Chicago Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by staff members Sean Fitzgerald, and Jimmy O’Malley to talk about the final moves of the trade deadline for the Blackhawks, what may be ahead in their lottery position in the draft, what is to hope for spring hockey and Troy Murray’s legacy with the organization.

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Make sure to bookmark this page and come back as the moves happen for up-to-the-minute analysis and breakdowns from our friends at 

Date	The-Rink Division	Outgoing Player/Pick	Opposite Team	Player/Pick Received
3/2/2026		Connor Murphy (50% salary retained)		2028 2nd round pick
3/4/2026		Jason Dickinson (50% salary retained) and Colton Dach		Andrew Mangiapane and 2027 1st round pick (top 12 protected)
3/6/2026		Nick Foligno		Future Consideration
3/6/2026		Aidan Thompson		Derrick Pouliot

Trade Analysis/Breakdown:

• • 
    • • • The Edmonton Oilers acquire Connor Murphy (50% retained) from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2028 2nd round pick.

    

    • • • The Edmonton Oilers acquire Jason Dickinson (50% retained) and Colton Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks for Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional 2027 1st round pick.

      

      • • The Chicago Blackhawks trade Nick Foligno to the Minnesota Wild for future considerations.

      

      • The Chicago Blackhawks acquire Derrick Pouliot from the New York Rangers for Aidan Thompson.

Also, be sure to follow the entire The-Rink staff on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates, as well:

The Rink Official

Chicago Divison
The Rinkcast
Jeff Osborn
Andy Campbell
Eric Andrews
Sean Fitzgerald
Jimmy O’Malley
Andrew Bard
Ray Napientek
Matt Csakai

 

The post Chicago Blackhawks 2026 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by staff members Sean Fitzgerald, and Jimmy O’Malley to talk about The Blackhawks trade of Connor Murphy and the pending trade of Jason Dickinson.

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Murphy, who turns 33 years old on March 26, carries a $4.4 million AAV. Chicago is retaining half of Murphy’s contract, which expires after this season.

Analysis

(Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

One of the rare good trades of the Stan Bowman era with Chicago, there is a bit of irony being traded to the Oilers. Murphy is once again traded to a Bowman team.

In his time with Chicago, Murphy provided a strong defensive game. In nine seasons with the Blackhawks, Murphy skated in 547 games, recording 34 goals and 90 assists.

With Edmonton, Murphy should provide a physical game with an ability to kill penalties.

For Chicago, getting value for a skater on the wrong side of 30 years old is wise, especially with his contract expiring this offseason. A second-round pick is more than sufficient.

Final thoughts

Though many will not associate Murphy with a great era in Blackhawks hockey, he provided stability. A leader on and off the ice, the “A” on his jersey was proof of his value to this organization.

Murphy now has a chance to make the playoffs for the first time in his NHL career.

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Chicago Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by staff members Sean Fitzgerald, and Jimmy O’Malley to talk about the return of the Blackhawks NHL schedule, the rumors surrounding the possible trades of Connor Murphy and Ilya Mikheyev, and what to hope for and/or expect for the remaining weeks of the season.

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With the moves, the Blackhawks cemented their true roster, as the initial 23-man roster submitted for the NHL’s opening day deadline was done to maximize cap space and flexibility, as many teams opt to do.

As such, the Hawks’ roster heading into the team’s first game is as follows:

Forwards
Henrik Borgstrom
Ryan Carpenter
Kirby Dach
Alex DeBrincat
MacKenzie Entwistle
Adam Gaudette
Brandon Hagel
Tyler Johnson
Patrick Kane
Jujhar Khaira
Dominik Kubalik
Philipp Kurashev
Dylan Strome
Jonathan Toews

Defensemen
Calvin de Haan
Erik Gustafsson
Seth Jones
Jake McCabe
Ian Mitchell
Connor Murphy
Riley Stillman

Goaltenders
Marc-Andre Fleury
Kevin Lankinen

Injured reserve
Alec Regula

Long-term injured reserve
Caleb Jones
Wyatt Kalynuk

Additionally, the Blackhawks announced their leadership group on Tuesday. Toews of course remains as captain of the team, while Kane, DeBrincat and Murphy join him as alternate captains for the season. Kane will be a permanent alternate captain throughout the season, while DeBrincat will serve as an alternate and home and Murphy on the road.

Our alternate captains. pic.twitter.com/MBRl1kwbd1

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 12, 2021

The team also placed minor-league forward Matej Chalupa on unconditional waivers on Tuesday for purposes of a buyout. Chalupa, who had been in training camp with the IceHogs, is expected to return to Europe.

The Blackhawks will open their regular season on Wednesday, traveling to face the Colorado Avalanche in a Central Division battle. Puck drop for the contest is scheduled for 9 p.m. CDT.

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MORE MURPH

Connor Murphy inked an extension and is staying put in Chicago. #Blackhawks https://t.co/0LtqLBfqI1

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) August 31, 2021

Murphy’s extension carries an average annual value of $4.4 million, a team-friendly increase from his current $3.85 million cap hit, and will run through the 2025–26 season. The 28-year-old blueliner was slated to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022.

“When we acquired Connor in the summer of 2017, we had visions of him growing as both a player and leader in our organization for many years,” said General Manager Stan Bowman in a release. “He has transformed into a defenseman capable of matching up with the opponent’s best players and someone we trust to help us preserve a lead in the final minutes. Connor’s voice carries weight in our locker room as a veteran presence and we’re thrilled that his development and leadership will continue as a Blackhawk.”

Murphy posted three goals and 12 assists in 50 contests last season, logging a career-high average of 22:09 of ice time per game.

The Boston native has served as one of the Blackhawks’ most steady defenders in recent memory. Though being heavily relied on over the last couple of seasons, Murphy will finally receive some help carrying the load moving forward thanks to the additions of Seth Jones and Jake McCabe.

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First period:

This game already started off rough, with Connor Murphy taking a tripping penalty with just eleven seconds gone in the game. The Blues made quick work of that, putting one past Corey Crawford thirty three seconds into the game to make the score 1–0 Blues. Then, the Blackhawks took another penalty to give the Blues another chance with a man advantage. Chicago killed that one off thanks to some great saves by Crawford and some help from a friendly post.

The Blackhawks got a power play of their own when Marco Scandella got the stick up high on Brandon Saad, putting the Chicago up a man. They also made very quick work of their advantage, with Jonathan Toews winning the faceoff cleanly right back to Duncan Keith, who put his one-hundredth goal in his career past Jordan Binnington to knot the score up at 1–1.

Then, with just under six minutes to play in the period, Toews won another faceoff back to a defenseman, getting it back to Connor Murphy who put a wrister past Binnington to make it 2–1 Blackhawks. After some more stops from Crawford, the Blackhawks got another powerplay that would carry over into the second period when Murphy took a high stick after giving up a powerplay earlier in the period. Things would end at a score of 2–1 Blackhawks after one.

Second period:

The Blackhawks started the period with the powerplay that was carried over from period one, and they made use of the opportunity after passing the puck around and getting some shots on net, the puck found its way to Patrick Kane who wristed a beautiful shot off of the post and in to make it 3–1 Blackhawks.

After getting a lot of pressure on the Blues’ net, the Blackhawks allowed the Blues to put the same amount of pressure on their goal with the puck eventually finding Robert Thomas, who was able to put the puck over the shoulder of Crawford to make it 3–2 Blackhawks.

The next few minutes involved a lot of back and forth chances, with Ryan O’Reilly getting a great chance that he put through the blue paint and the Blackhawks having a flurry of chances down on the other end as well. They killed off a Slater Koekkoek delay of game penalty in the last couple of minutes of the period to keep the score 3–2 Blackhawks at the end of the period.

Third period:

The period started off with a scare, as a Colton Parayko slapshot was stopped by Crawford, with O’Reilly appearing to put the rebound in. Fortunately, he batted it in with his hand, and the goal didn’t count. Then, Brayden Schenn found a streaking O’Reilly, who put the puck past Crawford to make it 3–3. Very shortly thereafter, Zach Sanford put the puck past Crawford again to make it 4–3 Blues and put the Blackhawks down for the first time since the first minutes of the game.

A couple of minutes later, Keith put the puck on net, which then bounced around to Matthew Highmore who put the puck into the back of the net and tie the game up again at 4–4. In what continued to be a back and forth period, the Blackhawks re-took the lead on the powerplay on a quick released shot from Saad out in front to make it 5–4 Blackhawks. Then, the Blues came back down to the other end, and Justin Faulk put a shot from the point into the back of the Blackhawks’ net to tie this crazy game at 5 all. Kirby Dach got called for hooking, which gave the Blues another powerplay in the game.

After a crazy sequence in front of the Chicago net, Sanford potted his second goal of the night to make it 6–5 Blues. Adam Boqvist got taken down driving to the net, setting up yet another Blackhawks powerplay, and giving them a chance to tie the game. They didn’t get a lot of good chances on goal, though, and weren’t able to convert for the first time all night. The game would end with a 6–5 Blues victory, putting to rest any last hopes that may have been remaining for the Blackhawks going on a tear and getting into the playoffs.

Now let’s go along the boards to see what was being talked about during this game:

Jonathan Toews wins the faceoff. Goes straight to the net. Takes away the eyes of Jordan Binnington. And Connor Murphy’s blast goes in.

Play started and ended with No. 19. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/xkuXQTUIAF

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 26, 2020

The first two Blackhawks goals went this exact same way: Jonathan Toews won a faceoff back to the point and the defenseman put a shot on net that went through because of a screen out in front.

Robin Lehner was only with the Blackhawks for a short time, but he made a huge impact.

He motivated Jonathan Toews. He mentored Alex Nylander. He filled the locker room with a booming voice and honest thoughts.

Without him, the bee has lost its buzz. https://t.co/TO54GtEKgW

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 25, 2020

I couldn’t agree more with this. Robin Lehner had such an impact on us as fans as well, and we greatly respect his courage to share his story and to be willing to share what he’s gone through with mental health struggles. He’s an inspiration and such a great guy who will be sorely missed in this organization.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Thursday night versus Tampa Bay. That game starts at 6:00 PM central on NBC Sports Chicago.

The post Along the boards: Blackhawks drop a roller coaster, lose to Blues 6–5 appeared first on The Rink.

Saad — Toews — Nylander

DeBrincat — Dach — Kane

Kubalik — Kampf — Shaw

Smith — Carpenter — Highmore

Keith — Gustafsson

De Haan — Seabrook

Maatta — Murphy

Crawford

First period

The Stars got off to a good start against the Blackhawks, putting pressure on Crawford and generally controlling the puck for the first couple of shifts. They continued to press, sending the puck back to the d zone and then back up again. Zack Smith recorded a great opportunity off a steal in the offensive zone, but was stopped by the Stars’ Anton Khudobin. Denis Gurianov got in a good chance on Crawford, but was ultimately shut down and was unable to get much on the shot. Crawford continued to stay sharp, stopping a barrage of shots from Dallas.

Both teams kept things moving, trading chances back and forth, and not allowing really any stoppages in play. Jonathan Toews got a blast in on Khudobin on a pass from Alex Nylander, but that was turned aside as well. Off the face off, Erik Gustafsson took a shot that was redirected by Brandon Saad, who was left all alone in front of the net and redirected the puck past Khudobin for a 1–0 Blackhawks lead.

Brandon Saad's 100th goal with the #Blackhawks was a BEAUT! pic.twitter.com/U9DvVdxZky

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 27, 2019

Just after, the Stars got a good chance with Corey Perry driving to the net, but that was turned aside by Crawford. After that, there was more back and forth, with some big hits being dished out both ways until both sides got some good chances, with Esa Lindell drawing a penalty on his drive to the net, putting the Blackhawks on the penalty kill for the first time in the game. Ryan Carpenter gave him a whack trying to keep him from being able to get a good shot off.

The Blackhawks killed that off without much issue, but with some nice saves made by Crawford. Khudobin had to make a last second save on Andrew Shaw, but did so to keep the score at 1–0 Blackhawks.

Second period

The Stars got off to the same start that they did in the first period, controlling much of the play and getting many shots in on Crawford, even having one go off of the post. Then, things got going back and forth more and more, with few stops for the first few minutes of the period. The Blackhawks got a good chance in front of the net off of a steal by Patrick Kane, but the Blackhawks could not get anything in on goal. Afterward, Alex Radulov got going through the center of the ice and was taken down by Shaw, giving the Stars their second powerplay of the game. Crawford came up with some sensational stops as the Blackhawks were able to kill off the penalty.

The Stars kept the pressure on after that, though, getting more shots on the Blackhawks’ goaltender. Just after the 10-minute mark of the period, the Blackhawks were able to get a couple of good chances from Dach and Kubalik after that which did not get past Khudobin. Calvin de Haan saved a goal for the Blackhawks after Crawford dove to make a stop with the puck sitting behind him without him realizing it. De Haan knocked the puck away, playing goalie with Seabrook to protect the net with Crawford drawn out of it.

The C in Calvin stands for CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/x8FBWnEiIw

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 27, 2019

Khudobin had to be on his game to keep a Shaw chance out, followed by a DeBrincat chance at around the 15:30 mark of the period. The Blackhawks kept the pressure up, taking the puck away in the offensive zone and allowing for some good scoring opportunities on Khudobin that were turned aside. There was a lot of action, but no more goals to be had. The game went into the intermission with the score still being 1–0 Blackhawks.

Third period

The Stars came out with fire as they had the last couple of periods, stealing some chances and getting a good amount of play in the offensive zone. That is until DeBrincat took the puck down the ice to get a puck in on Khudobin. Shaw and Gustafsson got a couple of good chances in on the Dallas net that were turned aside by Khudobin with some great saves.

Then, there was more back and forth as there was the whole game, with the Blackhawks and Stars trading chances on one side of the ice and then the other. Crawford managed to keep out a flurry of Dallas chances out of the net. The Blackhawks continued to press to add on to their lead, but were stymied by Khudobin with a couple of big saves against the fourth line. Around the nine-minute mark, Crawford answered back on the other end, and then Khudobin would answer at his end of the ice.

Shortly after, Radulov gave the Blackhawks their first power play of the night when he got a stick up high that caught Toews right in the face. DeBrincat started a crazy sequence on the power play, with the puck eventually finding its way to Kane, who waited until some traffic had cleared in front of the net to wrist it past Khudobin, making it 2–0 Blackhawks.

The point streak continues! That's 13 straight games for Showtime pic.twitter.com/5p8iYAaCOG

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) November 27, 2019

The Stars pulled their goaltender at the 16:27 mark of the period in an attempt to get back into the game, but that backfired when the Stars tried to block a clear from Connor Murphy, which ended up bouncing and rolling down the ice and into the empty net, making it 3–0 Blackhawks. That is how things would finish, with the Blackhawks getting Crawford his first shutout of the year.

The Blackhawks will be heading into a tougher stretch of their season, with back-to-back matchups with the Avalanche on Friday and Saturday night. The first of those two games is on Friday at 3 p.m. CST on NBC Sports Chicago.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks extinguish Stars 3–0 appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks lines and pairings were:

Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Alexander Nylander
Alex DeBrincat — Dylan Strome — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Andrew Shaw
Ryan Carpenter — Kirby Dach — Zack Smith

Duncan Keith — Erik Gustafsson
Calvin de Haan — Brent Seabrook
Olli Maatta — Connor Murphy

First period

The Blackhawk Express basically derailed at the start of this game. Action was fairly even in the early going, though it was evident that that Carolina came to play. The Blackhawks struggled to clear their end at times while, at the other end of the ice, the Canes seemed to have little difficult getting pucks out.

After an Erik Gustafsson blowout and turnover at the Carolina blueline, and an ensuing two-on-zero break on Lehner, Martin Necas put the Canes ahead 1–0 at 5:36, which was how the period would end. Shots were 13–4 Carolina for the period.

Second period

Bad fortune would continue for Chicago in the second period when Andrei Svechnikov caught Lehner unaware and beat him at just 53 seconds in with a quick, knuckle-balling shot from the right circle for a 2–0 Carolina lead.

The Hawks finally got something going when Dominik Kubalik and Andrew Shaw appeared ready to go on a two-on-zero themselves, but Kubalik was pulled down by Dougie Hamilton at 8:14. However, the two best scoring chances of the ensuing power play would be for the Canes’ Sebastian Aho, who got in on Lehner twice.

Sure enough, not too long after the Canes killed the penalty, Nino Niederreiter absolutely abused Gustafsson, beating him wide at center ice and flipping a puck up over Lehner in close at 11:54 to extend the gap to 3–0 Carolina.

Making matters potentially worse, Patrick Kane took a tripping call at 13:33. The Hawks were able to kill the penalty off, however. The period ended with the Canes up by three. Shots for the second were 14–8 Carolina.

Third period

The Blackhawks brought the pressure in the third with defensemen well up the ice—which finally paid off at 12:05 when Gustafsson gathered a pinpoint Patrick Kane pass right in front of Mrazek and buried it, cutting the score to 3–1.

Less than a minute later, Connor Murphy was the recipient of a Kane dish as he jumped into the slot. Murphy had all day and did not miss, bringing Chicago to within one at 3–2.

At this point, the building was jumping in anticipation of an epic comeback, shots were 20–6 Chicago for the period, but the Hawks simply were unable to solve Mrazek one more time. Head coach Jeremy Colliton pulled Lehner for an extra attacker late‚ but that turned into an Aho empty-net goal to make the final 4–2 Carolina.

The good

Not much. When you have Patrick Kane and enough other offensive talent—as the Hawks do—you can always mount a late comeback by pulling all the stops. But, this is a high-risk strategy that you should only utilize to get back into a game as Chicago did in the third.

The bad

It is fair to say the Hawks may have been reading their own press clippings a bit of late and did not come into the game with the requisite intensity needed against a quality foe like the Hurricanes.

The ugly

He may have scored a goal when defense did not matter, but Gustafsson continues to be a massive liability as a defender whenever he is on the ice. End of story.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks return to reality, fall to Carolina 4–2 appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” is joined again by staff writers Ray Napientek and Juliana Nikac to talk about the current state of the Blackhawks.

• The Blackhawks are 2-4-2 after losing to the Flyers, Thursday night.
• Kirby Dach recalled from Rockford and played 3 games thus far.
• Connor Murphy injured against the Vegas Golden Knights
• Aleksi Saarela sent to Florida for Ian McCoshen
• Mario Tirabassi gives us another award-winning #Warpigs report.
• Gate, Ray and Juliana discuss the last 6 games and the state of the Blackhawks.
• We also discuss Corey Crawford, Robin Lehner, Brendan Perlini, Brandon Saad, and much more
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment where we discuss #HongKongClassic jerseys.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

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While there are positives (Dominik Kubalik, Robin Lehner, the return of the “real” Brandon Saad and the possibility of an improved defense—if everyone can get and stay healthy), there are some obvious issues, not least of which is a puzzling weakness in scoring goals (30th in the league). Sure, it is only after six games. And you have to take both of those points together in order to really understand what is going on.

While most fans probably expect that the Hawks will fight for every point in every game in order to make the playoffs, the truth is, despite an almost universal belief that Stan Bowman had a good and productive offseason—the Hawks came into the season with more questions than answers.

So, if you are wondering, for example, why Dylan Strome is being “experimented” with at wing, why the lines really are not clicking, etc., understand the Blackhawks are trying some things out to see how they will work—at the risk of losing points.

Some assume that because he was drafted third overall this past June, 18-year-old Kirby Dach playing second line center in the NHL is “perfectly natural.” Well, it is on a rebuilding team, not so much on a contending team. By the way, the Hawks were absolutely destroyed in the face off dot (34%) yet again last night—and at the risk of re-litigating the stupid “face offs don’t matter” argument, they do, especially if you project yourself as a puck-possession team. But I digress. The good news there is Dach’s percentage (40%) was not the team’s worst. The bad news? 40%.

Hence the title of this blog. Now, some of you will say, “Okay, enough already, JJ, we get it, the Hawks are rebuilding.” To which I respond, “Okay, so then do not expect much, especially not right now and maybe all year.”

Honestly, I believe the Hawks, as they have tried and basically failed at the last few seasons, are trying to engineer lightning in a bottle over the course of 82 games. If—IF—Dach matures through on the job training (like Alex DeBrincat did two years ago and Saad did in 2013), IF Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy and everyone else can get and stay healthy, IF Strome can adjust to wing, IF we get more good Alex Nylander than bad Alex Nylander, IF Lehner continues to look like an elite (or near elite) netminder, then perhaps the playoffs will be a real possibility.

But, we are working through the IFs right now; answers to be determined.

All I have for now. Comment below.

The post ANALYSIS: Adjust your Blackhawks expectations appeared first on The Rink.

Murphy sent to LTIR, Gilbert recalled by Blackhawks

After leaving Tuesday night’s contest against the Golden Knights, Connor Murphy was diagnosed with a lower-body injury being called a groin injury and was said to be set up to miss “a couple of weeks” according to Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton. Murphy this season has no points through six games played but has a 57.3 percent Corsi-for rating. Murphy was playing top-line minutes with Duncan Keith in the last handful of games, averaging more than 20 minutes per night in his last four games played.

Feb 10, 2018; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy (5) during a game between the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

In a corresponding move, the Blackhawks recalled defenseman Dennis Gilbert from the Rockford IceHogs. Gilbert, who began the season with Chicago and played in the regular season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers in Prague, has since played with the IceHogs for three games. He too has yet to score his first point of the year, but has played on the top-pair with the IceHogs this season when in the lineup. In his one game with the Blackhawks this season, he played 14:57 minutes and was a minus-one rating with four hits.

Dennis Gilbert of the Rockford IceHogs (Photo Courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)

The Rockford IceHogs are back in action this weekend, traveling to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Monsters for a weekend back-to-back set of games. Friday night’s puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EDT, while Saturday’s contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. EDT puck drop.

The Chicago Blackhawks next game is Thursday night as they take on the aforementioned Philadelphia Flyers at the United Center. Puck drop for Thursday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT in Chicago as the Blackhawks try to exact some revenge against the Flyers, who took the season opening win over Chicago on October 4 in Prague.

The post Blackhawks place Connor Murphy on LTIR, recall Dennis Gilbert appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks entered Monday’s contest still searching for their first victory of the season. Chicago looked poised to beat Winnipeg after taking a 2–0 lead early in Saturday’s game, but ultimately fell short of their first win. Instead, the Blackhawks looked to beat one of the two remaining unbeaten teams in the NHL.

The Blackhawks experienced a heavy line shakeup ahead of Saturday’s contest. The lines set for Monday were as follows:

DeBrincat – Toews – Caggiula

Shaw – Strome – Kane

Saad – Kampf – Kubalik

Smith – Carpenter – Nylander

Keith – Gustafsson

Maatta – Seabrook

de Haan – Murphy

Crawford

Despite a good game from Robin Lehner on Saturday, the Blackhawks opted to go with the veteran Corey Crawford against the league’s top team on Monday night.

First period

The first period started well for the Blackhawks. Not even 15 seconds into the period, Dominik Kubalik fired an absolute rocket at Mike Smith for the game’s first solid chance. 

Despite the fast start for the Blackhawks, not much happened in the period. The Blackhawks managed to fire 10 pucks at Mike Smith in the first compared to the Oilers’ 12. A notable stat from the first period was the Blackhawks’ penalty kill keeping the league’s second-best power play off the scoresheet early. 

The Oilers came up empty on their two power plays in the first period, but Edmonton almost took the lead on the power play after drawing iron on the man advantage. 

However, the post proved to be Crawford’s best friend and ultimately kept the game scoreless through the first period. The Blackhawks not only lost the shots on goal battle in the opening frame, but also were losing in the face off dot with Edmonton winning 56% of the draws. 

Second period

The Blackhawks came out of the first intermission with a sense of purpose, admittedly something they lacked in the last three games. After some pressure early from the Blackhawks, they were rewarded.

Just after the four-minute mark in the period, the Blackhawks and Oilers lined up to Smith’s right for a face off in the Edmonton zone. Dylan Strome won a critical faceoff after a bit of a scrum for the puck. After Strome gained possession, he found Patrick Kane, who had yet to move from his starting position, and Kane buried the puck past Smith after a little backhand-forehand motion.

Patrick Kane (@88PKane) isn't even a center and he owns the face-off dot. pic.twitter.com/DXSSUVsAA7

— NHL (@NHL) October 15, 2019

Not long after, Andrew Shaw set the tone for the period. After defenseman Joel Persson was mesmerized by Kane behind the net, he did not see Shaw coming from his weak side. Shaw delivered a clean, hard hit to Persson, knocking him straight to the ice. Persson’s teammates did not like the Shaw hit and took exception. Ultimately, Jujhar Khaira took a roughing penalty for going after Shaw.

BRUH pic.twitter.com/5ldfitthC4

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 15, 2019

Despite the power play opportunity, the Blackhawks could not capitalize, keeping the score dormant at 1–0. 

Both teams traded power plays for much of the remainder of the period. With about four minutes left in the period, Brandon Saad nearly had a beautiful goal after he danced around an Edmonton defender. Saad took the puck hard to the net after gaining the inside on an Oiler defender, but ultimately hit the post. The goal would have been highlight-reel material for the power forward.

With just under three minutes remaining, the Oilers looked like they tied the game. Despite the optimistic call, the goal was waived off for goaltender interference. Connor McDavid had speed around Connor Murphy and took the puck to the net. Crawford stopped the initial bid, but McDavid continued into Crawford, causing the puck to cross the line, therefore resulting in the no-goal call.

Chicago was able to take their lead into the second intermission. The Blackhawks looked much better in the second period for the first time in this young 2019–20 season. 

NBC Sports Chicago broadcaster Pat Boyle mentioned at the end of the period that Jeremy Colliton challenged his team to be better in the middle frame and it is safe to confidently say they did just that. A 17-shot period for the Blackhawks gave them the 27–18 shots on goal advantage.

Third period

The Blackhawks brought the same energy out in the third period as they did in the second. The Blackhawks’ defense was all over the Oilers early. 

Just under seven minutes into the period, the Blackhawks’ effort paid off. The fourth line was out on the ice against McDavid and young Alexander Nylander made an excellent play against the Edmonton superstar. 

As McDavid went to bring the puck up the ice, Nylander was there to take away the puck from McDavid. Ryan Carpenter pushed the puck up the ice and Nylander was all over it. He gained possession just to the left of Smith and hesitated slightly to get Smith out of position. Nylander made Smith pay, and wired a beautiful shot past the goaltender to give the Blackhawks a 2–0 lead.

Five hole and goal! #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/i8BliaweuM

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 15, 2019

Quickly following the goal, the Blackhawks were sent to the power play after a poor offensive zone penalty by Khaira. However, the Blackhawks were unable to capitalize.

With 8:45 remaining in the period, Strome had an excellent opportunity in front of Edmonton’s crease. As the second line dominated possession in the Edmonton zone, Shaw was able to get the puck to Kane behind the net, as Kane slid the puck away from the scrum and finessed it out in front. Strome had an opportunity after a Kane pass, but Smith beat Strome with an excellent save to keep the deficit at two for the Oilers.

The period was a chippy one, as Calvin de Haan and McDavid exchanged pleasantries after a solid check by de Haan.

No love at all rn pic.twitter.com/XIDDQthFnK

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 15, 2019

With just over two minutes remaining, the Oilers were able to take advantage of a six-on-four power play. James Neal scored his eighth goal of the young season for the Oilers after a nice pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to find him back door. 

It's Real Deal James Neal (@jneal_18) with goal No. 8 on the season. pic.twitter.com/XjE9pHBp5l

— NHL (@NHL) October 15, 2019

With just over 30 seconds remaining, David Kampf made an excellent play on the wall in the Blackhawks zone to get the puck down the ice. With the goalie pulled, Saad gained possession deep in the Edmonton zone and dished the puck back to Jonathan Toews. Toews’ shot was blocked by Nugent-Hopkins and Kampf’s follow up shot was denied too. However, Saad found the puck laying in the blue paint and tapped it into the empty net to give the Blackhawks the 3–1 win.

Brandon Saad seals the deal for the #Blackhawks with a well-deserved empty-net goal. Chicago wins 3-1 pic.twitter.com/CHw3J4IOt2

— Juliana Nikac (@juliananikac) October 15, 2019

Quick hits:

• D-D-Defense! — The defense looked spectacular on Monday night. It finally felt like the pairings were the way they should be. Keith and Murphy played well together (more on that in a minute), Gustafsson found his ideal partner in de Haan and the Maatta-Seabrook pairing continued to play well. This feels like the first time in a while that the defense is actually…good?
• An “A” for effort! — The team’s effort was outstanding against Edmonton. The Blackhawks’ forecheck was constantly in the face of Oilers defenders and made it difficult to play against. That high level of energy is what it is going to take for this team to win games. Now that there are more “grit” and “energy” players in the lineup, this could be an identity the Blackhawks adopt: be aggressive, be energetic and be a pain to play against.
• Oh my Nylander! — Despite looking lost in the first period and barely seeing the ice in the second, Nylander scored the game-winning goal on Monday night. Nylander seemed to find his step on the fourth line in the third period, playing with a lot of energy and being rewarded with a goal on a hustle play that saw him strip McDavid and outhustle defenders to get to the puck. If Nylander can contribute in a limited role, he could prove very valuable to the team’s depth.
• Where’s McDavid? — Fans did not hear McDavid’s name called all that much on the broadcast Monday night. He was almost non-existent. Specifically, the Keith-Murphy pairing did an excellent job against McDavid’s line and played excellent during the 23-plus minutes that both players played. The recipe for success against the Oilers is to shut down their stars and the Blackhawks did exactly that on Monday.
• I love Calvin de Haan — De Haan has brought a lot of assets to the Blackhawks that they have lacked since Niklas Hjalmarsson was traded a few years ago. He plays strong defense, is not afraid of contact, has a great stick in his own zone and can avoid taking big hits that result in players falling out of position. Plainly said, as the author of this piece, I love Calvin de Haan. 

The Blackhawks will be off until Friday when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at the United Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CDT.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks win first game, deliver Oilers first loss appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks are still trying out numerous players who’s futures are uncertain with the club going into next year. Notable players in the lineup that fit that bill include Brendan Perlini, Dylan Sikura, Dominik Kahun and Gustav Forsling. The lineup for the game was as follows:

Saad – Toews – Sikura

DeBrincat – Strome – Perlini

Kahun – Anisimov – Kane

Kunitz – Kampf – Kruger

Keith – Gustafsson

Forsling – Seabrook

Dahlstrom – Murphy

Crawford

First Period:

The first period began with the home team falling behind quickly to the boys from the desert. Under five minutes into the game, a ring-around attempt from Carl Dahlstrom hit the referee and was picked up by the Coyotes. Richard Panik found the puck in front, held on just long enough to get Corey Crawford out of position, and buried his 12th goal of the season to make it 1-0 early.

https://twitter.com/CMS_74_/status/1105269217870393344

Under three minutes later, Alex DeBrincat outletted a pass to Brent Seabrook on the right wing boards near the red line. Seabrook quickly found Brendan Perlini at the blue line going in with a solid pass. The pass was slightly tipped, but Perlini still found himself on a breakaway and he beat Darcy Kuemper to tie the game.

Brendan Perlini scores against his former team … pic.twitter.com/9Jbm77vWb0

— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) March 12, 2019

Less than two minutes after Perlini’s tally, the Blackhawks struck again. Jonathan Toews made a sweet move on the right wing side of the ice to shake his defender. Upon creating space for himself, he put a perfect pass on the tape of Brandon Saad standing right outside the blue paint. Saad tipped the puck past Kuemper to give the Blackhawks the 2-1 lead.

Brandon Saad gives the #Blackhawks a 2-1 lead … great play by Toews to set him up. pic.twitter.com/sAhYGin7aI

— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) March 12, 2019

Despite the Blackhawks controlling play for the rest of the period, the Blackhawks could not generate anymore offense and took their 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Second Period:

The Blackhawks would not stop the scoring in the middle frame. Just over three minutes into the second, Brendan Perlini added his second tally of the game. Dominik Kahun dug a puck out of the corner and found Dylan Strome on the right side of the slot. Strome quickly found an oncoming Perlini who snapped the puck glove side on Kuemper to put the Blackhawks up 3-1.

Strome and Perlini team up to give the #Blackhawks a 2-Goal lead https://t.co/ZMMV2kzZdC

— Four Feathers Podcast (@FourFeathersPod) March 12, 2019

With the “second line” clicking, it was time for other lines to step up and continue the scoring. About three minutes after taking a 3-1 lead, the Blackhawks fourth line got involved on offense. After a scrum out in front of Darcy Kuemper, David Kampf picked up the loose puck and sent a backhand pass from the right wing side of the crease to the low slot. The puck ended up perfectly on Chris Kunitz’s stick and he had an easy tap-in for the 4-1 lead.

Chris Kunitz has a wide-open net thanks to Kampf's pass … 4-1 #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/KoxvHv7C6u

— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) March 12, 2019

The goal would be the last puck Kuemper saw for the night, as he was pulled in favor of Calvin Pickard.

The Blackhawks were able to take advantage of turnovers by the Coyotes. After almost nine minutes passed in the period, Dominik Kahun forced a turnover in front of the Coyotes’ net and dropped the puck back to Patrick Kane. Kane quickly found Artem Anisimov on the other side of the slot, and without hesitation, Anisimov sent the puck back to Kane for an easy goal giving Patrick Kane 41 goals on the year and the Blackhawks a 5-1 lead.

That. Was. Dirty.

Showtime makes it 5-1 #Blackhawks on #AuthenticFan Night!

STREAM: https://t.co/gkAxyp6eDc pic.twitter.com/OdoEHFGgEu

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 12, 2019

The play was perfectly set up by the “third line”. It is certainly encouraging when all lines are clicking the way they were tonight.

Before the period ended, the Blackhawks added yet another tally on the board. This time, Jonathan Toews was hooked by young defenseman Jakob Chychrun when going in on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. On the attempt, Toews went five hole on Pickard and scored his 30th of the season to make it 6-1 heading into the second intermission.

https://twitter.com/CMS_74_/status/1105288393561395200

Third Period:

The third period was quiet in comparison to the first two frames. Fans thought they’d be able to see a hat trick as Brendan Perlini had yet another breakaway in the third, only for the puck to squeak through Pickard and sit on the goal line. The goal would have been Perlini’s 11th of the year and 3rd of the night. However, fans would have to wait.

Brendan Perlini's hat trick bid sits still on the goal line … wow. pic.twitter.com/5OAlxO1zVz

— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) March 12, 2019

As time was winding down, the Blackhawks took one last rush up the ice. Alex DeBrincat gained possession of a high toss into the zone from Connor Murphy. Despite DeBrincat easily being able to shoot, DeBrincat found Perlini for his third goal of the night with only three seconds remaining to give Perlini his first career hat trick against his old team.

#AuthenticFan hats on the ice!

Brendan Perlini scores his 3rd of the night with 3.6 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/qIi7hOdvAa

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 12, 2019

The Blackhawks take the 7-1 victory against a good team full of familiar faces. The Coyotes still sit one point out of the playoffs and the Blackhawks sit five points out of a playoff spot.

Quick Hits:

• Former Coyotes: Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome certainly had something to prove Monday night against their former team. Perlini registered his first career hat trick, nearly tallying four goals, and Strome tallied one assist in the Blackhawks’ win. Strome found his game quickly after the trade to Chicago, but it is nice seeing Perlini get hot down the stretch as he is playing for a new contract after this season. It’s safe to say the Blackhawks will be interested in returning the big winger after his late season performance.
• The Return of Kampf: David Kampf has been excellent since he returned from injury. The fourth line has been noticeable both on the score-sheet and all over the ice. It is clear that Kampf, Kruger and Kunitz have good chemistry and they delivered with a big goal from Kunitz tonight.
• Playoffs?: The Blackhawks are mathematically still in the playoff race. They would need a lot of help, but these last three games have shown the Blackhawks can be a good team. They have only given up a combined three goals over those three games and Corey Crawford looks like a starting goaltender once again. It will be intriguing to see what happens with the Blackhawks down the stretch.  

The Blackhawks travel to Canada on Wednesday, March 13th, to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop is at 6:00pm CST.  

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Crush Coyotes 7-1 appeared first on The Rink.

After three quality wins against divisional opponents, the Blackhawks were going for their fourth straight win on Sunday against the Panthers. Chris Kunitz made his first appearance in the Blackhawks lineup after numerous games as a healthy scratch. Young forward Jacob Nilsson also made his NHL debut after being recalled from Rockford on Saturday. The lineup was as follows:

Saad – Toews – Kahun

Anisimov – Strome – Kane

DeBrincat – Kampf – Sikura

Kunitz – Nilsson – Perlini

Keith – Gustafsson

Forsling – Seabrook

Dahlstrom – Murphy

Ward

First Period:

The first period began well for the home team on Sunday night. Cam Ward looked strong in his own net after a few goal posts headlined the only quality chances for the Panthers early on. The Blackhawks’ forecheck looked good early as well, generating numerous chances on James Reimer.

Notable “almost” chances included a Brendan Perlini shot right outside the blue paint, that Reimer barely caught a piece of to send it over the top of the net, and two consecutive posts from the Panthers prior to their powerplay mid-way through the first period.

With about 6:40 remaining in the first, Brendan Perlini found Dylan Strome down low behind the Panthers’ net. Strome sat and set up, scanning the ice before sending a pass to his left, finding Connor Murphy. Murphy put the puck top shelf and gave the Blackhawks the late period lead.

Connor Murphy doesn't let two black eyes keep him out of the net! pic.twitter.com/rkLyfWbGxO

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 24, 2018

As time was ticking down on the first period, with under four minutes remaining, the Blackhawks looked like their old selves this season. After a bad turnover by the Blackhawks in which Carl Dahlstrom blew a tire, Cam Ward tried to clear after leaving his net and the puck ended up on Jayce Hawryluk’s stick with a wide-open net, tying the game, 1-1.

Second Period:

With less than three minutes gone to begin the period, the Blackhawks would get another dose of Jayce Hawryluk. The young forward had a breakaway from the blue line in after an incredible stretch pass from defenseman Michael Matheson. Hawryluk put a great shot past Cam Ward to give the visitors the 2-1 lead early in the middle frame.

Less than two minutes after the Panthers took the lead, the Blackhawks looked to capitalize on the power play and even up the game. After only about 15 seconds gone on the man advantage, Alex DeBrincat sent a pass to the slot looking for Dylan Strome. The puck glanced off of Strome’s foot, hit the post, and bounced back into the blue paint toward an oncoming DeBrincat. “The Cat” tapped home the rebound for his 17th of the season and tied the game at 2-2.

The Cat pounces on a loose puck and it's all tied up!

2-2 in Period 2. #CHIvsFLA pic.twitter.com/DIjKvUYnpK

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 24, 2018

There were a few good chances throughout the “meat” of the period, but neither team could break the tie. With under four minutes remaining, the Panthers headed to the power play after a Duncan Keith cross check. On the power play, big offseason addition Mike Hoffman scored from the right wing face-off dot to give the Panthers the 3-2 lead late in the period. However, the action wouldn’t stop there…

Less than a minute later, what looked like a harmless Mackenzie Weegar shot, ended up taking a difficult bounce off of Cam Ward and right onto the stick of Jared McCann. The young center would further extend the Panthers lead, 4-2, as the contest went into the second intermission.

Third Period:

The third frame started in very similar fashion to how the second frame ended. After a defensive zone turnover by Jonathan Toews, Jared McCann found an open Denis Malgin for the Panthers’ fifth tally of the game. The Blackhawks looked like the team they were prior to their three-game winning streak, turning over pucks, taking stupid penalties and ultimately, just not playing good hockey.

In a valiant attempt at a comeback, the Blackhawks added their third goal at roughly the mid-way point of the third period. After Connor Murphy carried the puck into the offensive zone, he found Patrick Kane on the right wing boards. With perfect precision, Kane found Dylan Strome backdoor for the tap-in goal to cut the Florida lead to two. It was Dylan Strome’s third point of the game.

DYLAN STROME TAPS HOME PATRICK KANE'S PASS ON THE DOORSTEP!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/DjLLWkSiO7

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 24, 2018

Despite some quality looks for the Blackhawks, they could not crack James Reimer for the remainder of the period. Frank Vatrano added the empty net goal to give the Panthers the 6-3 lead and, by that score, the game was over. Florida wins 6-3 at the United Center.

Quick Hits:

• Dylan Strome had himself a game. After only one goal in his last five games, the young centerman scored one goal and added two assists. Strome now has nine points (six goals, three assists) since joining the Blackhawks after the Nick Schmaltz trade. It’s safe to say the change of scenery and quality opportunity to play in the top six has helped the former third-overall pick regain some confidence and play his game.
• Cam Ward did not look like the same goaltender we saw against Nashville and Dallas. He looked tired, wasn’t playing with confidence, and let in some goals that should not have gone in. It’s safe to say that both Hawryluk tallies were very preventable, which could have given the Blackhawks a chance to extend their win streak to four games.
• Many fans may be calling for Collin Delia to have a shot and play more games now after the NHL returns from Christmas break. Delia looked great against the Avalanche on Friday night and, at this point in the season, what do the Blackhawks have to lose by giving Delia a quality look in Corey Crawford’s absence?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! The Blackhawks will be back in action on Thursday, December 27th at home against the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks Fall to Panthers at Home, End Three-Game Win Streak appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel discuss the Blackhawks start to training camp and first preseason game with Rink prospect writer Aaron Goldschmidt .

• Blackhawks lose to Columbus with a very young inexperienced roster
• Not a lot of positives in preseason game one
• The Corey Crawford injury and situation, and how the team finally released the official injury
• The team announces that injury reports will be more specific
• The defensemen still look bad and the outlook got no better with reports of Murphy and Rutta injuries
• We play rapid fire game with your host your Aaron Goldschmidt
• We wrap up the episode with some great listener/reader questions.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 30 – Season 2 Begins appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks Will Be Without Connor Murphy 8-12 Weeks

After announcing that Murphy underwent back surgery in the summer, the team announced he would originally miss up to eight weeks of action. That timetable has been extended after the team announced that there will be a six week period where he will be off the ice, before further tests would be needed to determine if another four week period of rest would be necessary before returning to action. 

The Blackhawks released this information on Wednesday regarding Connor Murphy:

Medical update on Connor Murphy’s back injury, via #Blackhawks team physician Dr. Michael Terry. pic.twitter.com/SG3vyGU8R5

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 19, 2018

Chicago already knew that they would be without Murphy and Gustav Forsling in their defensive group to begin the year, but with the news today that Murphy could be out up to 12 weeks, the spotlight on the Blackhawks defense only grows brighter. Players like Brandon Manning, Brandon Davidson (still on his PTO with the team), and rookie Henri Jokiharju will be thrust into more regular roles. Especially Jokiharju, whose path to a spot on the NHL roster opened wider with the losses of Forsling and Murphy to begin the year.

Training camp and the preseason continues for Chicago after dropping their first preseason game on Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus, 4-1. The Blackhawks travel to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night for their second preseason game.

The post Connor Murphy Could Miss More Time After Back Surgery appeared first on The Rink.

Kane Named USA Captain, Three Other Blackhawks Join Team USA

Patrick Kane was named the Team USA Captain earlier this month and will be playing in his second-ever World Championship after taking sixth-place in the 2008 tournament. Connor Murphy will play in his fifth-straight World Championships, having helped USA to a Bronze Medal in the 2015 tournament and Captained last year’s Team USA squad that took fifth-place. For DeBrincat and Oesterle, they will both be making their first appearances for Team USA in the World Championships. DeBrincat has represented the United States on the international stage as a member of the 2016 Team USA World Junior’s team that took home a Bronze Medal. Jordan Oesterle will be making his Team USA debut on the international stage.

The United States opens the IIHF World Championships on Friday, May 4 against Canada and is in Group B, which has the USA, Canada, Finland, Germany, Norway, Latvia, Korea, and host nation Denmark.

You can find Team USA’s full IIHF World Championships roster HERE

Along with the four players from the current Blackhawks team, former Chicago goaltender Scott Darling will also be making his debut for Team USA and assistant coach Don Granato will be on Team USA’s coaching staff.

The post Four Blackhawks To Play For Team USA At World Championships appeared first on The Rink.

My first task is to break down the Blackhawks defensive corps, which was a chore. The first thing most people were concerned about coming into this season was the inexperience of the defense, and those concerns were proven to be valid as this season went on. The easy thing to do would be pile on these players and write them off. There were positives and faint glimmers of hope that can easily be overshadowed by the dark cloud of doom and gloom.

That said, despite what General Manager Stan Bowman has fed the media and fans, the Blackhawks will need to upgrade the defense in the offseason, somehow. Rolling out the same exact defense and expecting a different result is, as the cliché goes, the definition of insanity.

The good news is that Bowman will have cap space to play with and can clear up even more with some minor moves. There is potential to turn this rickety old ship around with a trip to the dry dock this summer to look under the hood and pull the right strings. Coming from me, you might all be surprised, but I see light at the end of the tunnel and this team; without a painful tear down.

Let’s jump into this murky pool and work our way up from the filthy silt to fresh air:

Michael Kempny (D+) – Maybe one of the most enigmatic, misunderstood and maligned defenseman the Blackhawks have had in quite a while. He has the size, the speed and the raw talent, but seemed to get into the black hole of Joel Quenneville’s doghouse early in his Hawks career. As we all know very well, that dark place is somewhere that players rarely return from.

Kempny was no different.

When he played, his numbers were better than average. One goal, six assists and a plus 13 (one of the few plus players) in 31 games is a respectable stat line. Kempny had a respectable 53.9% even strength Corsi and 52.6% Fenwick. All signs point to this guy deserving more of a chance.

I really had high hopes for this Czech defender, but once he was banished to “Pay-No-Mindland” his Blackhawks career was ostensibly over. He had stretches of solid play, once he was actually allowed to dress, but then would be excommunicated to the Joel Quenneville Shrimp Cocktail suite for weeks at a time. I hope he continues to grow in Washington, or some other city, and make the way he was handled in Chicago look even worse.

Gustav Forsling (C-) – With Ville Pokka finally jettison this year, Gustav Forsling is looking more and more like he is taking that title on. Of course he is younger and quicker that Pokka, but he seems to be stuck in that frustrating purgatory between the NHL and AHL. He has some really impressive talent but he has yet to really figure out the NHL game. He is still really young, though, and he has time to develop.

The problem is that Stan Bowman keeps retaining these other middling defenders like Rutta and Gustafsson which keep Forsling in the AHL. My fear with Forsling is that next year will be another lost year because he is probably at least 7th on the organizational depth chart, not counting Carl Dahlstrom, Blake Hillman, Dennis Gilbert, Henri Jokiharju or any of the other young prospects or pending draft choices.

Forsling played 41 games before the Blackhawks finally had enough and sent him down to Rockford for some seasoning. Both his Corsi (49.1%) and Fenwick (45.7%) numbers were the worst on the team for any regular defenseman. His three goals and ten assists were certainly commendable, but the possession number really need to improve.

His development and possession metrics could have been hindered a bit by the fact that Joel Quenneville did not shelter him excessively as far as zone starts, which were fairly even.

It is crucial that Forsling has a good summer and forces the Blackhawks hand or he may very well end up the next defenseman that ends up as an extra player in future trade.

Connor Murphy (C) – If it were not for Brent Seabrook, Connor Murphy would probably hold the infamous irrational hatred award. Murphy is a young, big, third or fourth defenseman. His biggest crime, though, is not being Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Niklas Hjalmarsson is not even Niklas Hjalmarsson anymore, but Murphy will unfortunately always be held to that unattainable standard.

As the season began, it is no big secret that the young defenseman struggled to adjust. Once Quenneville started playing mad-scientist and moved Murphy over to the right side (which he had never played) something clicked in his lizard brain, and he turned a corner. He still isn’t (and probably never will be) Hjalmarsson but, then again, who is? Stop comparing him to the player he was traded for, and life will be much easier.

Jordan Oesterle (C) – Of all the surprises in 2017-18, on the defensive side of the house, Jordan Oesterle might be the biggest of them all. When he was signed last summer, the impression was that he was a depth tweener that could be shuttled between Rockford and Chicago. He boasted a grand total of 25 NHL games over three seasons with an organization that had mostly been a mess in their own end. Oesterle’s numbers were comparable to Erik Gustafsson in Rockford, while the defenseman was with Oklahoma City and Bakersfield.

He started the season sitting in the press box for a majority of the first couple of months and seemed to be that elusive “never seen nor heard from 8th defenseman.”  The fact that he eventually dressed and played significant minutes for 55 regular season games of pretty remarkable. Playing with Duncan Keith a vast majority of the season probably helped his numbers a bit, as well. Those numbers are not as gaudy as you might recall, but 5G-10A-15P is decent.

Certainly more than most might have expected from Oesterle.

As the season wore on, we began to see the true holes in his game. Like a lot of the other average sized, mediocre, puck moving defenseman in the organization Oesterle was an adventure in his own end of the ice, and this became more evident as the book got out on him.

As far as possession metrics go, he was only better than Brent Seabrook, Jan Rutta and Gustav Forsling on defense. Oesterle’s 52.4% Corsi and 51.1% Fenwick at 5v5 look alright on the surface, but the entire Blackhawks team had really good shot metrics overall.

Again, much of that was the fact that he played with the best defenseman in the organization for most of the year. Oesterle is another fine tweener defenseman, but the Blackhawks still need to add some meat to the middle of their depth chart if they want to turn things around next season.

Brent Seabrook (C+) – We go from one of the misunderstood players to (possibly) the most irrationally hated Blackhawks player. Brent Seabrook is a warrior; a leader; a long time under rated player in this league because of the flash of his old partner Duncan Keith.

And he makes too much money.

Fans need to get used to the fact that Brent Seabrook will not be going anywhere unless he retires or is bought out through some kind of compliance/amnesty buyout. Learn to forget his salary cap hit. Get one of those “Men In Black” flashy doohickeys.

His overall numbers were just “OK” and he clearly has lost a step; or five.

Seabrook is still one of the few defenseman on the Blackhawks that can get a cannon of a shot through to the net, especially on the power play, though. It is really unfortunate that the coaching staff will need to work around him but this is the hand their general manager has dealt them.

Carl Dahlstrom (C+) – Dahlstrom is an interesting case, and his long trip to the NHL has been well documented by Chris Block of The Third Man In. He was forgotten about and virtually cast away, but has fought back and played some significant NHL minutes this year. That was all after having an excellent AHL season and being selected as an AHL All-Star.

My notes on him in prospect camp over the past few years were as follows:

• 2013 – Looks bigger than his size, and big shoulder pads make him look very broad shouldered. Lumbering. More slow and smooth. Would get walked at the pro level.
• 2015 – Tall, has size and some bulk. Not overly quick. Seems like an adventure in his own end when pressured.
• 2016 – Moves like Frankenstein. Has great size, but struggles to keep up. Looks like a younger Rozsival with equivalent speed.

His footwork has definitely improved over the years, and his size is something the Blackhawks have lacked on the back end. With new confidence to jump into the play, he has turned himself into a pretty surprising borderline NHL player. At 6’3” and 240 lbs he is never going to be a speedster, especially next to players like Gustav Forsling and Duncan Keith.

Those players are carrying at least 50 lbs less meat around, though.

As far as his numbers go, Dahlstrom only registered three assists and a -3 in his 11 games. His Corsi (52.9%) was right in the middle of the pack and his Fenwick (49.8%) was in the bottom third. Part of this can be attributed to his usage. Joel Quenneville gave him a healthy 53.4% of defensive zone starts which was the most of Blackhawks defensemen.

Going forward, with the crowded clown car of mediocre defensemen, I really cannot see where he fits in, but Dahlstrom’s size and the proof that he can hang against NHL players might make him an enticing trade piece. Personally, I would like to see them clear out some of the carbon copy smaller guys and develop some of the bigger guys.

Erik Gustafsson (C+) – Nobody, including me, thought that we would be seeing Erik Gustafsson logging 35 games with the Blackhawks this year, but that is exactly what transpired. Gustafsson was the “forgotten guy” after not playing a single game for the Blackhawks and spending all of 2016-17 in Rockford. During that season with the Icehogs he had pretty solid offensive numbers (5G-25A-30P), but had a horrid -27 hung around his neck.

When the season began, he was probably looked at as an 8th or 9th option, but a solid start to his 2017-18 season (3G-14A-17P in 25 games) and a mediocre Blackhawks defense forced management’s hand. Gustafsson was recalled on January 9th never to return to Rockford.

He never went back to Rockford because of his impressive offensive numbers. In only 35 games, the 26-year-old Swedish defenseman put up 16 points (5G-11A). His 5v5 Corsi was 5th best on the team (55.4%) and his Fenwick was 2nd best, after Cody Franson, at 54.9%. This might lead you to believe that Quenneville was sheltering him with offensive zone starts but, shockingly, his zone starts were relatively even (57.4% offensive).

This unexpected jump in production eventually led to a two-year extension for Gustafsson. Like so many of the others in this group, I’m not entirely sure where he fits into this cast of misfits, but it will be a crowded group. He would be fine as a 5th/6th/7th guy but, as a top four defenseman, the Blackhawks may be in trouble.

Cody Franson (B-) – I told everyone in the interwebz that Cody Franson would surprise them with what he could provide, and he did; for a little while. He came into camp on a PTO and clearly had an “under the table” deal with Stan Bowman, once the Marian Hossa LTIR room kicked in. If you watch hockey and do not just judge players from a stat line with no context, you probably would have had a good idea of what Franson could bring.

He is a big commanding veteran presence that has a booming shot from the point. He knows his limitations and adjusts for them. Joel Quenneville was clearly aware of Franson’s limitations too. He gave Franson a team high 65.8% offensive zone starts. As a result, the 30-year-old defender had the team best 5v5 Corsi (59.9%) and Fenwick (60.2%).

On the offensive side of the ice, in his 23 games, Franson had 1G-7A-8P and half of his points were on the power play. These are all respectable numbers for a guy that came in on a try out and only made $1M this season.

As the season went on and the Blackhawks continued to take on water, Franson was sent to Rockford to mentor that group and allow some of the younger kids at the NHL level to get some long looks. Frustrating, for certain, but Franson went to Rockford like a good soldier and was eventually voted the Icehogs best defenseman.

Overall, he played within his means and did what was asked from him. His examples of how to be a pro will probably reflect on those young Rockford kids for years to come, which was well worth his $1M price tag.

Jan Rutta (B-) – While Michal Kempny might have left a bad taste in your mouths regarding Czech defensemen, Jan Rutta might bring you back to the other side of the tracks.  Kempny played in that World Cup of Money that the NHL held two years ago, and played a lot. Unlike Kempny, Rutta came in as a relatively unknown player.

Rutta is slightly bigger and came in a year older. Right away he showed that he can fit in the NHL. He was more reliable than his countryman, and showed an added offensive element. As a result, the Blackhawks coaching staff appeared to take a real liking to this rookie defenseman. So much so that Bowman signed him to a pretty large raise after only 57 games in North America.

In Rutta’s 57 games, he amassed six goals and 20 points, which is good for 3rd overall with Blackhawks defenseman. It is easy to see why the Blackhawks would want to keep him, but it is certainly curious as to why Bowman overpaid for Rutta.  His possession number certainly left a lot to be desired, and I cannot imagine that teams were breaking his door down.

It remains to be seen whether he will just be another face in the sea of average defenders next season, or if he will be worth the large raise.

Duncan Keith (B+) – There has been much angst regarding Keith this season. A lot of “dat Keith stinkz”, and questions about whether he has dropped off significantly.

Honestly, Blackhawks fans should not be worried, just yet. If you look at the cast of no-name partners he has dragged up and down the ice all year, he should get a free pass. One player, no matter who he is, can only cover for his partners so much before it starts to affect his own production.

Much like Jonathan Toews, it also might be time the Blackhawks stopped leaning on Duncan Keith so much and let him settle into a more relaxed role. Clearly, Keith is a freak of nature and can handle a physical beating, but if the organization expects him to be the mentor to all of the young defensemen coming through the system then they need to lighten the load. Otherwise, he will burn out, and it will come quickly. Keith’s ice time and zone starts have shifted in that direction (lowest since 06-07) but when he is the designated babysitter, the shift needs to probably happen a little more succinct.

The first thing they need to do is get him off the power play. Keith is not a necessity on the power play, and is not all that helpful there anyway. Some of the reason their power play was rancid was that when they put Keith out there, he just was not effective. He cannot get his shots through to the net, and has turned into more of a liability than anything. When Jordan Oesterle or Cody Franson are more effective, it is time to make a personnel change for good.

As far as his stats are concerned, of course they dipped. Dragging around unproven wild cards for most of the season will take a toll. His 2 goals and 32 points were still good enough for 6th on the team in scoring, though. His Corsi was right in the middle of the pack (52.4 %) and his Fenwick was in the bottom 3rd of the team (50.4%) at 5v5.

Honestly, anyone that suggests they trade Duncan Keith and his absurdly affordable contract better be ready for a full tear down and rebuild, because that would be the Blackhawks’ only choice. Even on the decline, as slow as it is, Duncan Keith is still far and away the best defenseman on this team.

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