We weren’t sure what to expect from Kyle Davidson. The Chicago Blackhawks had just finished the second of back-to-back seasons where they played so poorly that they “earned” the ability to draft a lottery pick. The team’s general manager couldn’t accept another campaign like that in 2024-25.
They needed to add pieces. We can spill digital ink in future columns lamenting over the lack of offense in the Blackhawks’ lineup last season, how they finished dead last in goals scored, how only two players — Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev — were able to record more than 40 points, or how an 18-year-old rookie led a team in scoring while missing nearly a fifth of the season. Don’t worry, it’s a long offseason.
No, the biggest issue in this writer’s mind was the lack of defense, a team without established, legitimate NHL talent on the backend who had been to hell and back and could provide reliable, stable play in their own end. Sure, Seth Jones is a capable top-four defender, but he’s being asked to play a role he’s not able to play, and his contract leaves him open to criticism.
Connor Murphy is entering his eighth season with the Blackhawks, but his future with the club is murky at best, as he seems to be packaged in every trade proposal Reddit fans can come up with. Younger blueliners like Kevin Korchinski and Alex Vlasic, who both took massive steps and played about as well as coaches and management could hope for in their rookie seasons, still have a bit of raw egg in their game and need a bit longer to cook.
That’s why when I saw the team signed Alec Martinez to a one-year deal, it felt like the best possible signing they could have made. A three-time Stanley Cup champion who can still play responsibly in their own end and make a strong first pass? Oh boy, where is the Shannon Sharpe-drinking Mountain Dew meme when you need it?
Even at 36, Martinez Has Still Got It
Yes, Martinez is 36 and he’s much closer to the end of his career than the beginning of it. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for some fans to look at the $4 million average annual value (AAV) of his one-year deal and think, “Geez, isn’t that a little rich?”
But everybody gets a little richer when the salary cap rises to $88 million in 2024-25, a $4.5 million increase from $83.5 million last season. It doesn’t hurt for players like Martinez that defenders are hard to come by, so if and when they get to free agency, they’re going to get themselves a healthy AAV.
“Alec has had success at every level and we are excited for him to bring that experience into our locker room,” Davidson said after the signing became official. “A savvy and mobile defender, Alex’s reliable defensive game will be a welcomed addition to our team.”
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It may just be boilerplate text to fill out in a press release, but Davidson hits the nail on the head in his words. The 6-foot-1 Martinez has been a grounded, top-four defenseman for a decade between the Kings and Golden Knights, and even last season, he averaged 19:03 of ice time in 55 games.
After Vegas acquired Noah Hanafin, his ice time was cut and he wound up averaging just 16:10 in the last 10 games of the season, not to mention being a healthy scratch for a handful of contests. But now in Chicago, Martinez can play regular minutes and bring something the Blackhawks have been missing for a while: a solid veteran who can show this team’s young crop of defenders how to be professionals.
How Martinez Can Benefit the Youth
The reason I love this deal so much is that it paves the way for Martinez to be a mentor for players like Korchinski and Vlasic, and yes, even Jones. He recognized as much during a media availability on July 3, days after signing with Chicago.
“I’ve been fortunate in my career to learn from some special players and people, and I’d be the first to tell you I don’t know everything by any means,” Martinez said. “But I have some experience of playing in big-time games at the United Center, and playing in the playoffs and I’d like to think to a certain extent I know what it takes to win.”
My THW colleague Brooke LoFurno noted in her July 2 column that Korchinski models his game after Shea Theodore, Martinez’s defensive partner with the Golden Knights, which means he could end up being a great mentor for him throughout the season.
What this deal reminds me of is the addition of Nick Foligno ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. Almost immediately after he was in the lineup, you could tell Foligno, who wound up signing a two-year extension last January, added steadiness to a rebuilding lineup and helped show younger players like Bedard and Kurashev how to be everyday players in the best league in the world.
Related: Ranking the Blackhawks’ 2024 Free Agent Signings
And that’s all you can hope for. I doubt this team will legitimately compete for a playoff spot this season, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be playing important games in March and April. Having won three Stanley Cup titles and having played in a hell of a lot of playoff games — 131 to be exact, with five playoff runs of at least 19 games — the 15-year veteran knows what it takes to win.
Some have suggested Martinez could be a useful asset to move near the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, but just like how players like Foligno and Jason Dickinson re-signed with the club, it’s not hard to see Martinez paving a future for himself with the Blackhawks. If we’re 30 to 40 games into the season and see the influence the Rochester Hills, Michigan native has on the team’s younger blueliners, it may be worth offering him another one, maybe even two, years with the club.
If you’ve made it this far in the story: Yes, this moment was a heartbreaker for Blackhawks’ fans. The back and forth between Chicago and those California teams were some of the best hockey that fans had ever seen. What a privilege to have witnessed it.
But fans are still sour about the moment, and now reminded of it again after Martinez’s signing, just remember what he was able to do just over a week later.
Maybe his arrival in Chicago is a step towards the Blackhawks returning to their own glory. Whatever it is, it’s a step forward. Even if it’s just one at a time.
