Five offseason questions for the Blackhawks and GM Kyle Davidson

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By points percentage, the Chicago Blackhawks just wrapped up their second-worst season of the modern era, bested (worsted?) only by last year’s dismal campaign.

They finished 31st in the league, same as last season. They were 31st in goals against per game and 26th in goals per game. There were two four-game losing streaks, four five-game losing streaks, and a seven-game losing streak. Head coach Luke Richardson was fired after 26 games. Four-time All-Star Seth Jones asked out and general manager Kyle Davidson obliged, trading him to the Florida Panthers. One of their top free-agent signings, goaltender Laurent Brossoit, never played a game. Their leading scorer was tied for 52nd in the league in points.

And yet, there’s genuine excitement heading into next season. A late-season youth movement injected the franchise with speed and its fans with hope. The Blackhawks closed the season on a 4-1-1 kick, and the final image of the year — Connor Bedard setting up Frank Nazar for the game-winning goal in overtime against the Ottawa Senators — couldn’t have been more fitting. The future the Blackhawks have been touting for years is finally here.

Bedard closed with three goals and eight assists in his last 10 games. Nazar had five goals and four assists in his last eight games, a chance-generating machine at all strengths and an absolute menace on the penalty kill. Sam Rinzel stepped in for the last nine games and immediately became the Blackhawks’ best defenseman. Artyom Levshunov looked like he belonged, Wyatt Kaiser closed strong, Ethan Del Mastro took significant strides, Oliver Moore’s speed is eye-popping and Spencer Knight — acquired in the Jones trade — looks like he can be a true No. 1 goalie. And there’s more in the pipeline, more to come.

The Blackhawks have an awfully long way to go to get back into playoff contention, let alone Stanley Cup contention. But for the first time in several years, they seem to be headed in the right direction — up.

Here are five questions for the offseason. The answers might determine how big of a leap they take in 2025-26.

Who will be the Blackhawks’ next head coach?

Davidson will likely provide some clarity on how he’ll approach his coaching search at his season-ending news conference on Thursday. It could be a quick search.

Interim head coach Anders Sörensen had the Blackhawks finish out the season strong, and there were stretches during which the Blackhawks looked better than they did under Richardson. But was it enough? Sörensen will probably get at least an official interview.

University of Denver coach David Carle is the hottest name among NHL coaching candidates. But there is no guarantee he leaves Denver; he passed on the NHL last season. He is also expected to hear from other teams. The Blackhawks could be an attractive team for him, considering the amount of young talent they have coming in, but others could have similar pitches or try to sell Carle on being more turnkey. You’d imagine Carle would like to make a decision sooner rather than later to put Denver in the best position with or without him.

Whether it’s Carle or anyone else, the Blackhawks likely will have to commit a considerable amount of term and money to their next head coach. The hire will want some security, knowing the Blackhawks’ rebuild may still take a few years to fully turn the corner. Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz has sounded like he’s committed to paying what’s needed to bring in the right people throughout the organization. But will the right people want to join the Blackhawks yet?

Where will the Blackhawks land in the draft lottery?

With their 31st-place finish, the Blackhawks can end up anywhere from first to fourth in the NHL Draft Lottery. Like last season, their best odds will be tied to the second pick.

Defenseman Matthew Schaefer appears to be the consensus No. 1 pick. If the Blackhawks pick first or Schaefer is still on the board when they’re up, that will be an interesting discussion for them. With Alex Vlasic’s locked-in contract, Rinzel’s emergence, drafting Levshunov with the No. 2 pick last season, still having high hopes for Kevin Korchinski and possessing a few other promising young defensemen in the system, the Blackhawks may already be set at that position.

We’ll dive more into the possible forwards who could be available for the Blackhawks, but Michael Misa, Caleb Desnoyers and Anton Frondell will be among the forwards high on their list.

If they win the lottery, could the Blackhawks trade down with a team desperate for a blue-chip defenseman such as Schaefer, the way NFL teams frequently trade down to quarterback-needy franchises? You don’t see draft picks that high traded very often in the NHL, but Davidson does seem more open to the possibility than he did in the last few years.

What does the lineup look like next season?

Davidson can’t do much to the roster until the offseason actually arrives for the rest of the league. What will be important, though, is planning which areas he wants to address.

The Blackhawks ended the season with this lineup:

The interesting part is the Blackhawks could almost run that entire lineup back to begin next season if they wanted. Ryan Donato is the only possible unrestricted free agent. We’ll get to him shortly. Wyatt Kaiser and Söderblom need new contracts as restricted free agents. Everyone else is under contract. That lineup also doesn’t include Jason Dickinson, who is signed for next season, or any of the young skaters, such as Colton Dach, Del Mastro or Nolan Allan, all of whom spent some quality time in the NHL this season.

The Blackhawks aren’t likely to come back with the same lineup, but it’s easy to see Davidson leaving the lineup mostly intact.

Let’s break it down by position:

Forwards 

Locks: Bedard, Nazar, Mikheyev, Foligno, Bertuzzi, Dickinson, Teräväinen

Probables: Slaggert

Possibles: Donato, Reichel, Veleno, Dach, Greene, Moore, Nick Lardis, Samuel Savoie

Defensemen

Locks: Vlasic, Murphy, Rinzel

Probables: Kaiser

Possibles: Korchinski, Levshunov, Del Mastro, Allan

Goalies

Locks: Knight

Probables: Söderblom

Possibles: Drew Commesso, Brossoit

Will the Blackhawks re-sign Ryan Donato?

The Blackhawks would like to re-sign Donato, and they do have a standing offer, which is believed to be three years with a $4 million cap hit. So far, Donato hasn’t accepted it.

You can’t exactly blame Donato for not agreeing yet. He just had a breakout 31-goal season, which he’s confident wasn’t a fluke. At 29 years old, this is his best chance to really cash in. And with the salary cap ceiling increasing next season, he might be hitting the market at just the right time. The Blackhawks will have a few months of an exclusive negotiating window before Donato can enter free agency. They could get a deal done over that time. Maybe the Blackhawks boost their offer.

If Donato walks, the Blackhawks would have to figure out a way to replace his production. They were still among the league’s lowest-scoring teams with Donato’s team-best 31 goals and 31 assists. He also scored a team-high 23 goals at five-on-five, which was nine goals better than the next player. The Blackhawks have to hope Bedard and some of the other young players increase their production next season, but Davidson still likely needs to go out and find a proven goal scorer or two elsewhere.

Can Davidson get Bedard some help?

Donato had a terrific year, Tyler Bertuzzi had his moments, and Mikheyev was a revelation as a two-way standout, but with all due respect to those players, none of them is a first-line winger. Bedard needs help, and while he’s shown nice chemistry with Nazar, the Blackhawks would prefer Nazar to drive his own line as the second-line center.

Which brings us to Mitch Marner.

The Maple Leafs’ two-way star just hit the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career and is a pending unrestricted free agent. Marner has said repeatedly that he wants to stay in Toronto, but can the Leafs make the money work? If Marner does hit the market, the Blackhawks will be first in line and, given their favorable cap situation, can probably throw more money at him than just about any other team. What would it take, $12 million a year? Thirteen? Fourteen? It could be worth it. Marner’s playmaking and stout defense would complement Bedard beautifully. And there’s no one else like him on the market, now that Mikko Rantanen is signed long-term in Dallas.

The drop-off after Marner is steep. Nikolaj Ehlers is a nice player with great wheels, so maybe he’d be a good fit. Brock Boeser can score in bunches. Sam Bennett brings an edge the Blackhawks don’t have. John Tavares, Matt Duchene and Brock Nelson don’t really fit the age window. And Davidson has made it pretty clear that Patrick Kane isn’t an option, though the possibility is tantalizing.

If the Blackhawks can’t persuade the 27-year-old Marner to join a team that still has a long way to go, Davidson could get creative with offer sheets. Blues GM Doug Armstrong’s smashing success in poaching Edmonton’s Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway might open the offer-sheet floodgates. The Rangers’ Will Cuylle could be a target, or maybe Dallas’ Mavrik Bourque. Neither is anywhere near Marner’s level, but both are young and talented with high ceilings. It’s certainly worth a shot. Getting Bedard a worthy winger this summer should be as big a priority for Davidson as finding his next head coach.

(Photo of Ryan Donato and Connor Bedard: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

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