I'm not going to do a cliché "what I'm thankful for" blog today. That is because I've already done a cliché "what I'm thankful for" blog for Canadian Thanksgiving in October.
I am going to stick with the positive and "thankful" theme though; I want to take a different take on how this season could be extremely beneficial for the Blackhawks organization, even if they end up in the bottom 10 teams in the league.
I won't sugar coat it, while I remain an optimist in life, I also always admit that I am a realist.
The reality is that this 2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks team is a bubble team at best and I have them slated to be in the bottom of the Central Division and taking up residence near the bottom of the Western Conference.
I hope I'm wrong with that assessment. I will be very pleased if I am so wrong and Jeremy Colliton turns this entire team around.
However, if the Hawks do finish on the outside of the bubble / near the bottom of the conference – here are some things to still be grateful for:
* The "Core" is Back – for at least a couple years, anyway. It looks like Toews is good again, Keith is better (not Norris level but better) and Seabrook is much better than last year. Kane isn't included in those guys because he just appears to be getting better every year. These guys can help keep this ship afloat for the foreseeable future while these younger players come up
* Corey Crawford is Back too! – do you know how damn hard it is to find a no. 1 goalie that you can count on night-in-and-night-out if you don't have one? Just ask Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues and/or the Dallas Stars (pre-Bishop).
Crawford, the recent #2 NHL Star of the week has been great this year and has a contract that expires in the summer of 2020. The Hawks don't have much certainty in the pipeline for a replacement unless Anton Forsberg or Colin Delia take that next step. The question will be if you can resign Crawford for a couple more years in 2020 at 35 for a similar $6M per year deal – do you do it? He could act as a buffer between goalies until one emerges or is acquired. Outside of his concussion issues, he doesn't have any signs of slowing down, however, with that being said, let's hope it's not 1-2 hits away from calling it a career.
* Let Henri Play – his play has trailed off a little lately, but the experience Henri Jokiharju is gaining is incredibly important to the future of this team. I've been vocal all year about staggering the progression of the "Future 4" defenceman (Jokiharju, Boqvist, Mitchell, Beaudin) for this organization because there is no way you can have them all in the lineup at the same time. Heck, even having 2-3 in there at once will be a recipe for disaster. Jokiharju is providing hope for those other 3 (along with others), as well as adding a year of professional experience under his belt in a year that was bound to be challenging.
* Let the Other Youngsters Play – along with Henri, I think you eventually see guys like Hillman, Gilbert, Dahlstrom have spot appearances in the lineup along the way. Up front, the Hawks are benefiting from the on the job experience Johnson, Fortin, Kahun and Kampf are getting.
* Let it Play Out in Rockford – I've been an advocate of Dylan Sikura coming up and joining the Hawks top 9 ASAP. However, I am sometimes an impatient person and to be honest, maybe it's best he continues to play alongside his brother in the AHL while he hones his skill set. I do believe he comes up at some point, but maybe not until 2019. The same goes for Victor Ejdsell who needs to work on some consistency.
* Face the Mirror – if the Hawks trail off and management finally admits to being a seller as the trade deadline approaches, this could really benefit this team for the long-term. Stan should look at all options for trades with Anisimov being an obvious candidate. I have my Nick Schmaltz specific blog coming up, but there are some whispers that management is reconsidering where he fits on this team. When this team public states that they are looking ahead to the future, this could be the beginning of the true "re-modeling". The Hawks have too many holes and if the core truly has turned that corner and have a few really good years left, I think there are some smart tweaks this team can make in-season to set them up for success for the mid-term future.
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Happy Thanksgiving to all of my US friends!
What do you think about the players/issues/thoughts above? Am I missing any areas that you will / are grateful for – even if this is a lost season?
See ya out there,
JL
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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