“We don’t ask them to do these,” Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson clears rumors surrounding Nick Foligno’s involvement in Tyler Bertuzzi’s trade

Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says Nick Foligno’s actions in Tyler Bertuzzi’s trade were totally personal and not instigated by the organization.


“We don’t ask them to do these,” Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson clears rumors surrounding Nick Foligno’s involvement in Tyler Bertuzzi’s trade

Kyle Davidson, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Nick Foligno [Image Credit: The Rink/Imago]

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson reveals that the organization did not push forward Nick Foligno to talk to Tyler Bertuzzi regarding trade. The Blackhawks were interested in adding the former Maple Leafs player to their roster in hopes of restructuring and strengthening the team.

However, Bertuzzi’s trade became quite a controversial topic and it was even suspected of tampering accusations. On the first day of free agency, the Blackhawks signed eight players. Among them, the 29-year-old penned a deal of $22 million for 4-year on an average $5.5 million AAV.

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Following the official procedures, Tyler Bertuzzi later revealed that he received a phone call from Nick Foligno ahead of the opening agency. Their talk convinced the forward to join the veteran’s team as “they were interested” in him. Prior to the call, Bertuzzi didn’t even think of joining the Blackhawks.

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Chicago wasn’t really on my radar. The day before free agency, Nick Foligno called me and said that they were interested. I was obviously excited about that and things went on from there.
Tyler Bertuzzi as per X.

Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says they have never instigated Foligno to speak with Bertuzzi or entice him to join the organization. “Nick’s got a lot of friends around the league,” and Bertuzzi just happened to be one of them. “We don’t ask them to do these things but Nick cares,” Davidson noted.

Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson talks about 2024 vision for his team after player signings

Just like every other team in the National Hockey League, the Chicago Blackhawks dream of winning the Stanley Cup in 2025. To do that, team restructuring and strengthening are crucial points, as per GM Kyle Davidson. He happily noted, “We added a lot of talent…we elevated our group.”

Kyle Davidson [Image Credit: Imago]
Kyle Davidson [Image Credit: Imago]

The training camp will begin in September and it will show the results of the team’s potential to participate in the regular season games and qualify for the Stanley Cup. Last season, the team took the eighth spot in the Central Division with a score of 23-53-6.

We want to be better. We want to be able to go into games…play with the puck more and control the game a little more and obviously get more wins as a result.
Kyle Davidson as per Heavy.com.

Bertuzzi said, “I’m looking forward” to meeting all the Blackhawks members and challenging the NHL teams for the Cup spot. Davidson has confidence in the team as the coach will have many star players in line to add and reshape the team for 2024-25 regular season games.

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