The Chicago sports landscape has been playing musical chairs with the main 4 teams in the Windy City. The Blackhawks have been a bottom feeder on the bottom of the totem pole. The dynasty finally came to an end with the trade of Patrick Kane. The Captain, Jonathan Toews, went down with the ship and quietly hung up the skates for a moment as he has dealt with some issues with his health. The sexual scandal cover up that brought dark clouds to the organization with Brad Aldrich being a sexual predator and assaulted younger players like Kyle Beach. Many in the front office took the hit of the grenade when the pin came out of the closet. Then the savior, the son Rocky Wirtz, who took the team out of the dark ages and the team collected 3 Stanley Cups leaves Earth with his foot in his mouth as he passed away after dealing with the cover up. The bad hockey on the ice for the last several years. Then the silver lining… the Blackhawks got lucky as the lottery ball bounced in their direction and got the number one draft pick in the NHL. The Blackhawks picked the most coveted player on the board since Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.

That is a lot of gigawatts to resurrect the Indian Head sweater and bring hope to an organization that was going to head back to the dark ages. The savior is 18 year old Connor Bedard, and he is the real deal. Suddenly the White Sox organization along with the Bears are in complete chaos. The Cubs came close to being a wild card and stumbled in the last few weeks of the season. The Bulls are living in the average world of the NBA. The Blackhawks reemerge as the the top dog out of all the franchises in Chicago. The team has assembled some young talent on the ice who have a promising future for years to come.

GROWING PAINS

Connor Bedard is still a young pup so the team will have to be patient as he will have moments like his overtime try with goal tender veteran Marc Andre-Fleury, who swatted him away from the net like a fly. Bedard will be targeted by some who just want to welcome the kid into the NHL with hard hits. Some will use cheap tactics. Bedard will also show you why he will be compared to Sid the Kid Crosby and Connor McDavid so early in his career. This kid has the goods & it’s just when he can learn all his powers and control them on the ice on any given night. You will see mistakes. Are Head Coach Luke Richardson and his staff the right guys to coach all the young players the team has and at the same time win games on the ice?

Luke Richardson was part of that coaching staff for the Montreal Canadians back to the Stanley Cup finals in 2021. That Canadian team was filled with youth. Richardson will not have guys like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane veterans with whom you know what you get every single night. Guys that can police the locker room. Richardson’s history shows he can coach a younger core. The jury is still out if Richardson will be a bridge gap coach or the guy coaching Connor Bedard in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

BRIDGE GAP VETERANS

The Blackhawks have signed some veterans and made some trades to get some experience players surrounding the young talent.

The Blackhawks made a trade with the Bruins to bring back 18 year veteran Nick Foligno. Foligno is 35 years old and a scrappy guy that does the little things right. Most importantly with this trade, it gives the Blackhawks a leader in that locker room. Nick in every locker room of his career has left his imprint. He’s a guy that can take Bedard under his wing.

Corey Perry is 38 years old and has ties to Coach Richardson from their Montreal days. Perry was acquired by the Blackhawks in a trade with the Lightning. This will be his 4th team in 5 seasons. Three times in 4 years Perry has reached the Cup finals. Perry played 14 seasons with the Ducks helping them win a cup as he tallied over 400 goals.

The Blackhawks signed former Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson. Johnson is 36 years old and has 18 seasons under his belt with over 200 goals.

These trades and signings will help the youth right now on this Blackhawks team develop and not be shell shocked on the ice.

GOAL TENDING

The Blackhawks are coming back with two goalies they used last year. Petr Mrazek, a 31 year old back stop with 12 NHL seasons under his belt, will be the starter.

Mrazek was hurt last year as his record was not very impressive going 10-22-3 with 3.66 goals against average. The Blackhawks are hoping a healthy Mrazek will be better Mrazek in front of the net. The Blackhawks also have a young Swedish goaltender who played in 15 games for the team last year. Arvid Soderblom is only 24 years and had a record of 2-10 last year as a starter. Jaxson Stauber will start out in Rockford, the young goaltender went 5-1 last season for the Blackhawks.

The goal tending looks like the same ole song and dance for the Blackhawks. They are rolling the dice on a healthy Mrazek and hope the other guys can develop into something.

THE FUTURE

Lukas Reichel: A German & only 21 years old, was a guy that was promoted to the big team last year from Rockford of the AHL. Reichel, a Left Winger, had 15 points for the Blackhawks last season – 7 goals and 8 assists. The Blackhawks are hoping Reichel takes the next step in a full season in the NHL

Kevin Korchinski: 9 year defensemen drafted in 2022 7th overall in the first round. The team is excited by this young kid who can flat out play defense with a wicked slap shot. They think he will be part of the core with Connor Bedard.

Wyatt Kaiser: 21 year old defenseman drafted in 2020 3rd round 19th pick, 81st overall.

MY SLEEPER SIGNING

I like the signing of Ryan Donato, a center who’s only 27 years old. Donato played for the Kraken last year, also suited up for the Sharks, and has parts of seven season in the NHL. The Kraken, an expansion team in its second year, made the playoffs last year and Donato was part of that. Could he be part of Connor Bedard and the rest of the youth taking the next step in the future? Donato may get that playing time he needs with the Blackhawks to help his game and hopefully be a future part of this.

PROJECTED LINE UPS

1st line: Taylor Hall-Connor Bedard-Taylor Raddysh

2nd line: Phillip Kurashev-Andreas Athanasiou-Lukas Reichel

3rd line: Ryan Donato-Jason Dickinson-Tyler Johnson

4th line: Nick Foligno-Cole Guttman-Corey Perry

Defenders: Kevin Korchunski-Seth Jones

Jarred Tinordi-Connor Murphy

Alex Vlastic- Wyatt Kaiser

Goalies

Petr Mrazek- Arvid Soderblom

The Blackhawks as you can see have some veteran presence from last year’s team. On defense is over-paid Seth Jones. Then Connor Murphy, a leader, is a nice keeper. I like how Taylor Raddysh has developed over three seasons as a Blackhawks

Raddysh was a 20 goal score last year and is a nice option for that Connor Bedard line to execute every night on the ice.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS

This season will not be about wins and losses for the Blackhawks. You would love to see this team take that next step to the playoffs & then you know everything somehow jelled together. If the team loses, then you will be adding another potential high pick to the mix. So either or it’s a win/win. This season will be watching Connor Bedard develop into the next Patrick Kane. In hopes that perhaps this young talent goes beyond Kane and closer to Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid; guys that goalies fear. Kane was special, but this kid could be the guy that breaks all the original six teams’ records. The Blackhawks have a rich history and a ton of greats on that list. You hopes it pays out in Stanley Cups over the marathon of his career. This year it will be watching Bedard grow and whoever else will skate with him in the future. This is like the dawn of the Michael Jordan era. Something special will happen any given time you turn on Blackhawks television. I don’t think the Blackhawks will make the post-season. I will predict they do better than last season with more wins.