Opinion: Chicago Blackhawks Taking Steps In The Right Direction…Seriously

Golden Age of the NHL

The first is a very big picture; the NHL has never been better, and each team is getting so good, which means playoff spots aren’t as easy to come by as before. Look at the final standings from last year; you had three teams fail to reach the 70-point threshold (SJS 51, CHI 61, NSH 68). This season, that number will likely be just one, with Vancouver being the lone team under that mark.

This late in the season, you have a lot of teams that are still in the hunt for playoff spots, with 7 points separating the last wild card spot and the 8th place team in the West, and 5 points separating the last wild card spot and the 6th place team in the East. The NHL, as this league keeps improving, it’s going to get even harder to make a jump into playoff contention, and when you have a team as young as the Blackhawks, you almost need to play each night perfectly, which is almost impossible even for the top teams.

Incremental Improvements

The second thing to consider is what this team has been doing on their own, and to see what I am talking about, you just simply need to look at the numbers. Through 74 games this season, the Blackhawks have a record of 27-34-13 for 67 points. Compared to last year at this point, that’s a 6-win and 16-point increase with 8 more games to go, those numbers will likely go up a little bit more. In fact, last season the team finished with just 61 points all season, so that alone is a big win for this team in terms of improvement.

They have taken playoff teams to the brink, including a series sweep against the Utah Mammoth, 3 of 4 games against the Minnesota Wild to overtime, and even picking up a win against them, and winning the season series against the Dallas Stars, which is no easy feat considering they are a true Cup contender. When you aren’t in the race for the playoffs, those are the small victories that really show what this team is capable of.

Blackhawks Youth Development

Finally, the players you want to see taking a big step are doing just that. You have Connor Bedard setting career highs in both goals and assists, and if it wasn’t for that unfortunate injury, he could have been flirting with his first 100-point season as well. You have Frank Nazar finally settling in and becoming the player we hope he would be, putting up 14 points in his last 17 games. Then you have Anton Frondell jumping right in and showing the hype around him was much deserved, getting 4 points in his first 4 games.

The list goes on and on with how good these young players have been and giving just a tiny taste of what could still be on the way which make you realize even though it’s been rough, tossing the young kids out there and letting them carry the load the last few weeks of this season will play a huge factor for how these kids perform next year knowing what they need to do.

My Thoughts

At the end of the day, all that matters to most fans is whether you make the playoffs or not, which is fair. However, those days are coming, and when the Blackhawks get back to being a playoff-contending team, this is one of those seasons that you are going to be able to look back at and say, “That’s where things changed.”

The pieces are all there, and you have coaches and players who all seem to be on the same page and buying into the long-term goals and not getting hung up on the short-term struggles. The future of this team is looking more than good. With another top-five draft prospect coming this June and plenty of trade pieces to work with, this team is only going to get better. The real question here is, as fans, can you buy in and trust the process for just a little bit longer?

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