Only six RFAs that played in the NHL last season remain unsigned. Adam Proteau at The Hockey News ranked the six of them by their teams’ pressure to sign them.
Of the six teams that have RFAs remaining, the Chicago Blackhawks were ranked last with defenseman Wyatt Kaiser. Mason McTavish (Anaheim Ducks), Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils), Luke Evangelista (Nashville Predators), Rasmus Kupari (Winnipeg Jets), and Alexander Holtz (Vegas Golden Knights) are all ahead.
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Let’s break down a fun little pressure-o-meter on the six remaining RFAs: https://t.co/QxQNMgM3YA
This is a fair ranking. Although Kaiser looked great in his 57 games played during the 2024-25 season, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Chicago also has lots of defensemen who deserve a look at the beginning of the year. Connor Murphy and Alex Vlasic are locks to play often. After them, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Kevin Korchinski, Ethan Del Mastro, Louis Crevier, and Nolan Allan all need ice time. Whether that is with Chicago or Rockford remains to be seen for most of them.
When Kaiser does return, that will make it nine players looking for ice time on the blue line. With only one true veteran – Connor Murphy – in the mix, that is a lot.
Based on these facts, there is no reason for the Blackhawks to give Kaiser what he wants right away. If he wants more ice time, money, and term on his contract, he has to play more and earn it. There are plenty of players in the organization who are on a similar trajectory.
When the Blackhawks do finally get Kaiser extended, they will be a better team for it. Adding a solid defensive player who is smart on the ice is something they are looking to do. They just don’t have that much pressure on them to get it done on his terms more than their own terms.
With all the cap space that Chicago has, they can afford to make him happy while also forcing him to prove his long-term worth.
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