The Chicago Blackhawks are expected to announce current interim general manager Kyle Davidson as the team’s 10th permanent GM in team history tomorrow, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
Davidson was named the team’s interim general manager on October 26, 2021, after previous GM Stan Bowman resigned after he was implicated in the organization’s systemic “inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response” as it related to video coach Brad Aldrich’s sexual assault of former Blackhawk forward Kyle Beach in 2010.
The announcement is likely underwhelming to some fans considering the unusually public and transparent nature of the team’s search for a new GM. Unlike other vacancies which are usually met by swirling rumors of potential candidates, the Blackhawks went so far as to announce all their interviewees by name, clearly laying out all the potential candidates for the job.
Three days ago, it was reported by multiple sources, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, that Davidson was one of the final three candidates for the job. The other two finalists were reportedly Tampa Bay Lightning director of hockey operations Mathieu Darche and the MLB’s Chicago Cubs assistant GM Jeff Greenberg.
Seravalli reports that former Blackhawk Brian Campbell, who was notably on the 2009-10 Blackhawks that won the Stanley Cup during the period in which the allegations against Aldrich were brought forward, will take on a “significant role” alongside Davidson as the Blackhawks continue to rebuild their roster.
Davidson’s rise within the Blackhawks organization is somewhat of a meteoric one. He actually joined the team as an intern for the 2010-11 campaign, which he was then able to parlay into a role as the team’s manager of hockey administration from 2011 to 2018. He was brought back to the organization as an assistant GM prior to 2019-20, and was additionally given the title of VP of hockey strategy and analytics in 2021-22 before being promoted.
Huge mistake and this franchise is doomed. Darche was the opportunity to turn the page and move forward with new thinking and faces. Instead they chose continuity and more of the same thinking that got them in the mess they are in now.
Yep, and also they do not really turn a page and move away from the Kyle Beach situation either by keeping another member of the previous org and promoting them (its not clear Davidson was around during all of the horrible stuff going on then but still part of the old regime). This whole org needed a fresh start and all they are doing is recycling the org.. Bad move.
Yes, Kyle Davidson was around during the Kyle Beach situation. He has been with the organization since 2010 as a video analyst. I recommend going to his Wikipedia page for more information.
What makes him qualified?
Impossible job any talented person would have been wise to steer clear from. If I had been a GM qualified candidate I would have wanted the Anaheim job first, then Vancouver, then Montreal.
Then daylight.
No way would I go near this org both on and off the ice.