Kyle Davidson is shopping for scoring wingers as the Blackhawks' slide deepens heading into tonight's game against Los Angeles.
According to a report, the Chicago GM has been actively looking for “shoot-first, scoring wingers with size.”
And if things don't turn around, “count on something bigger perhaps in the works.”
Things haven't turned around. Chicago is 3-8-0 and has dropped three straight.
Only one team sits lower in the overall standings, and the Blackhawks are dead last in the Central.
-
The real problem shows up on the scoreboard. Chicago has scored only 24 goals in 11 games.
Connor Bedard has played five games, and no Blackhawk has more than four goals
A -19 goal differential tells you how lopsided it's been.
Roman Kantserov leads the team with four goals. Nobody else has more than three.
The 37-year-old Patrick Kane has one goal and a -13 rating.
-
Connor Bedard has dressed for only five games, with five points to show for it.
The veteran help hasn't delivered either. Tyler Bertuzzi has two goals on a $5,500,000 cap hit.
Frank Nazar has three goals, and teenager Anton Frondell has six points. Those are pieces worth protecting in any bigger deal.
Building around young playmakers without finishers is like hiring a great chef and stocking the kitchen with frozen dinners.
Davidson has waited long enough. A rebuild needs young talent, but it also needs guys who can bury the chances that talent creates.
The road has been worse. Chicago is 0-4-0 away from home, and a trip to Detroit and Boston comes right after tonight.
Spencer Knight hasn't been able to steal many games, sitting at an .891 save percentage.
So what does “something bigger” actually mean? A blockbuster trade? A shakeup behind the bench? The report didn't say, and that silence is loud.
Blashill's group gets the Kings tonight. Lose again, and the phone in Davidson's office starts ringing a lot louder.
Should Kyle Davidson trade a top prospect for a scoring winger now?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Jack Hughes spits out a tooth after high stick in Dallas, and the referee returns it
