2022–23 NHL team preview: Chicago Blackhawks
LAST SEASON
The Chicago Blackhawks came into 2021-22 with higher expectations than in past seasons after making a couple big trades, landing Seth Jones and Marc-Andre Fleury to surround Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and the young core they were starting to build. However, any good will they had built was completely destroyed when allegations surfaced of Brad Aldrich sexually assaulting two former Blackhawks players, including Kyle Beach, during the team’s 2009-10 season and Stanley Cup run, with the Blackhawks deciding to not handle it until after the playoffs, and then trying to hide the story.
If the team was hoping to create a distraction on the ice as the investigation carried into the season, the hockey gods wouldn’t allow it. Chicago started off the season losing its first nine games and didn’t even have a lead in any game until its seventh contest of the season. It managed to recover and play roughly .500 hockey up until the trade deadline, when the team dealt Brandon Hagel and Fleury, but the Hawks went back to struggling afterwards, including an eight-game losing streak, and they found themselves out of the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.
During the season, the team moved on from longtime GM Stan Bowman, who resigned after the investigation stated that his failure to report the assault led to Aldrich committing further acts. Bowman was replaced by Kyle Davidson, who decided that a scorched Earth rebuild is necessary for the franchise. They moved on from key pieces of the team, including goal-scoring phenom Alex DeBrincat, with potential for more moves if they decide to deal the likes of Kane and Toews.
KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES
Additions
Andreas Athanasiou, C
Max Domi, C
Colin Blackwell, C
Jack Johnson, D
Petr Mrazek, G
Alex Stalock, G
Buddy Robinson, RW
Departures
Alex DeBrincat, LW (Ott)
Kirby Dach, C (Mtl)
Dylan Strome, C (Was)
Dominik Kubalik, LW (Det)
Erik Gustafsson, D (Was)
Colin Delia, G (Van)
Henrik Borgstrom, C (Was)
Kevin Lankinen, G (Nsh)
Brett Connolly, RW (UFA)
OFFENSE
Scoring was a struggle for the Blackhawks all season in 2021-22, as they tied for the fourth fewest goals per game in the league with 2.6, along with the second fewest 5-on-5 expected goals per 60 minutes with 2.08 and a power play that was at best OK with a 19.2 percent success rate that ranked 21st in the league. I wouldn’t hold my breath on that improving this season either, as of the eight players that had more than 25 points on the team last year, only Kane, Toews, and Seth Jones remain, including their leading goal scorer in DeBrincat.
Now, as long as you have Kane, you’ll probably get a lot of offense from his line regardless of who’s on it. His previous linemates in DeBrincat and Strome were second and fourth in points on the team, and while they both have skills that they bring to the table, there is obviously some benefit to playing with an elite scorer like Kane as well. He can still turn any of his teammates into competent scorers.
Beyond Kane, there isn’t a lot else to create a ton of offense, but there are some intriguing parts here and there. Toews isn’t what he used to be, but he can still generate some offense away from the spotlight, and while Seth Jones isn’t the elite all-around defenseman he’s paid to be, he can still put up some points, especially in a power play quarterback role. Tyler Johnson could maybe return to form in a top six role if he stays healthy, but the most intriguing options depth-wise are new additions Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou. Both have produced in the past, and could do so again in big roles with low expectations. They won’t turn this into a playoff-contending offense, but they could make it more interesting at least.
DEFENSE
Chicago was surprisingly competent defensively last season considering how bad the team was overall. It was still 26th in goals against per game with 3.52 and had the 24th ranked penalty kill at a 76.2 percent, but they actually ranked 13th in 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60, which is at least some sign of success for a bottom feeder.
Unfortunately, the team didn’t do a ton on the blueline to improve it. Their lone addition is Jack Johnson, and while I hate to tarnish any good reputation the recent Stanley Cup champion holds, he has a notorious reputation for tanking the on-ice results of everyone he plays with. He made Samuel Girard go from an elite-caliber defenseman in 2020-21 to incompetent defensively in 2021-22 in his time with the Avs. Even Cale Makar had poor possession stats when playing with Johnson. It’s a stealthy tank move, but if the team is looking to improve defensively, Johnson probably won’t help them do it, especially when they’re already feeding big minutes to Seth Jones, who hasn’t performed well in those for several years now.
At the very least, they still have decent options for shutdown roles on the blueline with Jake McCabe, Connor Murphy, and Caleb Jones. However, the forward core is a bit of a different story. A lot of people think of Toews as the backbone of that group, but his defense hasn’t quite been what it was from the Cup-winning days, and there really isn’t a lot to go off on the rest of the team. Kane is one of the worst forwards defensively in the league, Domi and Athanasiou aren’t highly regarded for their defense either, and the rest of the group features a lot of youth that haven’t quite established that part of their gamse yet. Colin Blackwell is a solid defensive forward at least, but he’s not the type you build a shutdown line around.
GOALTENDING
Chicago will see a complete overhaul in net in 2022-23, as Fleury, Kevin Lankinen, and Colin Delia all left either at the trade deadline or free agency. Instead, they’ll be relying on the services of Petr Mrazek, whom they got in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a salary dump to get a first round pick. Behind him they’ll get some combo of Arvid Soderblom, who had a strong AHL debut last season, and journeyman NHLer Alex Stalock, whom they signed in free agency.
Mrazek is coming off the worst season of his career, as he never found the right footing with the Leafs, and had an .888 save percentage and allowed 10.25 goals above expected at even strength. He is a year removed from his best season when he was with the Carolina Hurricanes, so the potential is there, but he’s also moving from a strong defensive team in Toronto to a weaker one in Chicago, so that could hurt him as well. Stalock could be the backup considering his history in the NHL. He’s been okay throughout his career but never good enough to jump off the page, and at 35, he’s not a strong bet to suddenly steal a season in net. Soderblom, 23, is the higher-ceiling option. For now it’s going to be Mrazek’s net, so hopefully a change of scenery helps him improve and he can be a stable presence.
COACHING
It’s a new face behind the bench for the Blackhawks, with Luke Richardson taking the helm after an extensive search by Davidson over the summer. While Richardson certainly has experience in assistant coach roles with the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, and Montreal Canadiens, he’s an unknown factor as a head coach in the NHL. He did have a four-year stint as one with Ottawa’s AHL team, the Binghamton Senators, coaching them to a 153-120-31 record and two playoff appearances, but nothing of that nature in the NHL. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as that means he’s just as likely to excel as he is to disappoint, so he’ll be someone to keep an eye on next season.
ROOKIES
If there’s one nice thing about a season destined for tanking, it’s that the fans will get plenty of action from the young guns, especially after the trade deadline when Chicago inevitably sells off half the team and needs bodies for the rest of the season. It did a great job of recouping first round picks this year considering it dealt its own for Seth Jones, getting the seventh overall pick for DeBrincat, the 13th for Dach, and the 25th to take on Mrazek’s contract. The players chosen with those picks have bright futures, particularly Kevin Korchinski and Frank Nazar, but it wouldn’t be the worst idea to take it slow and let them develop before throwing them to the wolves. Nazar has already committed to play for Michigan this season in the NCAA.
They don’t have a ton of high-end young talent beyond that, especially after sending Adam Boqvist and their 12th overall pick in 2021 in the Seth Jones trade as well, and dealing Dach at this year’s draft, but they still have a few young guys who got some action last year and probably will get some more this year. Two to especially keep an eye on are Lukas Reichel and Alex Vlasic, who got into 11 and 15 games last season respectively. Reichel is the Hawks’ 2020 first round pick, so he still has loads of potential, and Vlasic actually put up some strong defensive results in his limited sample size of games, so there could be something there as well.
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. What will happen to Toews and Kane? The longtime Blackhawks are in the final year of their contracts, and with the massive teardown the team underwent this summer, there were rumors that the two could be moved as well. Will they make it to the start of the season? Will they re-sign? Will they be dealt at the deadline? Toews would be trickier to move, as even at 50 percent retained salary, it’s still a fair chunk for him, but Kane at $5.25 million would go for a very high price. It will probably be the most interesting aspect of a season of losing for Chicago.
2. How will the new bosses fare? It’s the first full season for Davidson at the helm of the Blackhawks, and it will be the first look at Richardson as the head coach. They shouldn’t be judged too harshly based on results considering the team is doing a full rebuild, but there are some things to keep an eye on with the two. Does Richardson create a strong culture and make a team that’s competitive, even if they lose? Does Davidson take every opportunity he can to improve the team in the long term? It could give some hope for the Chicago faithful, or it could be a sign of several more years of struggles.
3. Was Chicago right to trade everybody? There’s a fine line with rebuilds that is crucial not to cross when tearing the team down. While it’s important to move on from good players and veterans that can give you assets for the future, there’s a point where you can trade too many and get stuck in a rebuild. It’s something that caused the Buffalo Sabres to struggle for the past 11 years and only just start to develop hope now. Moving Hagel and Fleury at last year’s deadline was a strong start, but moving on from DeBrincat and Dach comes with high risk and high reward if they don’t pan out elsewhere, and letting Strome and Kubalik walk to free agency as RFAs seems risky when they could have been moved for some assets down the road. This question probably won’t be answered this season, but it’ll be interesting to look back on in the coming years when Chicago’s rebuild either leads to a contender or leads nowhere.
PREDICTION
Regardless of what happens to Kane and Toews this season, the Blackhawks will be bad. It’s just a matter of how bad they are. I can see Kane having a few five-point nights that win them a few more games than they should, so if he’s gone before the start of the season, this team might be a safe bet for a top five pick at worst.
The Central division will have a lot of competitive teams, and the Pacific is starting to improve as well, so the Blackhawks will be in tough for a playoff spot in the West and will more than likely join the likes of the Arizona Coyotes as the conference’s punching bag rather than become a huge threat.
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