What Your Team Is Thankful For: Chicago Blackhawks

As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Chicago Blackhawks. 

What are the Blackhawks most thankful for?

Cap space.  Unlike recent years, they actually have some thanks to their offseason dealing of Marian Hossa’s contract to Arizona.  The start of this season hasn’t gone well – they’re near the bottom of the league in goals allowed, sit in sixth place in the Central Division (St. Louis could pass them if they win their games in hand), and have let long-time bench boss Joel Quenneville go.  In previous years, they’d basically be stuck with what they have but since they sit more than $3MM under the Upper Limit per CapFriendly, GM Stan Bowman has the flexibility he has lacked to try to make in-season upgrades to his roster that should provide Chicago fans with a little bit of hope.

Who are the Blackhawks most thankful for?

Offense has been an issue for several core Blackhawks this season but Patrick Kane isn’t one of them.  He has played at a greater than 40-goal pace through the first 25 games of the season while he’s on pace for the second-highest point total of his career.  Yes, his contract is onerous with a $10.5MM cap hit but as long as he continues to produce like this and be among the league leaders in points (he’s tied for 12th heading into Friday’s games), he’ll be living up to the deal.  After a quieter 2017-18 campaign, he’s off to a much better start.

While Chicago is a veteran-laden team, they do have some young players making a notable impact.  Among those is Alex DeBrincat whose sophomore year has gotten off to a strong start as he’s ahead of his scoring pace from his rookie campaign.  It wouldn’t be surprising for Bowman to only look to make short-term additions with his cap space this season to make sure he has plenty of money available to extend DeBrincat’s deal as early as this coming summer.

What would the Blackhawks be even more thankful for?

Good goaltending, something they simply haven’t had a lot of.  Cam Ward has shown that Carolina made the right decision letting him go as he’s allowing more than a full goal per game more than last season while his .890 save percentage is his worst since his rookie year.  Corey Crawford hasn’t fared much better.  Granted, there was bound to be some rust after missing the better part of a year but his numbers are the worst of his career as well.  If Chicago plans to get back into the playoff picture, they’ll need to get a much better performance from his goaltenders.

What should be on the Blackhawks’ Holiday Wish List?

Everything needs to be on the table here.  They’re committed to giving Dylan Strome a look as their second line center but if he struggles, they’ll probably be on the lookout for help down the middle.  Shoring up their defense would go a long way towards helping their goaltending while if Ward continues to struggle, they may have a move to make there as well beyond giving Anton Forsberg or Collin Delia a look.  There’s money to work with but a lot of holes to fill as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.