineup shows us that it’s full of primarily cast-offs sans a few seasoned veterans and either pending unrestricted free agents or RFAs who will be looking to earn an extension in 2024-25. We will see which RFAs stick around and how their presence will impact the Blackhawks next season, but deciding on who stays and who goes will play a role in shaping this ever-important summer. 

But if general manager Kyle Davidson wants the next few months to be a resounding success, making decisions on pending RFAs is also just a small piece to the puzzle. With another high pick in the upcoming draft and free agency on the horizon, there are plenty of decisions for Davidson to make that will leave a lasting impact on how Chicago’s 2024-25 campaign unravels. 

If he wants the team to ultimately build on the first layers of the foundation that was laid this season, there is a checklist of items Davidson must tackle. Let’s explore all three of them in detail, starting with the upcoming draft. 

Don’t be afraid to add another dose of veteran leadership

So far, we have talked about the importance of Kyle Davidson identifying and retaining his best restricted free agents and even those he believes have a bright future with the Blackhawks, and the importance of hitting another home run on draft day. The faster he fills the big club’s lineup with NHL-ready youngsters, the quicker they will mesh, and the sooner this organization will return to relevancy, but veteran leadership must also be a priority. 

We have discussed this previously with some potential low-cost free agents who could come to town with sound experience and can help guide Chicago through another year of building. Players like Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, Petr Mrazek, and Seth Jones are already in the building, but Davidson shouldn’t be afraid to go further if he has the space in the projected lineup. 

The more leadership this team has for the 2024-25 season, the better, and potentially, the faster this group’s youngest players will develop. No, signing stopgaps who wouldn’t be in town longer than two seasons tops isn’t the most exciting idea, especially with the amount of cap space Chicago has. But younger talent must be the key priority when it comes to using that space, and that leads us to the final section of the ultimate checklist.  

Keep the door open for prospects who could land with the big club

Another reason Kyle Davidson must roll with an older, more cost-effective group for the upcoming offseason is that it is inevitable that he will have prospects who may not be NHL-ready at the moment earn a chance to compete in the big league at some point in 2024-25. 

Even if this isn’t something that will, or should, occur early in the season, Chicago’s prospects pool is an outstanding bunch, and they should comprise the team’s not-so-distant future. This isn’t to say that Davidson shouldn’t go after the big-name free agent or a major trade acquisition in time. It just doesn’t need to happen in the summer of 2024 or even during the 2024-25 season. This is a year when it’s best to resist adding top-end talent to the organization and instead add another layer to the foundation. 

No, there is also no guarantee the method will work. But if the endgame involves maximizing the organization’s overall window of opportunity, and it should with such a young group, taking a more calculated approach is the best way to go about it. 

Sure, Davidson could choose not to extend the current RFAs and make blockbuster moves all he wants this summer. But there are also no guarantees that method will work either, and it would also come with the inevitable shortening the window of success. Such a method may have been feasible with Patrick Kane in town, but long-term success should be key with Connor Bedard. 

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)