Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson Reveals He Was Blindsided in Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall Deal
Photo credit: Bleacher Nation
The Chicago Blackhawks were the third team in a trade that sent Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes, and here's how GM Kyle Davidson was locked out of the discussion.
GM Kyle Davidson of the Chicago Blackhawks helped facilitate a trade that sent forward Taylor Hall, and Mikko Rantanen to Carolina.
In return, the Blackhawks would receive their 2025 3rd-round draft pick which they had previously traded to Carolina, and prospect Nils Juntorp. They retained half of Mikko Rantanen's $9.25 million salary to make the move more appealing to Carolina.
The trade involved Martin Necas, Jack Drury, Mikko Rantanen, and Taylor Hall at the NHL level.
However, at the last-minute GM Kyle Davidson didn't even know which NHL player involved in the trade he'd retain a percentage of salary on.
For all that the Blackhawks did retain in the deal, the team got fleeced as they got a low-level prospect, and their own third-round pick back.
The Blackhawks were expected to get a third round pick closer to the trade deadline for just Hall, so retaining $4.6 million should have, at the very least, popped the draft pick they got in return to a mid second round pick at worst.
This is a clear case where the Blackhawks should have received more compensation.
Yet, the Avalanche would receive two draft picks, and the Blackhawks could reasonably have received a 2nd-round pick.
They retained no cap on Hall's $6 million cap hit, but acquired a third-round pick (likely 66th-68th in the 2025 draft) in exchange for Hall and for retaining all of that money.
This is another case where, GM Kyle Davidson, the facilitator, became a passenger.
The Blackhawks have more veterans to move, with Ryan Donato, Pat Maroon, Alec Martinez, and Seth Jones.
Can we count on Davidson to do the right thing with those players?
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 27 | 246 ANSWERS Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson Reveals He Was Blindsided in Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall Deal Did GM Kyle Davidson of the Chicago Blackhawks screw up the trade of forward Taylor Hall? | ||
| Yes | 200 | 81.3 % |
| No | 46 | 18.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
TRENDING NOW
