Less than 24 hours after officially announcing that Kyle Davidson was going to be the new GM, Davidson made it clear that this Blackhawks roster was going to change. Saying he sees this team undergoing a rebuild, his comments immediately sparked speculation that names like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Alex Debrincat and Marc-Andre Fleury could be on the move.
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Davidson noted:
“We’re going to look at more of a rebuild here. There are some things we really need to fix that are going to take time. We’re not going to put a timeline on it. Whether it’s three, five [years], that will be determined as we proceed. “We really need to do this the right way. We’re going to stick to the plan and take our time with it and make sure [that], when we get to where we want to go, it was the result of a plan that was stuck to and not deviated from.”
When it comes to the future of Kane and Toews, TSN’s Darren Dreger notes that conversations between the two sides will be happening soon, but that it would be a shock if a trade materialized ahead of this year’s NHL Trade Deadline. Kane would have real value on the market, even though his price tag is high. Toews would be an interesting sell considering his age, lack of offense and recent injury history.
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times writes, “Lingering veterans Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will be informed about and involved in the process. Davidson talked to the two franchise icons Tuesday morning about the rebuilding comments he’d later make publicly, making sure to avoid repeating one of Bowman’s messier blunders.”
Fleury and DeBrincat Likely Staying Put
A few sources are now have noted that both Marc-Andre Fleury and Alex Debrincat will not be moved this season. First, Elliotte Friedman notes in his 32 Thoughts article that “The Blackhawks promised Marc-Andre Fleury nothing would happen without his approval.” Second, he says, “I’d be surprised if Alex DeBrincat was traded.”
So too, Chris Johnston added during the Insider Trading segment that Fleury is leaning towards staying in Chicago. He does have a 10 team no-trade list the Blackhawks could ask about, but the belief is they won’t and the organization will stick to their promise that if he doesn’t want to be moved, the franchise won’t shop him.
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