The Chicago Blackhawks are climbing an uphill battle. They are one of the original six teams in the NHL, and the last few seasons have been rough on the ice. After drafting young star Connor Bedard, the organization felt good about the future.
While the future is still bright, this season could be another season full of despair as GM Kyle Davidson failed to supply the roster with upgrades heading into the 2025-26 season. However, the 2025 NHL Draft was full of promise as the organization welcomed its new prospects into the fold.
Blackhawks add talent in NHL draft
With the record in the 2024-25 season, the Blackhakws were guaranteed a high draft pick. They received the third overall pick and chose forward Anton Frondell, who posted 25 points in 29 games with Djurgardens IF in HockeyAllsvenskan. They continued to stockpile talent as thy selected forward Vaclac Nestrasil, who produced 42 points in 61 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He has committed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst for the 2025-26 season.
With their third pick in the first round, they selected forward Mason West, who played for the Fargo Force of the USHL and Edina High School, combining for 58 points in 41 games. West is currently committed to Michigan State University for 2026-27 and will report back to Fargo for 2025-26.
While we may not see these three superior talents in the NHL for the next couple of seasons, they sure have the potential to make this Blackhawks team one of the high talent and these young players can elevate their game with the proper development. They give the organization three players for the future who can score and produce on a nightly basis. With experience and the right teachers going forward, these three can certainly become NHL stars.
Blackhawks, Davidson fall short in free agency
Although the team is built around Bedard, he needs help. Chicago is not built to win a Stanley Cup and Davidson knows that. He has to build a teamthat is more competitive than last season and move forward. He did make some moves this offseason, starting with re-signing some of his own players. Goaltender Arvid Soderblom (2-year deal), defenseman Louis Crevier (2-year deal), and forward Ryan Donato (4-year deal) were all brought back as they had solid seasons in 2024-25. Donato will certainly look to improve on his career-highs last season.
Davidson did manage to sign one player in free agency as center Dominic Toninato agreed to a two-year, two-way deal. Chicago continued to retool their roster via trade and made two moves. Davidson traded center Joe Veleno to the Seattle Kraken for forward Andrei Burakovsky, who posted 37 points in 79 games. He also traded a sixth-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forward Sam Lafferty, who posted seven points in 60 games last season.
While Chicago hit on their draft picks, the rest of their offseason is something to question. Most of the top-tier free agents were already gone and Davidson was left to sign what remained. While that resulted in one signing. there was an opportunity to make trades, which he did, but he also did not upgrade the team much at all. Burakovsky is a good add but how much does he produce on this Chicago team? There is time left to make moves but this offseason has been disappointing for Chicago.