The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.
Being the father of young children and an NHL general manager around the trade deadline can be a challenging balance act.
Just ask Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson. While he was trying to finalize one of the biggest trades of his career on Saturday, his 2-year-old daughter was also seeking his attention in a way he couldn’t ignore.
“While I was taking calls and trying to do this deal this morning, my daughter was screaming and throwing her milk at me,” Davidson told The Athletic by phone Saturday night. “So I drove around Chicago for about four hours this afternoon just taking calls.”
A lot of that time in the car was spent talking with Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito as they worked to finalize a blockbuster trade. In the end, Davidson dealt defenseman Seth Jones and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Panthers for goalie Spencer Knight and a conditional 2026 first-round pick. Davidson also agreed to retain $2.5 million of Jones’ $9.5 cap hit for the remainder of his contract, which will expire after the 2029-30 season. If the Panthers don’t possess a 2026 first-round pick, the Blackhawks would take their 2027 first-round selection.
GO DEEPER
NHL trade grades: Blackhawks grant Seth Jones’ trade wishes as Panthers press on
So, what did the Blackhawks feel like they accomplished in this trade?
“I think we really solidified the future of our goaltending position, gained some more draft capital that we can use on the market,” Davidson said. “We made sure to find a home for Seth that accomplished kind of what he was looking for — that he expressed last week, to go to a contender. It feels like we checked a number of boxes. Got some young talent, got some draft capital and found a new home for Seth.”
Jones was forthcoming the past few weeks about wanting a trade sooner than later, but it wasn’t a given that it would happen. There were a lot of hurdles to clear for Saturday’s deal to happen.
“I wouldn’t say it was an easy circumstance to navigate just given time crunch and all the factors at play,” Davidson said. “Trades are hard to make in the first place, let alone with money and no-move clauses and that kind of thing. There’s just a lot of complicating factors here. It was not easy. I didn’t know how to handicap the likelihood of getting a deal done before the deadline. It was something we were going to explore. I guess we’re happy how it worked out in the end.”
On one side of the coin, the Blackhawks acquired a goalie they really like. Knight, a 2019 first-round pick, has the potential to be part of the Blackhawks’ future. He’s just 23 and already has 80 games of NHL experience. He has a $4.5 million cap hit and will be a restricted free agent again after the 2025-26 season.
“We just love the technical side of his game, his history of being a winner,” Davidson said. “He’s had success everywhere he’s gone, whether the U.S. program, World Juniors, (Boston College) and even into pro. He’s met every challenge with success. We’re really excited about that. Spencer was someone we absolutely loved in the draft. We were huge fans then and continue to be now.
“I’m not a goalie guy. I let our goalie people handle that assessment, and the assessment that I got back from those who are more adept at scouting goaltenders than myself or the other people in management, the reports came back glowing. We’re just really happy with bringing Spencer into the fold.”
The other side of the coin is that the Blackhawks have made a complicated goalie depth chart even more complicated. They now have Knight, Petr Mrázek and Laurent Brossoit signed for next season and will also likely want to re-sign 25-year-old Arvid Söderblom, who will be a restricted free agent and has bounced back this season. Brossoit hasn’t played all season due to a knee injury, but he was brought in to play with Mrázek and has another year left on his contract.
“I think it’s definitely a little more complex than it was before the trade,” Davidson said. “It’s something we’ll have to navigate and figure out how we want to move forward. If we have to move forward with the current group, we will, (and) kick that can down to the offseason. I think we’ll have to have some more discussions on what that looks like and let the dust settle a bit tonight and get back to work tomorrow and early this week to see what’s available to us to either look to change the mix or keep the same.
“If we have to keep it the same, we’re certainly open to that. We’ve got some great pros in our goaltending room. I’m sure we’ll be able to navigate that. But it’s something we’ll have to further discussion on.”
Moving Jones is an overall positive for the Blackhawks. He and his contract were the major carryovers from the past front office. The assumption was always that Jones would be moved before his deal expired, but it wasn’t expected to happen with five more years left on it. While that creates flexibility in the future, Davidson now has some issues to resolve.
“It does provide flexibility from a financial standpoint and from a roster-construction standpoint,” Davidson said. “But there are challenges. Seth is a great player, and he filled a big role on our team. We can’t deny that’s something that’s not there anymore. We’re going to have to navigate that. We’re going to have to consider that. Any deal isn’t without its downside.
“Seth (is) a great player, and a very good team wanting him is very indicative of that. So it’s something we’ll have to navigate. Overall, the benefits of the deal were such that it was something we felt compelled to do.”
Getting to the rising salary cap floor in the coming years would’ve been easier with Jones. According to PuckPedia, the Blackhawks have nearly $40 million in cap space for next season based on who is already signed. The 2025-26 salary cap is $95.5 million and the floor is $70.6 million.
Jones also ate a lot of ice time.
“I think there’s always side effects and things you have to handle around any deal you make, certainly a big one,” Davidson said. “I wouldn’t say we’re concerned with anything. There are things that we’ll have to explore, in terms of how we fill minutes, certainly. Does anyone internally, can they do that for the rest of the season? How does that go? Do we explore over the next week if we can fill some holes there?
“There are certainly some things we’ll have to look into. Again, we’re in a time crunch here before the deadline, but we’ll explore some options and see if there’s anything out there.”
Davidson said he hopes to maneuver closer to the cap ceiling at some point, but he isn’t concerned about Jones’ retained money impacting decisions down the road.
“You never want any dead money on your cap, but sometimes it’s just inevitable and those are things you have to navigate,” Davidson said. “I’m glad it’s not a larger number. Obviously, if all things were equal, I’d love for it to be zero. We have to be realistic, and I think $2.5 is a number we were OK with absorbing and dealing with moving forward.”
As for what the trade means to Davidson’s long-term plan, he doesn’t feel that a whole lot changed.
“I believe any ambitions we had in respect to player development, with respect to any player acquisition, any additions, anything like that, I don’t think it changes our approach or outlook any way,” he said. “Our flexibility was great moving forward in terms of roster construction. Will we have to explore what it looks like if some of our younger players aren’t ready to step into that kind of role full-time? Yeah, yeah, we will. We’ll have to explore that. We’ll have to talk through that.”
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
