NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Blackhawks have been operating under interim GM Kyle Davidson since October 26, when Stan Bowman was booted from the organization following the results of the Kyle Beach sexual assault investigation. He’s made a few moves within the organization like trading Malcolm Subban and Alex Nylander, but his biggest impact with the club came just two weeks into the job when he fired Jeremy Colliton. Derek King was placed as the interim head coach for Chicago and things have turned around for the better on the ice.
Yesterday, the Blackhawks and CEO Danny Wirtz announced an update to the search for a new permanent GM and their intentions in the search process. Mentioned in the release, the Blackhawks plan to reach out to potential GM candidates as early as this week, with Davidson being a strong candidate to keep the job. He’ll remain in control of the team until the permanent GM is hired.
That timeline was said by the team to be before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 21. Now, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli says it could be wrapped up in as little as two weeks.
“The Blackhawks and their CEO Danny Wirtz mentioned in a release on Wednesday that they are beginning a process to search for their next general manager. I’m told that the time frame for the Blackhawks is they hope to have someone hired in the next 2-3 weeks. Kyle Davidson, their interim, will be a strong candidate.”
With other clubs already firing and hiring new GMs this year and the Anaheim Ducks also in the middle of their own search for a new GM, the list of potential candidates is likely much smaller than Chicago could have had if they opened the search in late-October. With that said, the trade deadline is coming up and the Blackhawks have a number of pieces to potentially deal. And while moving someone like Marc-André Fleury won’t have as much of an impact on the future of the organization (outside of the return, that is), trading other players like Calvin de Haan (more on that later today) and Alex Debrincat could have a bigger impact. After all, reportedly almost anyone is available.
If it’s not Davidson, it’s believed that the 33-year-old will remain with the organization in a different front office capacity. Wirtz mentioned in the press release on Wednesday that the search had provided internal candidates from within the Blackhawks organization, so there’s potential for someone like Meghan Hunter, Blackhawks Director of Hockey Administration, to have emerged as a candidate as well.
The Blackhawks intend to be transparent in the process and are even having a “town hall” with fans, staff, and media in the coming days to give more details about the GM search. We’ll keep up with this as the search moves along.
