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Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson Reveals He Was Blindsided in Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall Deal
Photo credit: Bleacher Nation
The Chicago Blackhawks were the third team in a trade that sent Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes, and here's how GM Kyle Davidson was locked out of the discussion.
GM Kyle Davidson of the Chicago Blackhawks helped facilitate a trade that sent forward Taylor Hall, and Mikko Rantanen to Carolina.
In return, the Blackhawks would receive their 2025 3rd-round draft pick which they had previously traded to Carolina, and prospect Nils Juntorp. They retained half of Mikko Rantanen's $9.25 million salary to make the move more appealing to Carolina.
The trade involved Martin Necas, Jack Drury, Mikko Rantanen, and Taylor Hall at the NHL level.
However, at the last-minute GM Kyle Davidson didn't even know which NHL player involved in the trade he'd retain a percentage of salary on.
For all that the Blackhawks did retain in the deal, the team got fleeced as they got a low-level prospect, and their own third-round pick back.
The Blackhawks were expected to get a third round pick closer to the trade deadline for just Hall, so retaining $4.6 million should have, at the very least, popped the draft pick they got in return to a mid second round pick at worst.
This is a clear case where the Blackhawks should have received more compensation.
Yet, the Avalanche would receive two draft picks, and the Blackhawks could reasonably have received a 2nd-round pick.
They retained no cap on Hall's $6 million cap hit, but acquired a third-round pick (likely 66th-68th in the 2025 draft) in exchange for Hall and for retaining all of that money.
This is another case where, GM Kyle Davidson, the facilitator, became a passenger.
The Blackhawks have more veterans to move, with Ryan Donato, Pat Maroon, Alec Martinez, and Seth Jones.
Can we count on Davidson to do the right thing with those players?
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