A Kyle Davidson firing by the Chicago Blackhawks addressed by Danny Wirtz: He's safe for now

"I continue to be very encouraged and supportive of the plan that's in place. I can only deal with one step at a time. I can't solve three steps ahead now. But every step from when we decided we needed to acquire more talent in our pipeline to now not only acquiring that talent, but now starting to develop that talent, and now we're at a stage where that talent is still developing, but also starting to contribute. So, each step of the way, Kyle has been very responsible with that specific phase and remit, and I've been encouraged along the way."

"I think one of the things that gives me a lot of confidence, you mentioned sustainability, is the fact that there is so much being built from within. So when I talk about this pipeline, from the players drafted as recent as the last draft all the way to the players that are now making their way onto the NHL roster, there seems to be a lot of really exciting prospects in our system. That is always a great way to sustain success in the future, because you're going to have this internal talent to work from and potentially even a surplus at some point with all the kind of indicators that we see."

"I'm very pleased with both of them, and we'll be having conversations about that, for sure."

"Everything Kyle set out to do, he continues to deliver on. All of that is predicated on ultimately building a winning team, by all means. But I can only evaluate everything he's done, and he continues to back up his choices.

"He has built an incredibly exciting pipeline of talent that is coming to the surface now, and we have a lot more even to look forward to. From that standpoint, I'm very pleased with Kyle. He has built a great internal organization to support the development of our young players. He has built a great coaching staff this season, with the new coaches in place. And he has built a [good] culture within hockey operations."