Despite missing playoffs, 2025-26 was a step forward for the Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks were mathematically eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night, making official what had been clear for the past couple of months.
But the good news for fans in Chicago is that unlike in the past few years, the Blackhawks missing out on the playoffs was not a forgone conclusion for the entire season.
Chicago got off to a hot start and was able to maintain it for a while, as 2023 first overall pick Connor Bedard took a huge leap toward superstardom before suffering an injury that robbed him of some momentum.
Between Bedard, the contract extension for Frank Nazar, the debut of Anton Frondell, the emergence of a solid, deep defense and the growth from franchise goalie Spencer Knight, the 2025-26 season should go down as a success in Chicago.
On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed why this year is a positive sign of things to come for Chicago, even if it’s not resulting in a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Tyler Yaremchuk: We’ll go to the Chicago Blackhawks, who were officially eliminated last night. I think we can still call this a step forward year for the Hawks. When we were back around Christmas time and January, they were right there in the conversation with San Jose. It was like, ‘Hey, these two franchises have really taken a step out of their rebuild.’ The Bedard injury really derailed things for a little bit, and they never really quite got back that momentum, but when you look at the state of this team… They’ve got some pieces on that blue line that are really impressive. Alex Vlasic’s been good for a while now, that’s not exactly a revelation, but you look at Louis Crevier… he’s a beast on that blue line. I think five of the six d-men they had in the lineup last night were under the age of 25. This is a team who I think can look back at this season, Hutts, and be like, ‘You know what, we’re on the right path.’ This fan base should feel confident that even though they playoffs dind’t come this year, they’re coming in the next few years.
Carter Hutton: Yeah, I think so too. And I think is this the Tyler Bertuzzi you’re going to get every single year now? He has been an absolute dog. He’s generating offense… he’s a nice piece that fits in well, and then paired with that back end and the guys coming, Frondell making his adjustment to the NHL, is Spencer Knight. Spencer Knight has been a great piece, a great add, you look back to that trade with Seth Jones and the Florida Panthers. Moving forward, you kind of have your guy for the future, and I think there is value. I think you can build around that… That gives you a lot of room to move forward.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…