Blackhawks need more than just Connor Bedard to succeed
All signs pointed to this being the year the Chicago Blackhawks would begin to emerge from their rebuild. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson made win-now moves over the offseason by trading the fourth overall pick for defenseman Bowen Byram and signing franchise legend Patrick Kane. Star center Connor Bedard appeared poised to announce himself as one of the game’s most dominant offensive players.
11 games into their season, however, and Chicago has just three wins for six points to sit at the bottom of the Central Division. Bedard missed the the Blackhawks’ first half-dozen games while recovering from shoulder surgery, but the team has gone just 2-3-0 in the five games since he’s returned. At some point, Chicago fans must be wondering if this rebuild will ever end.
On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed their level of concern with the Blackhawks’ early-season struggles.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Chicago Blackhawks got off to a bit of a rough start and everyone kind of just said “Wait until Connor Bedard’s back in the lineup.” Then Connor Bedard returned and they just kept losing. This was supposed to be a team that was going to take a step forward. Hutts, from zero to 10, what’s your concern level for the Chicago Blackhawks?
Carter Hutton: It’s like an eight at this point. I just think, at what point are we done the rebuild? Do we need to be better? Do we need to find a way to win hockey games? I think a great example is, you’re playing a veteran team like Florida. You’re in a dog fight, it’s 2-2, and you find a way to lose that game late with just over two minutes to go. These are the games that you’ve earned the right to be in, and they’ve been in a lot of close games, but you’ve got to find a way to bank points. I think that the old theory of “We’re rebuilding, we’re in this situation,” it’s kind of going out the window at this point. I think you need to find a way to score goals, and if you look at those stats that Patty had up, their goals-for is 31st in the NHL. This is a team that’s supposed to be younger and creating offense. Goals-against is 31st in the NHL. Power play percentage is weak. That’s tough in a star-studded Central Division. I understand that expectations in the Central are lower, but at what point are we supposed to be going up the hill?
You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Tuesday’s episode here…
