After the news broke on Saturday (Jan 6) that the Chicago Blackhawks placed Connor Bedard and Nick Foligno on the IR, I had a few choice expletive-filled comments regarding it. Upon hearing that, my wife commented, “Well, I guess there is no reason to watch the Blackhawks for a while.” I thought about that for a while before realizing she was incorrect.
While it is true that watching Bedard has been the main attraction of watching Blackhawk hockey, his presence did not translate to a great deal of production from the team. Entering Sunday’s (Jan 7) game against the Calgary Flames, the Blackhawks were 31st in the NHL in scoring, 31st in shots on goal, 29th on the power play, and 28th in shooting percentage.
While this sounds like a case not to watch while Bedard is out, it is actually an opportunity to see what happens in Chicago while the 18-year-old recovers from his fractured jaw.
Looking to the Future
With Bedard and eight other teammates on the IR, this is a good time for the players to step up their production on the ice and in leadership. Our THW colleague is working on an article about three players needing to step up. While this certainly needs to happen, this is a time in which the entire team needs to step up. From the young prospects to the veterans who are fringe NHL players, this is the perfect opportunity to show the Blackhawks and the NHL what they can do without their leading scorer and veteran leadership.
Looking at next season, the Blackhawks have quite a few players on their roster who will be either unrestricted or restricted free agents for the 2024-25 season. How they play over the next few months will determine whether the Blackhawks want to resign them and at what price or just let them sign somewhere else. This is especially true for some of the newer acquisitions for the Blackhawks, such as Zach Sanford, Rem Pitlick, and Jaycob Megna, as they are fringe NHL players and now have another chance for some extensive ice time heading into their free agency.
Goaltending
One of the bright spots for the Blackhawks this season has been the play of goaltender Petr Mrazek. The 31-year-old has a 9-13-1 record with a 3.27 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. While these numbers are not great, Mrazek has performed much better now that the injuries that he has had over the past seasons are behind him. A groin condition that hobbled him while he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021-22, then the Blackhawks last year, has fully healed, and he looks more like the goalie who was playing very well for the Carolina Hurricanes before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Mrazek is in the final year of his contract, and playing well for the rest of the season will help him and the Blackhawks determine what the future is in the net.
On the flip side of the goaltenders is Arvid Soderblom, who has struggled over the past month, going 0-7-1 with a 4.28 GAA and a .866 save percentage over his last nine appearances. The 24-year-old drew the start and played reasonably well in the now infamous game against the Devils but did give up a soft goal from distance to Simon Nemec that tied the game early in the third period. Seeing if he can turn things around will be one of the factors in determining who the Blackhawks decide to put in the net in future seasons.
The Trade Deadline
In January, teams know where they are heading for the rest of the season, and that usually will be one of the factors in deciding what the team does at the trade deadline. The injury to Bedard will not change that. Still, all of the factors mentioned earlier in the article will allow general manager Kyle Davidson to figure out what, if anything, the team wants to do. The Blackhawks are in a good position to make trades that can benefit them in the future and to address one of the glaring weaknesses this season, which is the lack of depth on the roster.
The Hawks may want to improve its depth before its talented prospects mature. Plenty of teams face salary cap issues next season, and they may be willing to trade away good players who could benefit the Blackhawks next season and even into the future. Adding a talented player under contract for a few more years helps Davidson improve the talent on the roster and takes some stress off of deciding whether to sign free agents. The Blackhawks have acquired a bunch of draft picks over the next few years, and they would not necessarily have to part with many of the higher picks they currently hold.
Playoff-bound teams may be interested in some older talent on the Blackhawks roster, such as Tyler Johnson. The 33-year-old is not the player he was in his prime, but a team headed to the playoffs may want a boost down the middle to go along with his championship pedigree. His $5 million cap hit may be a problem, but with the trend to move away from expensive veterans past their prime, Davidson can make a trade that takes care of that and still help the team in the long term.
Related: Blackhawks Roster Not Talented Enough for Connor Bedard’s Skills
The club commented that there is currently no timetable for his return. Still, Devils’ beat reporter Kristy Flannery reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Dougie Hamilton missed almost two months when he fractured his jaw two years ago. If the same happens to Bedard, there are still a lot of storylines that Blackhawk fans can follow as the team continues its quest for improvement over the rest of the season.