The Chicago Blackhawks had a rough follow up season to their Stanley Cup win in 2010. It was a rollercoaster ride where they flashed some signs of the team that topped the league, but they also displayed fatigue.
While 2010-11 is behind them, the Chicago Blackhawks now have an offseason
to retool and make another run at the title. Anyone who follows hockey knows
that the Blackhawks were not the same team with goaltender Anti Niemi and
forward Dustin Byfuglien, but at the same time, they do realize that Chicago is
deep, talented and with a few tweaks and another year of experience for Corey
Crawford, and this time might be back in the mix for another Stanley Cup.
Last years NHL betting futures had listed them as a top 3 Cup contender, behing the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. NHL bettors should note that while all of these three made it into the Playoffs, only the Washington Capitals advanced to the Conference Semifinals. The Chicago Blackhawks fell to the Vancouver Canucks 3-4 in the first round, and now the Canucks have a shot at winning this years Cup.
What They’ve Got:
There’s no question that you have to start with captain
Jonathan Toews, who is the team’s most valuable player. He set career highs in
assists (44), points (76) and plus-minus rating (plus-25). Along with Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and
Marian Hossa, the Blackhawks rarely have to worry about scoring.
They have an excellent foundation on defense as well with
Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell and Brent Seabrook, who are among the best trio in
the game. In net, the Blackhawks have a good, young goaltender in Crawford, who
had some ups and downs, but looked fantastic at times – including in the latter
part of the first round of the playoffs – and has shown enough to give the
Blackhawks faith that he can be a quality No. 1 netminder going forward.
What They Need:
The Blackhawks have an excellent top-line center in
Toews, and Dave Bolland is the perfect third-line checking center, but the
Blackhawks could use a big, tough center in between on the second line.
Overall, this team doesn’t have a ton of depth at center, which became very
evident when Bolland missed time with injury.
Speaking of injuries, the Blackhawks do need some better
luck in that category but some rest might help them. After going to the
conference finals in 2009, then winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, the Blackhawks
had played a ton of hockey over the last couple of seasons. That took its toll
last season as almost all of their top stars missed time with injuries. A longer
offseason of rest will be just what the doctor ordered.
The Blackhawks could use a little more depth on the blue
line as well, but that could be solved in-house. Chris Campoli could be
re-signed and while Niklas Hjalmarsson had a disappointing season, the team is
holding out hope he proves worthy of the four-year, $14 million contract he
signed last offseason.
Outlook:
If the Blackhawks can stay healthy, there is little
reason to believe they won’t be a Cup contender. The key will be goaltender
Corey Crawford, who had his good and bad moments as a rookie. He just needs to
find some more consistency, which is likely to come with the more experience he
gathers.
This offseason, they’ll have to evaluate whether they
want to pursue restricted free agents Michal Frolik, Viktor Stalberg, Troy
Brouwer, Jake Dowell and Chris Campoli (read what positions other NHL teams need to fill). Meanwhile, they’ll likely allow all of
their unrestricted free agents like Marty Turco, Tomas Kopecky, Fernando
Pisani, Jordan Hendry and Ryan Johnson walk, although Johnson is the most
likely to be kept.
There won’t be wholesale changes to this team; just a
little more rest, better health, some additional depth at center and some more
experience from Crawford is all it takes for this team to return as a No. 1
contender.