It's time for my annual Chicago Blackhawks offseason preview.
Thanks to the Connor Bedard injury and the Bowen Byram trade, my passion for this team is at a low not felt in a while. It's like a dying flame spurred on by the embers of loyalty. I am not excited for the season to start, and that hurts to say as a Hawks fan.
Bedard's injury really is the icing on the cake (a shit cake). With him being out until November (and that's not definite), this roster is going to look quite bleak. Here's what the forward projections are from The Athletic:
Tyler Bertuzzi — Frank Nazar — Roman Kantserov
Ryan Donato — Anton Frondell — Nick Lardis
Andrew Mangiapane — Oliver Moore — Teuvo Teräväinen
Jordan Greenway — Ryan Greene — Cole Smith
Extra: Landon Slaggert
An optimist might look at the opportunity for Frank Nazar to prove himself at center, which he did last season in the very low-calorie October games. Anton Frondell might make a nice impression, but that's doubtful given that he's very young. Roman Kantserov, despite how much Kyle Davidson wants us to believe in him, is a total unknown.
The best case scenario is that the kids look excellent. And that's where there is a positive side to this. We get to see more of Nazar at 1C and another look at Frondell (who I think will be an excellent player). Kantserov could be something special too.
But I've said that at the start of every season for the past couple of years. There's potential in the kids and it could go well, or it could go badly.
The Byram trade is what it is. Davidson threw No. 1 defenseman money at an unproven No. 1 defenseman. Even if he hits I have major questions about the GM who once said that you find your No. 1 defenseman in the draft, not on the market.
Regardless of Bedard being out or not, they still need top-six talent. Not unproven youth. Matthew Knies would have been my pick. Jason Robertson if that was ever a real possibility. But instead, the rumblings are of Patrick Kane making a possible return to Chicago. The nostalgic person in me would love this, but beyond that, I'm not so sure how much this helps Chicago (or Kane)... if it even happens.
Anyway, that's my thoughts on this circus. I might expand more on the Byram stuff. I might not. Depending on my schedule for next season, I'll lay out expectations. With school, work, and writing two books, I may have to really limit myself this fall. As for the summer, I might put out a couple of pieces expanding on the ideas mentioned above.
The next time I speak about the Hawks I'll have an update on how I'll be covering them in the future.
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