Happy Monday guys! Sorry for the lack of blogs as of late. I took a little vacation to my family's place in Michigan to do some golfing and just enjoy the nice weather, and I have to say I feel refreshed and ready to go as we are just a few weeks away from Connor Bedard becoming a Chicago Blackhawk. Lucky for me, there wasn’t much Hawks news going on, but we did get some information that will set the tone for Kyle Davidson's rebuilding offseason. During Gary Bettman's press conference before game one of the Cup Final, he stated that the salary cap will only see a 1 million-dollar bump this offseason but should see a larger increase next summer.
Bettman says most likely salary cap increase will remain at $1M bump only for this summer. The larger bump comes in summer of ‘24
We were all expecting this to be the case, and now that this is official, armchair GMs everywhere can start building out their vision of how this team might look come opening night this fall. The Hawks will still need to take on over $20 million in salary cap space just to reach the cap floor, and with so many teams who are still in the height of their Stanley Cup window up against the cap ceiling, KD could really make some killer deals to bring in some picks and some NHL-ready players to help get us through this rebuild period.
I also really like the idea of signing guys to the same "1x3" type of deals that Domi and Athanasiou signed last summer. Bring in some guys who, come deadline time, teams that need some depth will be calling on, and KD could pump the return by retaining salary. A few guys that I have looked at to possibly fill this role are Max Pacioretty, JVR, Jason Zucker, and Milan Lucic. Looking at these guys, I think Pacioretty and JVR make the most sense, as they are both in positions where they could still help out greatly, but teams, especially cap-strapped teams, might not be willing to take a chance on them just yet. Patches is coming off a season that saw him play five games thanks to two achilles tears, so coming into a no-pressure situation in Chicago to prove his game is still there seems like a nice low-risk, high-reward situation for both parties. Plus, he is a proven leader as a former captain of the Canadiens, so it could be great to have him mentor Bedard.
There are lots of possible options out there, and given the job Davidson has done so far in his short tenure as the GM, I have all the confidence in him and am absolutely trusting the process at this point. I do have to say that after Stan, it feels weird to have a GM that you believe in, but I have to say that I absolutely love it. I would love to hear how you guys are hoping KD builds this roster for next season. Are you hoping for a majority of bad contracts via trade or overpaying in the free agent market?
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