Although the point totals don\u2019t jump off the page, he was one of the defensively responsible forwards they had and provided real speed to the lineup. On Feb. 25th, I wrote about whether the Blackhawks should trade Mikheyev<\/a> or not, and in that article, I outlined what I thought would be a fair contract.<\/p>\n I had Mikheyev coming in around three years at $3.25 million average annual value (AAV). The contract he ended up signing was four years at $3.85 million,<\/a> so I was pretty disappointed Davidson couldn\u2019t keep him around.<\/p>\n Another winger the Blackhawks let go was Andre Burakovsky, who had a particularly bad season and was a point of frustration for fans. Davidson moved him to the Ottawa Senators for a sixth-round pick in the 2027 draft, which was a nice move. I know sixth-round picks aren\u2019t much, but I wanted Davidson to buy out Burakovsky, which would\u2019ve created a little bit of dead cap. Instead, Davidson moved his whole contract for an actual asset. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll miss much with him moving to Ottawa.<\/p>\n On the blue line, the two losses since the end of last season were Louis Crevier and Matt Grzelcyk, who is currently unsigned.<\/p>\n Crevier had a pretty good year in Chicago last season, but was thrown into the Byram deal. I liked Crevier\u2019s game, but he\u2019s not a make-or-break player for any team.<\/p>\n Grzelcyk was a good veteran for the young defensemen on the roster, and perhaps that could change the locker room dynamic, but they did bring in veterans during this offseason.<\/p>\n What They Added<\/p>\n I think the Blackhawks could feel the loss of Mikheyev, as I already mentioned, but buying large, there weren\u2019t any substantial losses during the offseason. There was a pretty big addition and an exciting homecoming on top of a couple of veterans.<\/p>\n The biggest addition was Byram, who was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres. I\u2019m not the biggest fan of Byram, and I think Davidson heavily overpaid for him, but at the same time, he is currently far and away the best defenseman they have. Last season, Byram would\u2019ve ranked third on the Blackhawks in points with 42, which is a career high. <\/p>\n I have concerns with Byram when it comes to his defensive abilities, and like most young teams, Chicago was awful defensively last season. I also think Davidson paid a premium for a guy who hasn\u2019t proven he is a top-end defenseman.<\/p>\n It will help him that he doesn\u2019t have Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power ahead of him anymore, so he can get first power-play unit time. Giving him those opportunities should inflate his offensive numbers, which will help.<\/p>\n I think the way I feel about Byram is that he\u2019s definitely a positive addition to the roster, but I don\u2019t think Byram is worth what Davidson paid for him in assets and then financially, when they gave him a four-year deal with an AAV of $12.5 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Patrick Kane<\/a> signing was a great move in my opinion. I know people were caught off guard by the cap hit of $8 million<\/a>, and it is obviously a lot. They\u2019re now sitting at just $2.8 million in cap space,<\/a> right now, but Davidson just has to get a contract done with restricted free agent (RFA) Kevin Korchinski.<\/p>\n Kane coming back will be great for all the young players, but mostly Connor Bedard<\/a>. With Kane now in the dressing room, Bedard will have a guy who won in the market to learn from daily, which is something that is extremely valuable but you can\u2019t put into numbers.<\/p>\n It should also help them on the field with Kane being a good addition to the power play, which had long dry spells throughout the season.<\/p>\n Davidson added two depth signings with Ian Cole on defense and Cole Smith up front. Cole will provide experience as well as defensive stability to a very young defense corps.<\/p>\n Smith was a pretty good defensive forward for the Vegas Golden Knights when he got moved there from Nashville last season. He\u2019s also a great skater, ranking in the 85th percentile<\/a> in 22-mile-per-hour or higher bursts and in the 94th percentile in max skating speed.<\/p>\n Jordan Greenway was added in the Byram deal and will provide physicality on the fourth line. I\u2019m not a huge fan of Greenway and would like to see him moved to open up a spot for a younger guy.<\/p>\n So What Should the Expectations Be?<\/p>\n The bottom line is that after this offseason, the Blackhawks improved from last season, but I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s enough to make a big-time difference.<\/p>\n First of all, Bedard likely being out until November is going to be tough to overcome in the standings. There is obviously youth to be excited about with Anton Frondell, Oliver Moore, Nick Lardis, Roman Kantserov and Ryan Green, amongst others, but you have to give them time to adjust to the NHL.<\/p>\n I still think the Blackhawks have the same flaws as last season. They\u2019ll probably be poor defensively and extremely young in key areas of the roster, but Byram is better than anyone they had last season, and Kane is a positive addition.<\/p>\n The losses were somewhat replaced and shouldn\u2019t dig the Blackhawks into any type of deeper hole, but it\u2019ll probably be another tough season.<\/p>\n I think we see the Blackhawks finishing anywhere from 31 to 27 again this season. That\u2019s obviously tough to take, but what is important is if we see strides from the youth, a repeat season from Spencer Knight<\/a> and signs that Byram is good enough to be a top defenseman.<\/p>\n The floor for this team is too low for me to be certain we\u2019ll see them jumping up five spots in the standings, but I can see a world where the youth is better than expected, and there is a fun season for the fans.<\/p>\n Free Newsletter<\/p>\n \n Get Chicago Blackhawks coverage delivered to your inbox <\/p>\n In-depth analysis, breaking news, and insider takes – free.<\/p>\n![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Patrick-Kane-Blackhawks-2-1200x900.jpg\")
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (Amy Irvin<\/a> \/ The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n