Hockey is different. The drive, passion, intensity, and emotion make the sport so captivating. There’s nothing like playoff hockey, and even during the regular season, watching teams scratch and claw their way to the playoffs is unlike anything else. Each team’s path to the top differs, but they must start somewhere. It usually comes from the passion to be great.
The Chicago Blackhawks are the second-worst team in the NHL with no playoff aspirations. So where does that leave them? Knowing there is always something to play for makes hockey players unique, and the Blackhawks may have finally found their motivation for the season despite all the adversity they have faced.
How Do The Blackhawks Find Motivation?
Nothing about the Blackhawks’ season has gone right, in a season where nothing was expected to go right to begin with. They weren’t noted as a playoff contender, but they hoped they could surprise in some way. But everything snowballed at the same time. Corey Perry’s contract was terminated, Taylor Hall had season-ending ACL surgery, Jarred Tinordi, Seth Jones, Joey Anderson, and Andreas Athanasiou are on injured reserve. Defensemen Alex Vlasic (upper-body injury) and Kevin Korchinski (family matter) have been out of the lineup, and even Philipp Kurashev missed the game against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 19 due to illness. With missing half of their lineup and the heart and souls of the team on a team that was already struggling, how would the Blackhawks find the mental resiliency to play through it all? They’re not even halfway through the season, but part of being a professional is finding the answer.
In the last few weeks, you could see all the events were getting to the team. Their effort was shaky, and they looked emotionless, mostly just standing around. It seemed like the season could spiral out of control if they didn’t find an answer in the locker room, as forward Tyler Johnson said they needed to do, and without the depth and talent, the solution would always come from sheer determination and the will to win.
Last season, the players and coaches drilled it into everyone’s heads that they weren’t there to tank, despite knowing that was management’s objective. They showed up to play every game and came out with wins they had no business taking. That’s what hockey players do, having pure competitiveness above all else. This season seemed different, as it didn’t seem like that same competitiveness was always present. They started the season strong, beating teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, but came down to Earth shortly after. You never know what Blackhawks team will show up, and it is hard to gauge who they are. However, their games against the Vancouver Canucks (Dec. 17) and the Avalanche showed a side of the Blackhawks that was needed: motivation.
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Every single player found something to play for, and it was contagious, which led to some of their best efforts this season. Although they lost 4-3 to Vancouver, they were ready to play the entire game. Against the Avalanche, the script completely changed in the 3-2 win, in which they had Colorado on their heels.
The Blackhawks’ Will To Win
One thing that stood out about the Blackhawks from the past week was how the players discussed their goals. Before, their words seemed focused on how to get back in the win column and what needed fixing. But hearing what is currently driving the players made a difference in their recent play.
When Korchinski’s father Larry tragically passed away, the club flew from Seattle (after facing the Seattle Kraken) to Saskatoon to attend the funeral on Dec. 15. When they returned to Chicago, Nick Foligno said, “When a brother hurts, we all hurt, and we’re playing hard for him tomorrow.” The team stuck to those sentiments with their corresponding game against Vancouver; although the results were not there, the effort and heart was.
Colin Blackwell has been out of the lineup since February due to a sports hernia. He spoke in October and tearfully opened up about his rough recovery from surgery, facing a lot of bumps in the road, and dealing with pain. At that point, Blackwell said he could finally take his dog for a walk without pain, which gives a glimpse of what he was going through. He has not had it easy, but the good news came when he finally made his season debut against Colorado, and he had one of the best games I have seen him play. The 30-year-old was a firecracker, disrupting the opponents in a third-line role with three shots on goal and six hits in over 16 minutes of ice time. His motivation was more emotional; he wanted to feel like himself again, and he showed all of that and more, which was great to see.
For Lukas Reichel, his season has not gone to plan with being a healthy scratch, being bumped up and down the lineup, and switching from a starting center role to back to his natural left wing position, but it finally looked like he might have found his breakthrough. Before going into the Colorado game, he had two goals and six points in 29 games. But against Colorado, he scored a goal (his first since Nov. 30) while playing on the first line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato. It tied the game 2-2 in the first period, which eventually helped them win.
After he got healthy scratched on Dec. 3 due to his lack of production, head coach Luke Richardson asked him, “Do you really want to go after it? Or do you need more time to visualize and reset?” Reichel replied, “Oh, no. I’m ready.” After scoring the goal, Reichel said it had been mentally challenging for him to go through this stretch, but scoring and winning felt great. Yet, it’s back to the drawing board, as he said, “I’ve got lots of work to do.” He knows it’s up to him to keep his momentum going, and he showed everything the Blackhawks wanted to see from him against Colorado: drive, skill, and offense. The team needs him, and sticking with Bedard on that top line should be beneficial, with Bedard getting the assist on his goal. You could see he worked hard for that result. I was never worried about Reichel’s lack of production; he just needed to figure it out. The 21-year-old knows what he is playing for: to prove himself and find his game again.
Finally, Connor Bedard. His mindset has been noted for years, as he always strives to be better than yesterday, is always working, and never takes a day off. Foligno said that Bedard has the Michael Jordan mentality, as “Jordan found motivation in any little thing. The greats usually do. That’s the way they motivate themselves when they’re already at such a high level.” (from ‘Could Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard forge the NHL’s next great rivalry’ – The Athletic – 12/11/2023).
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The last time the Hawks faced Colorado was on Oct. 19, and they lost 4-0. Bedard said before facing the Avalanche on Dec. 19 that he hoped for a better result against Nathan MacKinnon, as he said he had barely touched the puck before. Sure enough, against the Avs, he had two assists, which now leads him to 28 points in 31 games, his fifth multi-point game this season. As Jordan once famously said, “And I took that personally.” Well, so did Bedard against the Avalanche! It’s a Chicago thing.
The Hawks Have Laid Their Foundation
The goal of any NHL season is to win the Stanley Cup, but when it’s not the case for a team like the Blackhawks, they have to dig deeper. Foligno, Blackwell, Reichel, and Bedard were a few examples, but every player has a chip on their shoulder. Whether they’re playing for pride, the fans, for a contract, “for the logo on the front,” as MacKenzie Entwistle said, motivation to give their all is all around them.
Blackwell was awarded the team chain after the Avalanche game, the chain given to the player of the game, as voted by their teammates. Blackwell said to the locker room afterward, “This is what it’s like when we play for the guys next to each other.”
Sometimes, that’s all it takes. They found their individual motivation and played to it together. Is it enough to turn their season around? No, but again, every team has to start somewhere, and these last two games have set a foundation for them playing hard for themselves and each other. That is what hockey is all about.