Opportunity arises for Kyle Davidson and Blackhawks for free on NHL waiver wire

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Joshua Deeds
October 28, 2024 (11:22)

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The Chicago Blackhawks are in the business of building talent in the NHL, and AHL. There's been one player whose been placed upon waivers, which GM Kyle Davidson should look into.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Gabriel Fortier on waivers, as they hope to reassign him to the AHL's Syracuse Crunch.

Last season Fortier played 62 games with the Syracuse Crunch, scoring 26 points( 13 G, 13 A).

His scouting reports have him projected as a top-nine forward, and given the lack of meaningful depth right now, the Blackhawks could do worse.

According to Raw Charge, a site that has been covering the Tampa Bay Lightning for some time, they rated him 5th of all Lightning prospects.

After a 10-game stint to fill in for injuries during the 2021-22 season, Fortier was one of the last cuts in camp last season. He did manage to make it back to the Bolts for one game last season, but spent the majority of the season in Syracuse where his season was, well, it was a hockey season. He put up 11 goals and added another 18 assists in 67 games, with the 29 points down slightly from the career-high 35 he put up in 2021-22. After a pretty solid first two seasons with the Crunch, it seemed things stalled a bit for him last year.

The mention despite his size, Fortier has some grit, and the Blackhawks have some grit in the OHL right now. But not exactly with the big club, even if we're talking Bertuzzi.

While we won't trash Bertuzzi on this post, adding more forwards who play a reliable two-way style is never bad, especially since Nick Foligno is the only constant I can think of who plays this way at the moment.

Despite his size (5'10», 183 pounds) he is a battler, especially in front of the net. Scanning his highlights, it was kind of surprising how many came from him getting into a good position in front of the net and either redirecting the puck or putting a rebound home. He is a decent skater and he is quick, especially in his own zone, allowing him break up plays by being in the right position and picking the pockets of his opponents. When he's on his game, he's the hardest-working player on the ice and generates opportunities by outworking his opponents.

The second-round pick profiles out as a bottom-six forward that plays smart and can kill penalties while being tenacious on the forecheck. Part of the issue last season was that there were just too many games where he didn't make an impact, and if he's not scoring, he has to be doing the little things that help his team control the puck (forechecking, winning puck battles, breaking up plays in the defensive zone, etc.). Part of that could be a result of a being disappointed that he didn't make the NHL squad as he only had one point over his first eight games last season.

Fortier was recently re-upped with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization on a one-year, two-way deal for a league minimum of $775K AAV.

He'd be an affordable and meaningful add to the IceHogs, and Blackhawks in the future should an injury arise.