NEWSLETTER
During his preseason press conference on Wednesday, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson was asked about the cap flexibility he has remaining — and if he would still consider using it to add assets if a team called to dump salary.
Davidson quickly responded that the Blackhawks are indeed open for business, and he would happily entertain conversations about adding to the current roster if the right deal presented itself.
According to CapFriendly, only four teams — Buffalo, Arizona, Anaheim and Detroit — have more cap space than the Blackhawks’ currently. They have Chicago listed at approximately $7.5 million in available wiggle room, though that could change if the team opts to put Jake McCabe on LTIR with him likely missing the first two months of the season.
So which general managers might call Davidson about creating cap space?
Most teams don’t want to trade out of the loaded 2023 draft, so prying a pick might not be easy. But making their salary cap situation work will cost; Davidson could now have some leverage.
As I write this, there are three teams with the possibility of having multiple picks in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. The Blackhawks (thanks, Tampa/Hagel), Montreal and the New York Rangers, who acquired a top-ten protected ’23 first (plus a conditional 3rd/4th rounder in 2025) from Dallas for defenseman Nils Lundkvist earlier this week.
CapFriendly also shows 11 teams — more than one-third of the league — over the cap at the moment, though Montreal will get a huge chunk of their number taken off when Carey Price is placed on LTIR. Boston will similarly benefit (at least financially) with a few key players missing significant time to open the season, so they might be okay.
At the top of the list are Vegas, Tampa, Washington and Florida. The Blackhawks have relatively recently taken contracts off the books for the Golden Knights (Marc-André Fleury), Tampa (Tyler Johnson) and Florida (Brett Connolly). So there could be an opportunity to call those teams back. It’s worth noting that Davidson has already made a big move with Tampa; he acquired their first round picks in 2023 and ’24 in the Brandon Hagel trade.
Everyone has loved the idea of Patrick Kane going to Edmonton, but they’re in the red right now. The Oilers will get some space back when Mike Smith is placed on LTIR again; he failed his preseason physical and is headed to the shelf with $2.2 million in cap hit for one more year on their books. The Oilers aren’t thrilled they aren’t getting a cap recapture benefit from Duncan Keith retiring before the end of his deal. Could another trade happen there?
Dallas has a problem on their hands. Jason Robertson, who scored 41 goals last year, is a restricted free agent and is reportedly not coming to camp on time as contract talks have stalled. He probably wants more than the $6 million the Stars have in available cap space, so dumping salary might be necessary in Dallas. But why would the Blackhawks help a division rival retain a 23-year-old budding superstar? (Oh, and Dallas doesn’t have their picks in the first or third rounds next year.)
Is there anything on the rosters in Carolina or Vancouver that intrigues you?
On the flipside, Davidson has said in the past he doesn’t want dead cap space; if he’s going to make a deal, he’ll want value in return (read: draft picks) and player(s) who will benefit the current NHL roster. Odds are he doesn’t want to bring back a player with significant term left on his deal, either; they’re stuck with Tyler Johnson’s $5 million cap hit for two more years.
But on Wednesday he was clear that the lights are on and the phones are charged at 1901 W. Madison and he’s ready to talk if someone needs to make a move.
