Unlike Stan Bowman, Kyle Davidson had a plan. Davidson came in with a 5-year rebuild plan and is sticking to it. Needless to say, his plan is working. The Blackhawks just walked out of the lottery with the #1 pick and has the privilege of selecting generational talent Connor Bedard.
Davidson pretty much traded away Jake McCabe, Alex Debrincat, Brandon Hagel, and Kirby Dach but picked up: Connor Bedard, Paul Ludwinski, Kevin Korchinski, Frank Nazar, Gavin Hayes, a 2024 1st and 2025 1st.
Let's start with the pieces he traded away. Alex DeBrincat was coming off a 40-goal season and was arguably the best player on the team during the 2021-22 season. Alex was traded during the offseason and the trade left a sour taste in Hawks fans mouths. But now the trade doesn't look so bad, as his contract situation with the Ottawa Senators doesn't look so bright. Jake McCabe and Brandon Hagel were alright, but it was well known that they served no long term purpose on the team. Kirby Dach is where it gets interesting. He's a bust. It was never going to work out in Chicago. But since he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens, he's found his stride. And good for him. Maybe all Dach needed was a change of scenery.
Coming back to Dach, we traded Kirby Dach for Frank Nazar at last year's draft. That was a great trade. Kyle also traded DeBrincat for defensive prospect Kevin Korchinski. Korchinski had 73 points in 54 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. He is only 18 years old.
