The Hawks pulled off another win, coming back from sunny Florida with 4/4 points.
After the 3-2 SO win vs. Coach Q and the Panthers, AC/DC's "A Long Way to the Top" was once again blaring from the Hawks dressing room.
CHI has a 7% chance of making the playoffs after those wins, so yes gents, it is a long way to the top.
The trade deadline was a point of discussion all season and considering that the Hawks didn't put themselves in a good enough position to warrant any additions, we all knew there would be some players moving out this February.
Gustafsson and Lehner were the said players shipped out, now the Hawks' team is what it is in the remaining month+, which will see them, play 17 games from here until April 4th.
There is a lot of looking ahead to what Stan Bowman (or New GM) will need to do in the offseason, but one thing I wanted to point out is that, as maddening as this team has been all year, I actually really like them.
Would I like this Blackhawks team more if they had more skill, which equaled more, wins? Of course.
I really wish we were discussing this team as an "underdog" that came out of nowhere to easily solidify their position in the playoffs at this point in the season because they would be a fun team to root for.
Jonathan Toews has been trying to single-handedly drag this team through the mud all year. Outside of a slow start, he's been nothing short of fantastic all season.
Patrick Kane is pure insanity; I'm not sure how this guy is getting better at his age.
Duncan Keith looks much better from last year and is leading the charge from the backend.
Brandon Saad is skating as well as he has since returning to Chicago.
Corey Crawford has stayed healthy and playing at an extremely high level all season. Much of this was thanks for sharing playing time - and being pushed, competitively – by Robin Lehner.
Dominik Kubalik has been a revelation for Stan Bowman. He's up to 29 goals and showing no signs of slowing down.
The off-ice best friend duo of DeBrincat and Strome. Would be even better if their on-ice play was equal to las year.
Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist look like they have stud potential and are making an impact this year as they learn on the job.
Connor Murphy has cemented himself as a top 4 D in this league and is being praised for that, even outside of Chicago finally.
Ryan Carpenter has grown into one of the leaders within that dressing room and played his role perfectly.
… I could go on and on but as human beings, as you can tell, I find this to be a really likeable team. That's my opinion, you may hate these guys for the way they've played, or just hate them in general.
The chemistry appears to be the best it's been in a few years and the players are echoing that thoughts. They are having fun playing together, they battle (and fight) for each other and legitimately think they can make the playoffs together.
It doesn't look like that will be the case this year and when you look at the work that the Hawks need to do in the offseason, the reality is, as much as these guys might be likeable, changes need to happen.
Stan Bowman can't just re-sign Strome, Kubalik, Caggiula, Crawford and tweak a couple of pieces and call it a summer.
Zach Smith and Andrew Shaw have been shut down for the 2019-20 season, so there are a couple more guys that are still under contract for next year.
What happens with them?
Also, will Brent Seabrook be ready for the year / able to skate again after his 63 surgeries?
Calvin de Haan was looking like a top pairing dman before injuring his shoulder… again!
Can the Hawks rely on any of these guys for the 2020-21 season? It's going to be real difficult to plan around all of these injuries because those 4 players combine for $18M+ in cap space.
I will be looking at this and a lot of other "future" POVs as this season plays out.
This week I'll have a look at the games Tuesday (ANA), Thursday (EDM) and Friday (DET), pulling any player or team storylines out from those games.
Also, on Friday, we will take a deep dive into my thoughts on where I think the Blackhawks are going with their goaltending situation moving forward.
See ya out there!
TC