Blackhawks end-of-season grades: Spencer Knight, Sam Rinzel excelled as late additions

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Of the six defensemen and one goalie who began the season in the Chicago Blackhawks’ opening lineup, all but two remained in the lineup by the season finale.

Through the trades of Seth Jones and Petr Mrázek, the acquisition of Spencer Knight, and the many young defenseman additions, the Blackhawks overhauled their back end by the end of the 2024-25 season. The Blackhawks are much more aligned with general manager Kyle Davidson’s vision for the future.

In Part 2 of our player grades, we evaluate those defensemen and goalies and project where they could be next season.

Defensemen

Nolan Allan 

Review: Allan was one of the surprises out of training camp and ended up playing more than half of his regular-season games in the NHL this season. His play dipped over time, and he was later assigned to the Rockford IceHogs, but Allan’s second pro season was still a positive one.

Future: Allan has another year left on his entry-level contract. He should be in the mix for one of the final NHL defenseman spots next season. He could potentially distinguish himself through his physical play.

Telling stat: The Blackhawks were only outscored 18-16 with Allan on the ice during five-on-five in his first 27 games this season. In his last 16 NHL games, the Blackhawks were outscored 16-3.

Grade: C

Nolan Allan spent most of his season with the Blackhawks. (David Banks / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

T.J. Brodie

Review: The Blackhawks were hopeful when signing Brodie last offseason that he would bounce back after an up-and-down year in Toronto and be a stable veteran for a young defenseman. That wasn’t the case. Instead, Brodie’s game fell off further, and he became a consistent healthy scratch.

Future: Brodie has another year left on his deal, which has a $3.75 million cap hit. It’d be surprising if the Blackhawks didn’t buy him out this offseason.

Telling stat: The Blackhawks were outscored 43-22 with Brodie on the ice in five-on-five play. His 35.38 goals percentage was the lowest among the team’s defensemen.

Grade: F

Louis Crevier

Review: Crevier played in more NHL games than last season and had better analytics. If he can continue to improve, he should be in the mix for one of the final defenseman spots. The Blackhawks have more right-handed shots now, but that could still work in his favor.

Future: Crevier’s one-year contract is set to expire. He will need another extension as a restricted free agent to stay with the Blackhawks.

Telling stat: The Blackhawks were outscored 23-6 with Crevier on the ice last season. This season, they were outscored 25-18.

Grade: C

Ethan Del Mastro

Review: Del Mastro’s play didn’t get the same attention as some of the Blackhawks’ other defenseman prospects, but it deserves some notice. He showed a lot of signs of being a capable NHL defenseman. In 24 games, he had the team’s highest Corsi percentage and expected goals percentage.

Future: Del Mastro has another year on his entry-level contract. He’ll have to prove himself in camp, but he should have a shot at earning a spot.

Telling stat: He had a team-best 47.52 Corsi percentage and 47.74 expected goals percentage in five-on-five play.

Grade: B

Artyom Levshunov

Review: The Blackhawks didn’t know how many games the 19-year-old Levshunov would get when he was recalled late in the season. If he looked out of place, he would have been sent down quickly. He lasted the remainder of the regular season and played 18 games. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but he often held his own and now has something to build on for next season.

Future: Levshunov has two more years left on his entry-level contract after burning his first season this year. The Blackhawks will give him every chance to make the team out of camp in the fall.

Telling stat: Levshunov averaged 20:19 of ice time in his 18 NHL games.

Grade: B

Wyatt Kaiser

Review: Kaiser had been the model of non-linear development over the first year and a half of his pro career. For every step forward, he followed with a step backward. That was until his last recall to the NHL in February. He came back a different player and stayed that way. The difference was that he was using his skating in every facet of the game.

Future: Kaiser is a restricted free agent without arbitration rights. Come next season, if he can play the way he ended this past season, he’ll likely break camp with the team. He and Levshunov showed some chemistry together.

Telling stat: The Blackhawks outscored teams 15-14 in five-on-five with Kaiser on the ice after he was recalled. He was the only defenseman with a goals percentage greater than 50.0 since March 1.

Grade: B

Kevin Korchinski

Review: Korchinski spent most of this season with the IceHogs after spending last season with the Blackhawks. In Rockford, he played a ton of minutes, played in all situations and was able to play through mistakes without the stresses of the NHL. He improved defensively and was better offensively, but he still isn’t where the Blackhawks hoped he’d be at this point. His 16 NHL games this season were a mixed bag.

Future: Korchinski has another year on his entry-level contract. Where he starts next season could depend on this offseason. The Blackhawks need him to add strength and become more offensively aggressive. Of the Blackhawks’ high draft picks, he might be the one who needs the most development time.

Telling stat: The Blackhawks were outscored 69-34 with Korchinski on the ice last season and 16-12 this season.

Grade: C

Alec Martinez

Review: Martinez was brought in to be a stabilizing presence on the back end and provide some veteran mentorship for the Blackhawks’ bevy of young blueliners. He fulfilled the second part of that well, particularly with Alex Vlasic, with whom he became close. But he played in only 44 games due to neck and hip injuries and the spate of late-season call-ups. His season mirrored Pat Maroon’s closely; they even celebrated their final NHL game together.

Future: Martinez retired at the end of the season. Like Maroon, he leaves the NHL a three-time champion.

Telling stat: Martinez was on the ice for 36.44 scoring chances against per 60 minutes, highest on the team.

Grade: C-minus

Connor Murphy

Review: Murphy’s lingering hip issues cost him 14 games in the middle of the season, but he remained a steadying presence on an increasingly young back end. He had his best season in a few years for the Blackhawks, who were only outscored 51-43 at five-on-five with Murphy on the ice. Last year, that differential was 42-22. Murphy got more involved offensively, too, with a career-high 17 assists.

Future: Murphy has one year left on his contract and could be an attractive trade chip at the deadline. If he’s not moved earlier than that, he’ll likely be the only player over 24 on Chicago’s blue line when the season starts.

Telling stat: One of the reasons for his uptick in assists was his willingness to shoot more. Murphy created a career-high 16 rebounds at five-on-five.

Grade: B-minus

Sam Rinzel

Review: Rinzel was a revelation in his nine NHL games after Minnesota was bounced from the NCAA Tournament. He almost immediately became the Blackhawks’ No. 1 defenseman. He moved fabulously for a big man (6 foot 5) and picked up five assists in those nine games, running the power play while holding his own defensively and forming a towering tandem with Vlasic. When the Blackhawks traded up to draft him in the first round in 2022, Rinzel was a project at best and a reach at worst. But he’s now the most exciting young player on the blue line.

Future: With two years left on his entry-level contract, Rinzel figures to be a fixture on the roster for years to come.

Telling stat: How quickly did Rinzel earn Anders Sörensen’s trust? He averaged 23 minutes, 22 seconds per game, the most on the team during his nine games and second only to Seth Jones all season.

Grade: A

Alex Vlasic

Review: After bursting onto the scene as a rock-solid shutdown defender in 2023-24, Vlasic scuffled a bit more in 2024-25, though he still was arguably the Blackhawks’ steadiest defenseman. He played all 82 games, typically on the top pairing; logged nearly 240 more minutes than any other Blackhawks player; and drew the toughest assignments. His play with Rinzel at the end of the season was particularly encouraging for the future.

Future: Vlasic was in the first year of his six-year contract and will be a mainstay in the top four. On this team, he qualifies as a cagey veteran.

Telling stat: Last season, Vlasic’s expected goals share was 46.69 percent, a very high number for such a porous team. This year, that number dropped to 42.32 percent.

Grade: B

Goalies

Spencer Knight

Review: A surprise acquisition in the Seth Jones trade — to get a young, high-pedigree potential No. 1 goalie in what was a pure salary dump of a disgruntled player was quite a coup for Davidson — Knight immediately stepped in and took over as the Blackhawks’ top goalie. He started brilliantly, came down to Earth a bit after that, but looked the part. He also quickly established himself as a leading presence in the locker room. He’s not the most vocal guy, but his seriousness of purpose and work ethic made an impact on his teammates, according to exit interviews.

Future: Knight is signed through next season at a $4.5 million cap hit. Davidson likely will try to extend him as soon as possible.

Telling stat: In his combined starts for Florida and Chicago, Knight saved more than 11 goals above expected, per Evolving Hockey. That puts him in the same company as Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson and Carolina’s Frederik Andersen.

Grade: B-plus

Arvid Söderblom 

Review: Söderblom appeared destined for Rockford this season after the Blackhawks decided to sign Laurent Brossoit in the offseason. But a series of injury setbacks for Brossoit led to Söderblom getting another full season in the NHL. He took advantage of it, too, by improving his save percentage from .880 to .898 and was much more consistent.

Future: Söderblom will be a restricted free agent for a second time with the Blackhawks.

Telling stat: He had a league-worst minus-22.9 goals saved above last season and improved that to minus-2.9 this season.

Grade: C-plus

(Top photo of Sam Rinzel and Spencer Knight: Marc DesRosiers / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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