Chicago Blackhawks Roundtable
203203Members
·1.4K1,401Posts
About
About
Create new post
Blackhawks Assembled One of the Worst Offensive Lines This Season
The Chicago Blackhawks are at the bottom of the standings this season, and it isn't just one thing that has the team there, it's many. One part of that is how the lines have been assembled this season. One of the worst lines offensively was put together and it lasted far too long.
The line of Teuvo Teravainen, Jason Dickinson, and Ilya Mikheyev had the fourth fewest goals for per 60 minutes from lines that played at least 150 minutes together at 5-on-5 this season. In 189 minutes, the trio scored 1.27 goals per 60 minutes.
The only three worse lines in 2024-25 are Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and Morgan Barron (205 minutes) with 0.88 goals for per 60 minutes, Andrew Mangiapane, Nic Dowd, and Brandon Duhaime (153 minutes) with 0.78, and Joel Kiviranta, Parker Kelly, and Logan O'Connor (308 minutes) with 0.19. What's very odd is the Blackhawks are second last in the NHL while the other three lines are from the two top teams in the league, the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals, and another strong team, the Colorado Avalanche.
Not to worry, this line won't be together for the remainder of the season as Dickinson has been shut down with an injury. Oddly enough, Teravainen has done well in his first season with the Blackhawks considering where they are and Mikheyev has exceeded expectations offensively and done a great job on the defensive side of the puck.
This is just a line that didn't work, and that happens. It's something the analytics department needs to take note of to help the coaches make informed decisions so that the Blackhawks can succeed moving forward.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.
See more
1
0
1
0
Blackhawks Need to Make Maple Leafs Their Primary Target
The Chicago Blackhawks need to make more big moves in the offseason and swing for the fences. This is an Original Six team with Connor Bedard and a lot of other talented young players and top picks. The turnaround hasn't happened yet, and adding a big piece to the mix will really help in advancing that goal of winning.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a team the Blackhawks have to target for a couple of reasons. Reason one is Mitch Marner. Reason two is Matthew Knies. These are two impact players that need contracts and Chicago has more than enough cap space to bring one of them in. It isn't going to be both.
Marner is a UFA and even though he's having a great season and finishing out the year as a Maple Leaf, the risk of losing him becomes higher with every passing day, especially after the team reportedly approached him about a trade to Carolina. This indicates Toronto has thought about life without Marner moving forward as a possibility.
As for Knies, he is a RFA, but without a contract for next season, is at risk of being offer sheeted. There is a lot of money on the books in Toronto and it will be extremely difficult for the Maple Leafs to pay Marner what he likely wants and give Knies a contract he is worthy of now and down the line. If it reaches the point where teams can offer sheet Knies, it will most definitely happen and force Toronto's hand. Expect the Blackhawks to be one of those teams and potentially offer the most.
Marner will likely get around $13.5-$14 million AAV on his next contract, becoming the highest paid winger in the NHL. He has proven he's worth that money in the regular season at least. Recently on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Jason Bukula said that "It could go to $9 million...Sign Knies first and see what's left over...because he's going to get offer sheeted."
Marner is more proven and can consistently put up over a point-per-game, but he has been questionable at times in the playoffs or big games. The 4 Nations Face-Off definitely helped his case for more money, not hurt it. Knies is five years younger, bigger and more physical, and can score goals. They are very different players and will require different sums of money to get.
The problem with sending an offer sheet and having it accepted and not matched is the Blackhawks would be sending some good draft picks back to Toronto while Chicago is still at the bottom of the league. If this move pulls them from the depths of the NHL immediately, then that matters much less.
There aren't a ton of options out there for the Blackhawks to make a splash in an offseason they must do so, but Toronto is a team that Chicago has to have their sights set on.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.
See more
1
0
7
0
Notable NHL Draft Comparisons Between Kyle Davidson and the Old Regime
Kyle Davidson has been the general manager in charge of three drafts for the Chicago Blackhawks and has done very well. We won't see a lot of the results just yet as prospects take time to develop, but it is still enough to compare what he has done in the draft with the old regime.
After being officially eliminated from playoff contention already this season, the Blackhawks have missed the playoffs in five consecutive seasons and seven out of the last eight. While the team did sneak into the play-in games in 2019-20, they were last in the division at that time too and wouldn't have qualified for the playoffs. So let's compare Davidson's three drafts to the five that came before him.
Davidson has drafted four players who have already played in the NHL including Kevin Korchinski, Frank Nazar, Connor Bedard, and Artyom Levshunov. The Blackhawks' top pick in each of the drafts have already debuted, so that is a good sign.
There are still four first-round picks yet to debut as well. These players are Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore, Sacha Boisvert, and Marek Vanacker. Three of them are in the NCAA, so it's out of the Blackhawks' hands for the time being.
Beyond that, there have been more than a few prospects who have already made some noise like Roman Kantserov and Nick Lardis for starters. There are plenty of promising prospects after that as well, but until they all debut in the NHL or never do, it's hard to judge and compare against picks from the old regime who have had more than enough time to pan out or not.
There are 18 players from the previous five drafts (39 picks) that have at least played a game in the NHL and 10 who have played at least 50 games. The success of the draft picks are pretty good, but the quality isn't all that great.
The Blackhawks have turned some players into regular NHLers like Henri Jokiharju, Adam Boqvist (questionable), Philipp Kurashev, Kirby Dach, Alex Vlasic, and Lukas Reichel, but the quality isn't there at all.
Jokiharju is definitely an everyday NHLer and was playing a second or third pairing role for the Buffalo Sabres for a while. After that, Boqvist has jumped around teams and hasn't fit anywhere, Kurashev possibly played himself out of a regular NHL job after this season, Dach is a solid player, but hasn't come close to living up to third overall, Vlasic has been great and fortunately is still in Chicago, and Reichel both hasn't played up to standards and hasn't been given a good enough chance to since the beginning of 2023-24.
Former first rounder Nicolas Beaudin was a bust and a handful of young defensemen have been up and down between the NHL this season, such as Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier, Nolan Allan, and Ethan Del Mastro.
I can commend the later picks that have hit or turned into someone who has potential from the old regime, but there's a reason why the rebuild is taking longer than the ideal situation. Give the Blackhawks a few years with what Davidson has done to really build the prospect pool and develop young players and this will be a great team for a long time.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.
See more
1
0
4
0
Former Blackhawk Taylor Hall Has Found His Stride With Hurricanes
The Chicago Blackhawks traded Taylor Hall what seems like half a season ago, but he has now appeared in 20 games for the Carolina Hurricanes. While the Blackhawks should have gotten more for him, a third-round pick was fine as the team was looking to move on from him anyways and go with younger players.
Hall is going to get his playoff run, and at a great time, he has stepped up and really found his stride with the Hurricanes, his seventh team in the NHL.
The veteran has six goals and 11 points since heading to Carolina, but after just one goal and two points in his first 12 games, he has turned back the clock with five goals and nine points in his last eight games including a hat trick in his previous game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Hall is on the Hurricanes' second line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jack Roslovic and it seems to be working. He is shooting more and hitting much more since joining his new team as not only do the Hurricanes control the puck more and get shots from everywhere, they forecheck hard and Hall has bought in.
The 33-year-old has fit in well in Carolina and some will be cheering for him to raise the Stanley Cup as the Blackhawks aren't in the race this season.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.
See more
1
0
2
0
Ex-Blackhawk Seth Jones Has Troubling Start With Panthers
The Chicago Blackhawks' big trade deadline move was trading Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Spencer Knight and more. This trade has set the Blackhawks up nicely for the future, and while Jones came in at the perfect time to Florida with Aaron Ekblad missing the rest of the regular season, Jones' numbers have been troubling.
The eye test hasn't looked as bad as what Jones' numbers really are. Since joining the Panthers, he has been on the ice for one goal for and six against at 5-on-5. Every single other Panther defenseman to play for them this season, no matter how long, other than Adam Boqvist (on the ice for eight goals for and nine against) has at least been on the ice at 5-on-5 for as many goals for as against. Jones' difference is big through just eight games.
It's not like Jones' has gotten unlucky either. His expected goals for percentage is the lowest among Panthers d-men to suit up for them this season as well with 44.97%. Again, only Boqvist was close to him, but still better.
There are many more poor analytics to support the struggles in Florida so far. The Panthers' shooting percentage when Jones is on the ice at 5-on-5 is 1.61%. The lowest team shooting percentage when any other Panthers defenseman is on the ice is 7.69%. This is too big of a gap to be more than a fluke.
Jones has a 46.02 Corsi For %, 46.2 Fenwick For %, 48.06 Shots For %, 43.7 Scoring Chances For %, and 42.59 High Danger Chances For %. All of these are the lowest among the nine d-men to play for Florida this season.
The numbers should get better, but it is not encouraging for the Panthers who just invested a lot into having Jones on the team for a number of years. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Blackhawks might not be winning, but there are plenty of talented young d-men who are developing in the AHL and NHL and haven't been overpaid and underperformed yet.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.
See more
1
0
10
0
Chicago Blackhawks Roundtable Community
There are no posts yet
About Chicago Blackhawks RoundtableChicago Blackhawks news, video, analysis and community on The Hockey News
Follow all Blackhawks news at https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawksGraemeMay 12, 2024
OwnerCreated
Members203
Posts1.4K