Chicago NHL team lifts interim GM tag for Ottawa's Kyle Davidson

Chicago hired Kyle Davidson as general manager on Tuesday, dropping his interim tag instead of going outside the floundering NHL franchise for new leadership.

Davidson has been with the club since joining as a hockey operations intern in 2010. The 33-year-old from Ottawa also has worked as a video analyst, hockey operations manager and assistant GM.

"Today is another step not just for me, but for my teammates within the organization and [Chicago] fans across the world," Davidson said in a statement. "I'm committed to building a winning team on and off the ice the right way — improving our internal framework and processes and working closely with a strong team of people to make decisions."

Davidson was among six known candidates for the job. The team said it interviewed Carolina Hurricanes assistant GM Eric Tulsky, former NHL forward Scott Mellanby, longtime NHL executive Peter Chiarelli, Tampa Bay Lightning executive Mathieu Darche and Chicago Cubs executive Jeff Greenberg.

Former Chicago forwards Eddie Olczyk, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp assisted CEO Danny Wirtz and president of business operations Jaime Faulkner with the team's search. Mike Forde, the executive chairman of Sportsology and a former executive with Chelsea FC, also helped in an advisery role.

"Kyle is one of the final pieces of this new executive team that will lead [Chicago] into the next generation," team chairman Rocky Wirtz said in a statement.

"Kyle's fresh lens, integrity, commitment and knowledge of the game are all characteristics I believe make him the right person to structure the team on the ice."

Davidson was elevated to the interim job after longtime GM Stan Bowman resigned in October in the wake of a report by an outside law firm that found the organization mishandled allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player during the team's Stanley Cup run in 2010.

Coach's status likely to be decided after season

The report also played a role in the departure of Al MacIsaac, another of Chicago's top hockey executives, and the NHL fined the team $2 million US for "the organization's inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response."

Two lawsuits related to Kyle Beach's allegations that he was assaulted by then-video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010 were resolved in December.

Davidson made his first big move on Nov. 6, firing head coach Jeremy Colliton and giving Derek King the job on an interim basis. He likely will wait until after the season to make any announcement on King's status.

Chicago (19-27-8) began this year with playoff aspirations, but it dropped its first nine games and never recovered. It has made just one post-season appearance over the past five years.

"We have a vision here for the future of [Chicago] hockey and today we are a step closer to that coming together," CEO Danny Wirtz said in a statement. "As an organization, we know we have a lot of work to do on and off the ice and Kyle is the leader we trust to oversee our hockey operations."

The next big task for Davidson is making the most of the March 21 trade deadline. Chicago traded its 2022 first-round pick to Columbus in the Seth Jones deal in July, and they would love to recoup that lost draft capital.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, defenceman Calvin de Haan and forwards Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik could be on the move.

Toews clears concussion protocol

Chicago captain Jonathan Toews has cleared the NHL's concussion protocol, head coach Derek King said Tuesday.

The veteran centre has missed the last 11 games and could return as soon as Thursday night against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. He last played on Jan. 26.

Toews, 33, has four goals and 19 points in 43 games this season. The forward has 349 goals and 834 points in 986 NHL regular-season contests since Chicago drafted him third overall in 2006.

The three-time Stanley Cup winner missed the entire 2020-21 season with chronic immune response syndrome.