A left-field decision
3 things we learned from Hawks GM Davidson, including why he hired a ‘baseball guy’
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has a lot of work ahead of him between the NHL draft, free agency and finalizing his front office — and he has to balance those priorities with the search for a permanent head coach.
Davidson told reporters Tuesday he has been working for a while on a profile of his next coach but hasn’t set a target date for a hire.
“When we feel comfortable using that list of criteria to create a candidate list, we’ll do that,” he said. “But we don’t have a firm, firm timeline.”
He added later, “Middle of July is a good time frame.”
Davidson addressed other issues he’s tackling, including his choice to hire a former Cubs executive, his vision for the rebuild and the elephant in the room — what to do about Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
Here are three things we learned from his sit-down with reporters.
1. Kyle Davidson cleared up any ambiguity about a ‘fast’ rebuild.
When Davidson took over the permanent GM role in March, he and CEO Danny Wirtz said the roster needed a complete reset to craft a perpetual contender — and they wouldn’t put a timeline on how long that process might take.
However, they did throw out the possibility it could take at least three to five years.
In recent weeks, players such as Toews and Kane — both entering the last year of their contracts — said they see no reason the team can’t right the ship in a season or two.
“Like we’ve seen with other teams, things can turn around pretty quickly,” Toews said.
Said Kane: “You can win and still be in a rebuild. I think there are teams that have accelerated that, too, right?”
Davidson said he read those comments and “that’s definitely a perspective of the player that I don’t think anyone should be surprised
about. They’re in it to win that night and the next night and as soon as possible.”
But Davidson held fast Tuesday to the long-term goal.
“We’re looking at it organizationally and building sustained success rather than getting somewhere as quickly as possible and then topping out before we really reach that level we want to get to,” he said. “If it takes a bit longer than the players wish, not everything can align perfectly with their perspectives and ours.
“But we’re going to do this right, we’re going to build it the right way ... and not rush anything for a quick run. We want to do this right and stay at a top level.”
2. What can a baseball guy do for a hockey team?
Not surprisingly, that was the topic of the first couple of questions.
Why hire former Cubs assistant GM Jeff Greenberg, who has no professional experience in hockey, as one of your top two lieutenants? Davidson named Greenberg an associate GM, the same title as Norm Maciver.
Such a move would invite skepticism for even a seasoned NHL personnel chief, but it’s bonkers for a first-time GM to do it, right?
Not the way Davidson sees it. “The systems and processes (baseball teams) have set up — specifically the Cubs in Jeff ’s case — were things that really appealed to me and I saw great value in,” he said.
Davidson wants Greenberg to break down the Hawks’ analytics — how they’re collected and disseminated — and revolutionize that process using the Cubs’ proprietary system as a template. That system played a role in the Cubs winning the 2016 World Series.
“And it’s not necessarily about baseball versus hockey or what he’s going see on the ice versus anyone else in hockey,” Davidson said. “It’s more so how do they make decisions in baseball . ... They’re just much more efficient in gathering information in how to synthesize and use that information based on player evaluation, on how to enhance player development.
“So those are the types of things we want to bring into hockey that we don’t have right now.”
3. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are part of the rebuild — but for how long?
The two franchise leaders have no choice but to go along with the rebuild — unless they want to waive their no-movement clauses and seek greener pastures.
But that would mean leaving the only NHL team they’ve played for.
The question for Davidson is does he want to risk having a couple of Stanley Cup veterans around possibly grousing about not making the playoffs if the rebuild starts wearing on them.
On the other hand, Davidson said, they bring a significant “amount of experience, the understanding of what it takes to be a good professional.”
“There’s definitely a place for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane moving forward,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
How they’ll fit into the master plan is “part of the dialogue that we’re having and being very honest with how we see their role,” he continued, but “it’s not solved with one conversation.”
Davidson made clear during those talks what to expect. He said each player’s exit interview “was the first time we talked more at length. But the message isn’t new, so it wasn’t a tough conversation. It was healthy, it was open.”