The Chicago Blackhawks sold the 2024-2025 as the year of improvement for the team, and the roster.
Davidson spent big on acquiring veterans like Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Laurent Brossoit, and Alec Martinez.
The acquisitions have yet to improve the lineup as they've been sold, as the team is now closer to a 2025 1st-round lottery pick than a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.
The Blackhawks are 12-21-2 and are 8th in the Central Division as of the Holiday Break.
With Macklin Celebrini's ascendancy, there's now been a discussion of who is better between the two, after Bedard's recent slump. This is a discussion that should've been put to bed even before it started, as we know Bedard himself is a generational talent.
Instead of fostering Bedard's growth organically, he's tried to force his growth instead of doing what he's done after firing Luke Richardson, finding a coach and a system that fits him.
He's created a situation for the last two months that stunted his growth.
Kyle Davidson did his best to improve the team during free agency and that involved spending big during July.
While the young prospects were working through issues, that could be addressed with further development in the AHL, he spent big and brought in multiple big names to solve the team's woes.
Instead of achieving the goal through free agency, he's tanked the team, and like GM Barry Trotz will have to own up to the mistakes of spending, instead of developing.
The Hawks aren't even middle of the road at this point, and you can't buy success.
The Chicago Blackhawks ended the Luke Richardson experiment in Chicago arguably too late. The team has had to dig themselves out of the hole, which saw Richardson utilize the line blender, instead of building chemistry with players.
Anders Sorensen is a better fit with the roster, and while his record is a work in progress, the team is progressing under his leadership.
Richardson was fired on December 5th with an 8-16-2 record, and the changed should have happened sooner.