Nick Foligno has fashioned a 17-year NHL career as a smart, hard-working, caring and emotional hockey player. The Blackhawks 36-year-old de facto captain usually doesn't hold back his feelings — or words — especially after a game. He's pissed: Nick Foligno fights Devils defenseman Brendan Smith in New Jersey on Jan. 5 after Smith broke Connor Bedard's jaw with a hit. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNDI3NzQzNDE5ODY4NTA4/usatsi_22229957_168401008_lowres.jpg] He's pissed: Nick Foligno fights Devils defenseman Brendan Smith in New Jersey on Jan. 5 after Smith broke Connor Bedard's jaw with a hit. Following Chicago's 5-4 overtime loss in its season finale at Los Angeles, Foligno admitted he was "pissed." The Blackhawks had blown a 4-3 lead in the final minutes of regulation, lost their sixth straight and landed in 31st place with a 23-53-6 record and their lowest winning percentage (.317) in nearly 70 years. "We are a team that needs to make some changes here," Foligno said. "This isn't good enough. This can't be good enough. This has to change drastically over the summer and we have to find a way, as individuals that have been here, to come back and have a mindset of getting this thing turned around. "I'm sure the management will look at bringing in people as well for next season. ... It's going to be a long offseason to think about it." See following video. De facto Blackhawks captain says team has to change after lousy season capped by 5-4 OT loss in Los Angeles. FOLIGNO TRIED TO IMPART GOOD HABITS, BUT... The Blackhawks are rebuilding, but they were supposed to be better with Connor Bedard and other additions, including Foligno. The forward played in all situations as his ice time increased to a 17:46 average per game (from 12:22 on a deep Boston team in 2022-23). His goals (17) and points (37) were his best since 2017-18 with Columbus. Don't judge Foligno's value by traditional stats, however. The son of former NHL sniper Mike Foligno and older brother of Marcus Foligno of the Minnesota Wild, Nick Foligno sets an old-school, straight-line, reliable example. This "old man" remains strong and ornery on the boards and in one-on-one battles. Foligno goes to hard areas and parks at the net front. He makes the smart plays that help his team hold on to the puck and prevent opponents from getting it too easily. When the Blackhawks did have a lead late, he was on the ice. A wave of injuries to Taylor Hall and others hurt. So did the release of Corey Perry for violating team policies. But even with an influx of inexperienced, but talented kids, the Blackhawks made too many mistakes, weren't ready to play often enough... The list goes on. It had to grind even on Foligno, a high-energy father of three who put his heart into the Blackhawks to get them to "play the right way" more consistently. Foligno, who entered the season with a one-year $4 million contract, received a two-year extension at $4.5 million to help push the Blackhawks to the next level. "We have to change," Foligno said. "I want to change. We can't go through this again. I certainly won't and won't allow it. So either the mindset changes or personnel changes. That's just the way it is in the NHL. We're moving forward trying to become a winning team." A REVISION... Foligno walked back his words a bit two days later at the team's exit interview day. Then he added some more. After all, Foligno "never stops talking," coach Luke Richardson likes to joke. Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyOTgxMTA2MjgxNTU1MDEy/usatsi_22108379_168401008_lowres.jpg] Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno. "I think I was little pointed at the end of the year because I was pissed off about the loss," he said. "I think guys understand that now we're going to work towards that. "There's years like this when it seems like we took a step forward and two steps back sometimes," he added. "I think that's what frustrated me with this group. It's that you could see promise and we just didn't sustain it enough. I would get a little frustrated with that. You know it was in there" See video. Blackhawks Nick Foligno talks about 2023-24 shortcoming. Foligno was captain of the Blue Jackets for six seasons. The Blackhawks aren't sure yet if they'll have one next season, or continue to rely an a group of alternates, with Foligno being the most visible and vocal. But the only place Nick Foligno is going is back to Sudbury, Ontario to decompress at a summer home. That's where his dad coached him and brother as junior players with the OHL Sudbury Wolves.
