Blackhawks' Playoff Drought Not as Grim as Five Other Teams
The Blackhawks may be in a rebuild and have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, but it could be worse.
Blackhawks' Playoff Drought Not as Grim as Five Other TeamsThe Chicago Blackhawks last made the playoffs in 2020, marking four years since the team was in the postseason. Despite the drought, the Blackhawks do not even have one of the five longest current playoff dry spells in the NHL.
Entering the 2023-24 postseason, five clubs have missed in more consecutive years. Three other teams most recently qualified for the playoffs the last time the Blackhawks did.
Chicago's last playoff appearance came in 2020 during the 2019-20 season that was shut down by COVID-19 in March. The Blackhawks missed the playoffs in the two seasons prior, and this one was headed in the same direction. The team was last in the division and two games over .500, but the 12th-place club in the conference faced the fifth-place team in the "bubble" play-in games later that summer in that unique season.
The Blackhawks, being 12th, were able to knock off the Edmonton Oilers and advance to the first round. Many consider the play-in games as a playoff appearance since the stats counted, but if you didn't, Chicago still made it to the first round in an unlikely way.
Without the pandemic, the Blackhawks shouldn't have made the playoffs in 2020. So if the the NHL hadn't shut down and then reverted to the bubble play-in, Chicago's current drought would be up to seven years. Since 2016-17, when the Blackhawks finished first in their division and last made the playoffs without a shortened season, the team has finished last in the division four times, second-to-last twice, and third-to-last once.
Despite all of that, the Blackhawks have qualified for the playoffs more recently than the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators,, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.
The Sabres are already several years past the previous NHL record for consecutive seasons missing the playoffs and haven't made it since 2011. The Red Wings' dynasty came to an end in 2016 and they've been rebuilding and building up since. Detroit narrowly missed the playoffs based on fewer regulation wins this season.
The Senators, despite amassing a lot of talented young players, have yet to take a step forward and haven't qualified since 2017. The Ducks team that was very good for a long time fell in 2018 and they've been rebuilding since.
All of the old guard that helped the Sharks do so well for so many years finally trickled out and the team missed the playoffs in 2019. This is the only club that finished lower than the Blackhawks this season. It may be a long while until San Jose sees postseason action again.
Three other teams last made the playoffs in 2020. Just like the Blackhawks, two of these three teams' droughts would most likely be longer.
The Arizona Coyotes were 11th in the Western Conference in 2020, just ahead of the Blackhawks. They too advanced through the play-in round and lost in the first round. If the Coyotes hadn't got the fortune of the play-in, their last playoff appearance would have been 2012 when the team made it to the conference finals.
The Blue Jackets have struggled for most of their existence, but did appear in the playoffs for four consecutive seasons under John Tortorella. The last time was also in the shortened 2019-20 season. The difference here is Columbus was close to making the playoffs under normal circumstance They were tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs in points, but were ranked ninth in the Easter Conference. Columbus did end up making it out of the play-in as well.
The third team that also hasn't made the postseason since 2020 is the Philadelphia Flyers. For 10 straight years, the Flyers made the playoffs then missed the following season, flipping back-and-forth. In 2020, the Flyers were the fourth ranked team in the Eastern Conference and didn't even have to participate in the play-in round, but lost in Game 7 in the second round.
The Blackhawks will likely move into the bottom-five next year with the Red Wings, Sabres, and Senators all having higher expectations. Surely one of those teams will make the playoffs. While it seems like a long playoff drought for the Blackhawks, another great team may be on the way.