In the last three seasons, there have been 246 Chicago Blackhawks hockey games with 492 points available in the standings. The Blackhawks have attained 179 of them, for a three-season points percentage of .364. That’s as bad as any three-year stretch for this team since the 1950s, and that includes the Dark Ages of the early/mid-2000s. Yeah, some of that was according to the plan.
But we’re done with this shit now, right? We’re finished with this part of the process, aren’t we?
How many more games need to be tanked? After next month, what other draft lottery odds need to be sought? After this June, what other top draft picks need to be coveted?
The answer to all of those questions is — or, at least, what the answer should be — is none. Zip. Zero. Zilch Nada. All of that needs to stop, and it needs to stop now. This whole operation needs to start moving forward now after its seemingly endless string of steps in the opposite direction.
The Blackhawks still have a plethora of draft picks, including another lottery spot this summer. They have a healthy stock of prospects that will be reinforced once again in two months. Picks and prospects don’t win NHL games, though — players do that. And right now, this team doesn’t have enough players.
If there’s one conclusion to be drawn from this season, it’s of the Grand Canyon-sized gap between Chicago and the teams at the top of the league standings that it hopes to be among someday. The Blackhawks finished this season FORTY-SIX points away from the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Add 15 more to get to the No. 1 seed. Go by goal differential, and these Blackhawks were 133 pucks into the net away from a postseason berth. Sometimes it seems like it’s an impossibly long way to go — and that’s why they have to start right now. It doesn’t mean next season is all-in on chasing a Cup or even a playoff qualification, but this team simply cannot be 31st in the league again.
There’s been too much talk about establishing a winning culture from a team that hasn’t been, you know … winning. To quote the wisdom of another Chicago sports figure who’d has a championship ring: “Good teams win games, horseshit teams have meetings.” We know what the Blackhawks have been doing more of lately.
This is when the job really starts for GM Kyle Davidson. He’s been solid in the deconstruction of the roster he inherited while stocking the prospect pantry for a few seasons. Any GM can do that, though. Now’s the tricky part. Now’s when the smooth, savvy deals that may fly under the radar in the moment but become lauded for their brilliance in the future need to happen. The 2024 UFA free agent class doesn’t have a Marian Hossa in it but there’s still a body or two (TEUVO!) who could add some offensive talent to a forward group painfully devoid of depth. Chicago also has, roughly, 38,791,480 defensive prospects in the pipeline right now, so packaging one of those with a draft pick or two to nab a forward from a team looking to shed some salary cap is another option. Time to get creative, Kyle.
Maybe those additions end up as long-term pieces. Maybe they’re just short-term stints before prospects step up and replace them in the lineup. We can have those debates later. The story here is no longer about shedding talent solely for the sake of the future. The story is now about adding talent for the sake of the present.
Put away the tanks. It’s time to get this operation off the ground again.
Before we go, a quick thanks to everyone who clicked a link or read a story or downloaded a podcast or liked a tweet or interacted with this operation in any way over the course of this long, long season. We, quite literally, would not still be here without you and our gratitude for your support comes from the deepest depths of our hearts. There’s plenty more to come in the weeks ahead, but thank you, thank you, a million times: thank you for all of your support.