Why Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson rarely waits for deadline day to make trades

DALLAS — Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has established a preference for making moves well before the NHL trade deadline, rather than waiting until the last minute.

He dealt Brandon Hagel three days before the 2022 deadline, dealt Patrick Kane three days before the 2023 deadline and dealt Seth Jones six days before the 2025 deadline.

All were blockbuster trades with basically only one possible partner, so it seemed logical they would be consummated as soon as they were agreed upon.

But this year, even when shopping two regular rental players with plenty of suitors, the pattern continued. Davidson again acted quickly, dealing Connor Murphy on Monday and Jason Dickinson on Wednesday before the deadline Friday.

Why? He gave an interesting explanation Friday.

‘‘With Murphy and [Dickinson], I wanted to give them an opportunity,’’ Davidson said. ‘‘The last thing I would want is to hold out for a little something more, like this little bit more, and it dry up and they don’t get to experience [the playoffs]. Not that they asked to go out or anything. But in exploring the market, this was a great opportunity for both of them.

‘‘I’m not big on waiting to wait. If that sets the market, that sets the market, for better or worse. I would rather get a deal done with a return that I’m satisfied with ahead of time than sweat it out. It either goes sideways and you lose something, or you just wait for the sake of waiting.’’

Critics of Davidson pointed out that while he got a second-round draft pick for Murphy, the Canucks got second- and fourth-round picks two days later for a similar defenseman in Tyler Myers.

However, the Flyers suffered the opposite fate. They held out for the best offer for another similar defenseman in Rasmus Ristolainen and ended up not trading him (and therefore getting nothing for him).

It will be interesting to see whether Davidson continues to act early when/if he becomes a buyer in future years.

Levshunov stabilizing

When asked about defenseman Artyom Levshunov’s up-and-down season so far, it’s not surprising Davidson supported and praised him.

‘‘When you do something like we did with [him], where we took him out for a number of games — almost had a pseudo-training camp with him — that can go one of two ways,’’ Davidson said. ‘‘[He] dug in. He went full throttle into the development opportunity that was presented. [He did] everything we asked of him.’’

The individual practice program at least has stabilized Levshunov’s season. He still is making some mistakes, but they’re not as frequent or obvious as they were in late January.

The Hawks have outscored opponents 3-2 during his five-on-five ice time since the Olympic break. He has also taken on penalty-killing duties for the first time now that Murphy is gone.

‘‘‘He just looks a lot more settled,’’ Davidson said. ‘‘Some of that is experience. Some of that is [because of his] little time out from a long, grinding season.

‘‘I’m really excited about the way [he] has trended. When you look at where he was a couple of years ago to where he was a year [ago to now] . . . the arrow is definitely pointed up.’’

Notes

The Hawks will wear No. 19 patches on the backs of their helmets for the rest of the season to honor late player and broadcaster Troy Murray.

• Jeff Blashill coached his 600th career NHL game Sunday, becoming the sixth
U.S.-born coach to do so.