The Blackhawks finished their season on April 18th with their 6th consecutive loss. They ended up with 52 points on the season, which was the franchise’s lowest point total since the 1956-57 season; remember that there year? Yeah, they only played 70 games in a season back then. Seriously, I have to double check this. Yep, 53 points in 1994-95; shit, even 59 points last year when we scored the #1 pick with Bedard. The Blackhawks were bad, really bad… not as bad as the San Jose Sharks, who turned in 47 points for the season, and will have better odds to get that #1 overall draft pick, but still pretty damn bad. And don’t worry Hawks fans. Having the best odds don’t mean shit, just ask the Ducks and Blue Jackets from last year. Yes, thankfully, Connor is in Chicago; that’s about the best news I got for you.
Furthermore, this is not the end for this Blackhawks team. On the contrary, it’s only the beginning. Yes, if I go back to my blogs from earlier in the year, I certainly expected more from this team this year, but that’s me with the rose-colored glasses; I’m always expecting better than expected for my teams. With Bedard in the mix, we could do anything! Playoffs? Sure. Well, I was wrong; I’ve been wrong before… I’ll be wrong again. Anybody want to bet this team will make the playoffs NEXT year? OK, let’s pump the brakes.
It was a shitshow. The depth was thin; the injuries piled up. Bedard missed a chunk. The team sucked. That about sum up the year? Yet, why don’t I feel so bad? Well, because this is not the end for the Blackhawks, but really only the beginning; did I already say that? Connor Bedard is good… really good, and he’s 18 years old. Biggest concern I have with him is that the Blackhawks don’t get enough talent around him and he jets. I’m not worried about how good he will be. He’s already good, and the sky is the limit. I’ve talked about some of the pieces the Blackhawks have locked up short term throughout the year; that’s a baby step. They recently signed another guy, just before the season closed. Heard of Frank Nazar? He was the Blackhawks first round pick in 2022, 1 year BC… “before Connor”… haha. He’d been doing his thing at the University of Michigan before joining the Hawks officially. In his first game, on his first shot… goal! Did we find the Robin to Bedard’s Batman? OK, we need more obviously. We’re going to get another high draft pick this year; that’s good. I expect some more free agent signings for sure this year. Even though the current front office lucked into Bedard, I still have faith in them to build around him; tough to grade them anything higher than a “C” this year, but with everything that happened, can’t necessarily flunk them. This offseason will be their next chance.
So, yeah, the year is over, and that’s fine… no need to drag it on any longer. The countdown now starts for the beginning of next year. Between now and then, I expect this Hawks roster to improve greatly, which will lead to a much better season… well, at least better than this historically bad one. Playoffs?!?! Go Hawks!
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