One prominent outlet has no confidence in the Blackhawks

Recently, The Athletic writers released their season previews, including where they think each team will rank in the 2026-27 season. Unfortunately for Chicago Blackhawks fans, the writers handed the Blackhawks the worst verdict in the Central Division, ranking them 29th out of 32 teams. Only the Kraken, Flames, and Canucks ranked below them. The closest Central Division team? The Nashville Predators at 27th.

The Blackhawks have made some strong moves this off-season, including signing Bowen Byram, re-signing Connor Bedard, and bringing back Patrick Kane for some veteran presence. However, after four consecutive bottom place finishes in the Central Division, is there really enough there to move the needle?

What makes the Blackhawks a bottom five team? Here's what The Athletic has to say.

Knight and Bedard could be the strengths

It's not surprising to hear that Bedard is a strength for the Blackhawks. All seven regular Blackhawk Up writers predicted that he'll lead the team in goals and points this season. Before being injured last season, Bedard was one of the best performing players in the league, not just in Chicago. He was up with McDavid and MacKinnon in points, and was nearing a 50-goal campaign. But injury and missed games held Bedard back from reaching those milestones. He finished with 30 goals and 45 assists. The Blackhawks are obviously stronger with Bedard than without, going 13-12-6 early in the season while he was in the lineup.

Spencer Knight, who The Athletic says will likely log about 88% of the responsibility in the net this year, could also be a pleasant surprise. He had good numbers last season, especially in goals above expected, ranking 11th among goaltenders. The Blackhawks will have to see what Knight's numbers look like in his second full season as a starter. Was last year a random fluke of success or can they count on him to steal games? It's one of the key things that could make or break a playoff season.

Defense is the weakest point

The biggest reason that The Athletic writers have low hopes for the Blackhawks is on defense. They described Chicago's defense as "one of the most unproven, shakiest groups in the league." The Blackhawks have just two players who don't have a negative Defensive Rating in The Athletic's system; Jordan Greenway and Cole Smith. Both of these players don't log many minutes.

Although Byram was a huge pick up for the Blackhawks, and will be their strongest defenseman this season, he isn't necessarily a top-pair guy on most teams. But with the state of the Blackhawks defense, he's the best they've got.

Beyond Byram, Vlasic has never been extremely consistent on the blue line, and neither Levshunov nor Rinzel have played a full season yet. None of these names instill a lot of confidence in the defensive core.

Up front, the Blackhawks have also struggled getting defensive support from the forwards. The Blackhawks top line was "on the ice for expected and actual goals against at the worst rate of all first lines in the NHL season". They are simply a team that struggles in their own end, and that will have to turn around.

Best and worst case scenarios

The Athletic predicts the best case scenario for the Blackhawks being a 90-point season. For this to happen, the young players would have to have strong seasons and a healthy Bedard would have to be dominant.

The worst case scenario would be 60 points and some big questions to face in the off-season.