The NHL began the free agency period yesterday, with the Chicago Blackhawks making many moves to kick off the first day. The Blackhawks have preached showing some development into a playoff contender, and General Manager Kyle Davidson backed up those words on day one of free agency. The Blackhawks signed seven free agents on day one. Let’s look at the players signed by the Blackhawks, and what we can expect from them this season.
A Recap of the 2024 Free Agency for the Chicago Blackhawks After Day One
Tyler Bertuzzi
Contract: Four-years, $5.5 million AAV
Let’s start by covering the first player signed by the Hawks, with that player being Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi is coming off a 43-point season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bertuzzi is a great addition to the Hawks top-six, with him playing a very physical and gritty game but also being able to score at a high level. Kyle Davidson clearly wanted to make the Blackhawks a tougher team to play against and this move symbolizes that well.
The biggest concern with Bertuzzi has been his injury history. Last season was the most games Bertuzzi played in him NHL career at 80. Before then, he had failed to play more than 60 games the past two seasons. If Bertuzzi manages to stay on the ice, this is a move that will work well in the long run. Bertuzzi will likely play top line minutes alongside Connor Bedard. Expect Chicago to become a much grittier team to play against with this move.
Teuvo Teravainen
Contract: Three-years, $5.4 million AAV
A former first round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012 returns this season via free agency. Following his trade to the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer of 2016, Teravainen became a solid producer on a Carolina team with Stanley Cup aspirations. Teuvo is coming off a career-high 25 goal season.
Teravainen left Chicago as a promising young prospect and is coming back as a 29-year old middle-six playmaker. This signing fills two major holes for Chicago, as Teravainen is a great playmaker but also a solid forechecker despite his smaller size. This is something Chicago desperately could use. Teravainen should slot into Chicago’s top two lines, power play and penalty kill. Pairing him with Jason Dickinson would be a nice move considering they both play similar styles of game.
Pat Maroon
Contract: One-year, $1.3 million AAV
Pat Maroon is a typical bottom-six player at this stage in his career. This is a signing more focused on veteran leadership rather than actual production. Last season, Maroon recorded 16 points in 49 games with the Minnesota Wild before being traded to the Boston Bruins. He only played in two regular season games with Boston but recorded two assists in 13 playoff games.
Maroon is a winner, simple as that. He won three straight Stanley cups with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Maroon should be a great influence on a very young Chicago Blackhawks locker room. He should also play the role of protecting younger players like Connor Bedard or Philipp Kurashev. This is essentially a low risk, high reward move for Chicago no matter what.
Alec Martinez
Contract: One-year, $4 million AAV
Another addition via free agency, Alec Martinez, is a well known name for Chicago Blackhawks fans and not for good reason. In the 2014 Western Conference Final, Martinez scored an overtime winner in game seven to send the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup Final, where he later scored an overtime goal in game five to win the Kings their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Chicago needed some more depth on the blue line so adding Martinez is a solid move. The contract is more rich than many fans expected, however, the Hawks don’t really need to worry about money.
Martinez will likely serve as a third-pairing defenceman this season. This is another low risk, high reward move as he will act as a placeholder for some of the younger defensive prospects while they continue to develop. Martinez will be 37 in July, so this is likely going to be a one and done season for both parties.
Craig Smith
Contract: One-year, $1 million AAV
Similar to the last two signings from free agency for the Chicago Blackhawks, this move serves as a placeholder for the team’s prospects. Smith recorded 20 points in 75 games with the Dallas Stars last season. Smith is a versatile forward who can play both centre and the wing. While he has been known to play the wing more the last few seasons, he could be solid depth if the team were to go through a stretch of injuries like they did last season. Smith will be a depth piece, who should play a bottom six role. Best case scenario, he produces like he did last season with Dallas. The Hawks won’t have a lot of worrying to do with this signing as Smith’s best years are behind him at this point.
Laurent Brossoit
Contract: Two-years, $3 million AAV
One could argue that the biggest reason why the Hawks struggled as much as they did last season was due to their lack of a backup goalie. Arvid Soderblom, to put is nicely was not good last season. Brossoit fixes those issues. Last season with the Winnipeg Jets, Brossoit 15-5-2 with a .927 save percentage.
This move gives Chicago an actual backup goalie to rely on. Petr Mrazek should now have a huge load taken off his shoulders now that Brossoit can get the crease some nights. The Hawks have preached patience with their prospects and this move aligns with those philosophies. 2020 second-round pick Drew Comesso could use some more time in the AHL, so Brossoit gives him some more time to develop. Brossoit should take a step back this season due to the Hawks being a worse team than the Jets, but if he can preform better than Arvid Soderblom, then that’s fine by many Hawks fans.
The Final Addition in Chicago Blackhawks Free Agency to Discuss T.J. Brodie
Contract: Two-years, $3.75 million AAV
Another depth piece for the blue line comes in former Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman T.J. Brodie. Brodie recorded 26 points in 78 games worth Toronto last season. Similar to Martinez, Brodie is an experienced player who will be entering his 15th season in the NHL.
Brodie will likely find a spot on the Hawks third pairing. This sets up an interesting battle for a roster spot between young players Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski and Wyatt Kaiser. Another death signing for the Blackhawks in free agency.
The Chicago Blackhawks finished day one of free agency making a huge impact on the market. Major additions to the team’s top six and adding veterans to the lineup should be huge to teach younger players. The Hawks lineup will be drastically different than what it was last season.
Main photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
