<p>The trail went Cole for the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks?_gl=1*x08tje*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTQ1ODAxMTcyNy4xNzgyOTIwMTQ3*_ga_K0F0MB46T8*czE3ODI5MjAxNDYkbzEkZzAkdDE3ODI5MjAxNDYkajYwJGwwJGgw" target="_blank" >Blackhawks</a> during the opening hours of NHL free agency Wednesday.</p><p>The Hawks failed to sign a top-six winger —&nbsp;or trade for one — but instead simply added depth in the forms of forward Cole Smith and defenseman Ian Cole.</p><p>Smith, 30, received a three-year contract with a $3 million salary-cap hit. Cole, 37, got a one-year contract with a $4 million cap hit (and could earn up to an additional $750,000 via games-played bonuses).</p><p>Those contracts pale in comparison to <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2026/07/01/blackhawks-bowen-byram-contract-nhl-defensemen-free-agency" target="_blank" >Bowen Byram’s six-year extension</a> with a $12.5 million cap hit —&nbsp;the Hawks' headline news of the day — but they're still somewhat steep. Smith and Cole's cap hits were $1 million and $2.8 million, respectively, on their previous contracts.</p><p>The two Coles bring physicality and penalty-killing expertise, traits that general manager Kyle Davidson said he wanted to add this summer.</p><p>"We want some guys that have had success in the league...penalty killing," Davidson said.