This season has been a surprise for the Chicago Blackhawks and the fan community alike. We all expected this 2021 shortened season to be a challenging one, filled with loss and growing pains. But as we sit at the half-way point in the schedule, the Blackhawks find themselves in a playoff spot in the Central Division at 14-9-5 with 33 points and a .589 points percentage, good for fourth-place.
At the beginning of the season, I made some bold predictions for what might be in store for the Blackhawks as we headed into the 2021 season. Now at the mid-way point of the season, I wanted to revisit those predictions and reflect on how mostly wrong I was.
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Will the Blackhawks make the Playoffs?
What I said then: “LOL, God no. They are heavily out-gunned by the Lightning, Stars, and Hurricanes within the Central Division. The only team they MIGHT finish ahead of in the division is the Red Wings. Even that isn’t a given.”
What I say now: Well we’re starting off with a bang. I was very wrong about this team heading into the year, but I don’t blame myself. With the losses of Alex Nylander, Kirby Dach, and Jonathan Toews prior to training camp, and with the questions in net, like many people in the hockey world I gave this team no chance. Now they’re in control of a playoff spot and have a 56.2 percent chance at making the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck odds.
Patrick Kane will be the team’s MVP in 2021.
What I said then: “Again, I said some of these will be lukewarm. Kane is the best player on this roster and he’s going to have to drag this team to wins at times this season. He has the skills to do so, and it seems like he is onboard for the rebuild, so as long as he gets to play with the “good” young players.”
What I say now: There was a time where Kevin Lankinen might have been considered the Blackhawks’ MVP this season, but he has recently come back down to Earth. Patrick Kane on the other hand is headed straight to the moon. At the mid-way point, Kane has 40 points in 28 games and is third in the NHL in scoring behind Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Kane is scoring at a career-high 1.43 points per game pace which would put him at 58 points at the mid-way point of a full 82-game season, and 117 points in a full year.
Ian Mitchell will outplay Adam Boqvist and be given more responsibilities by season’s end.
What I said then: “All we’ve been fed as fans about Ian Mitchell is how ready he is for the NHL. Over the summer heading into the 2019-20 season, general manager Stan Bowman claimed he thought Mitchell could have played in the NHL the season prior. While this is not to say Boqvist will struggle, I’m just on the bandwagon that Mitchell is going to be good, really good, right out of the gate.”
What I say now: Wrong again. Ian Mitchell did start the season looking better than Adam Boqvist, I’ll give myself credit for that. But since about 12-15 games into the season, the scales started to tip back towards Boqvist. Now, Mitchell is being scratched and Boqvist is one of the leading defensemen for the Blackhawks. The second-year blueliner has 12 points in 17 games this season, nine points in 11 games since returning from being out with COVID at the end of January/early February.
“And then they said, ‘You need to go to Rockford.’” pic.twitter.com/NdMuqZ6N5X
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 11, 2021
Malcolm Subban will start the season opener, but Collin Delia will play the most games in net.
What I said then: “Subban has the most NHL experience of the three goalies on the roster for the Blackhawks heading into the season. But Delia appears to have more favor within the organization. I mean, Subban played less time for the Blackhawks last season after being acquired from the Golden Knights than it takes to cook a Pop-Tart. The hope, the low-bar hope, is that the Blackhawks can have one or both goaltenders be at least league-average. I believe Delia can get there.”
What I say now: WRONG. Collin Delia was pushed to the side by the Blackhawks after Kevin Lankinen’s emergence in late-January and Malcolm Subban assumed the backup role. Delia has not played for the Blackhawks since the third game of the season, while Lankinen and Subban have been above league-average this season. Both goaltenders are a big part of the reason Chicago is in the position they are now. I feel bad for Delia, though, and hope he can get back into some NHL action with the Blackhawks to get his redemption opportunity.
Carl Söderberg is totally getting traded.
What I said then: “He’s 35-years-old and is only clogging the roster if the team is truly trying to go through a youth-driven rebuild. If he can play anywhere near his career average, the Blackhawks should be able to flip him at the trade deadline for draft capital.”
What I say now: What if I told you that the Blackhawks can go through a youth-driven rebuild AND make Carl Söderberg a valuable player? With nine points in his last 10 games, Söderberg has been as advertised (and a little bit more) for the Blackhawks. He’s even played well enough to garner time on the first powerplay unit. Could he still be traded by the deadline on April 12th? Of course. In fact, he might be the most useful player that the Blackhawks could get something for at this point.
Since Carl Soderberg took on a power-play role exactly one month ago (Feb. 11), he now has three PPGs to his name. No other #Blackhawks player has more than one in that span.
— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) March 12, 2021
Mattias Janmark is totally getting traded.
What I said then: “Again, much like Söderberg, there’s not much for Janmark to do with the Blackhawks beyond this season. He’s 28-years-old, so not really “old” in the sense that Söderberg is “old” (my apologies to anyone who is 35+) but unless he’s the reincarnation of Marian Hossa (he’s not), I don’t see much space for him in the rebuilding process. Get what you can from him in the season, flip at the trade deadline for draft capital.”
What I say now: Janmark had six goals and 21 points with the Dallas Stars in 62 games last season. He has nine goals and 15 points with the Blackhawks in 28 games this season. He spoke about being ready to take on a larger offensive role with Chicago this season and he was right. He’s on a one-year deal, and, much like Söderberg, could garner some nice draft capital at the trade deadline. Or, more likely, he could be kept around for the playoff push because he has been a valuable piece to the Blackhawks success puzzle this season.
Brent Seabrook is totally not getting traded.
What I said then: “As much as many Blackhawks fans want Seabrook booted from town years ago, he’s anchored by his contract. In a league that is facing financial hardships due to COVID, I can’t imagine there’s a team out there that would accept Seabrook and his contract without also getting much more than it’s worth to the Blackhawks in return. Chicago is stuck with him for the foreseeable future.”
What I say now: Well, I wasn’t wrong. Seabrook announced the end of his playing career last week and was placed on LTIR with a career-ending injury. Complications with his double-hip surgery from last February effectively ending his career. His contract comes off the Blackhawks books a the end of the 2023-24 season, but he can be placed on LTIR every year until then. It’s also possible his contract could be traded at some point, but I highly doubt it will happen this season.
Nikita Zadorov is totally getting a contract extension.
What I said then: “One of the offseason additions to the Blackhawks that will likely not be flipped at the trade deadline will end up being defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Acquired in the Brandon Saad trade, Zadorov is the kind of player the Blackhawks can benefit from having in the lineup on a nightly basis. Big, physical, opponents hate playing against him. As long as he’s not a dumpster fire defensively, I see Chicago investing in Zadorov beyond 2021.”
What I say now: He hasn’t been good, but he’s not a dumpster fire either. I don’t see the Blackhawks trading Zadorov by the deadline, but I also don’t know what their plan would be for him as he would be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the end of the season. They may trade his rights after the season, or try to work out something short-term in the summer.
Pius Suter will be good, just not “2019-20 Dominik Kubalík” good.
What I said then: “So far, all indications through training camp point to the Blackhawks investing plenty of time into the 24-year-old Swiss prospect. Comparisons to Kubalík are going to be rampant this season since both of them come from the same European league, in consecutive offseasons, and both won the league’s MVP award in consecutive years. They have similar skill-sets, but Kubalík emerged as a dangerous goal-scorer last season and Suter likely tracks out to be a player who will setup more goals than he scores. If Suter can be close to what Kubalík meant to the Blackhawks last season, it’ll be a win for Chicago.”
What I say now: Suter has been really good for the Blackhawks, centering the top-line with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. He leads all NHL rookies with eight goals this season and has 13 points, good for a tie for third among rookies. He’s not lighting up the league for 30 goals like Kubalík did last season, but in a year where Dach and Toews have been out, Suter stepped in and has done a more than serviceable job down the middle.
Philipp Kurashev will be the biggest breakout rookie not named Ian Mitchell.
What I said then: “While he’s not in the starting lineup on night one, Kurashev showed he can hang with the NHL-caliber Blackhawks players. He likely would have made his NHL debut last season, had he not been sidelined with an injury while playing with the Rockford IceHogs. He can play center or wing and has the tools to be effective at both ends of the ice. I believe if he’s given the chance to play, he will make it hard for Colliton to take him out of the lineup.”
What I say now: Two words: Kevin. Lankinen.
The Rockford IceHogs will make the AHL playoffs (if they have them).
What I said then: “The amount of young talent that the Blackhawks are sending to their AHL squad is salivating for a person like myself that has spent the past five years immersed in the Chicago farm system. We still don’t know exactly what the 2021 season will look like for the AHL, or what the playoffs will look like, or if there even will be playoffs.”
What I say now: Yeah, this is another one I was way off on. The IceHogs have been dealing with injuries and the ever-changing taxi squad and have had trouble getting consistency and honestly, talent in to the lineup. They are playing a lot of first-year players and the AHL is a wonky league this season. Some teams are loaded with talent, some are completely depleted. Rockford is the latter. At 3-8-1 this season, I find it difficult for the IceHogs to climb out of the basement in the AHL Central Division and make a playoff push.
The Blackhawks will not win a season series against any team, not even the Red Wings.
What I said then: “Here’s a harsh reality: The only team that I *had* confidence in the Blackhawks finishing ahead of in the Central Division was the Detroit Red Wings. AND THEN Jonathan Toews, Kirby Dach, and Alexander Nylander were ruled out of the lineup for the 2021 season. While the Red Wings are going to be awful, so are the Blackhawks. Maybe not a best-case scenario, but an “of course because 2020 2021″ scenario, Chicago and Detroit split their season series and no one gets bragging rights in the one-season rivalry revival.”
What I say now: Here’s a harsh reality: I was super wrong. The Blackhawks have owned the Red Wings this season with a 5-1-0 record through six meetings and out-scoring Detroit 25-12 in the process. They are also leading the season-series against both the Columbus Blue Jacket (4-2-0) and Dallas Stars (3-1-0). Not to mention they still have to play the Nashville Predators six more times in the final 28 games of the season and the Predators are in a free fall this season. Not to jinx it or anything.
Jonathan Toews will return to the team before season’s end.
What I said then: “This is honestly just a hope and prayer that Toews’ health improves to a point where he is healthy enough to come back to the NHL.”
What I say now: The same. I want to see Jonathan Toews return this season, not because I want him to help the Blackhawks (of course, he would if he came back) but because a comeback would be a sign that he was 100% back to being his fully healthy self. We saw Toews for the first time this season earlier this week to celebrate Patrick Kane’s 1,000th game. Let’s hope it’s not the only time we see the Blackhawks’ Captain this season.
Chicago Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews sends his well wishes and congratulations to Patrick Kane on his 1,000th game tonight #Blackhawks #1Kane
(@NHLBlackhawks) pic.twitter.com/ajgK3LSFKa— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 10, 2021
The Blackhawks will have a top-five draft pick.
What I said then: “The only name that I want to see on the Blackhawks draft board: Owen Power.”
What I say now: The Blackhawks are currently in a playoff spot and if that keeps up, they will not be in the draft lottery, likely picking in the mid-to-late teens in this summer’s draft. If that’s the case, forget Owen Power real quick. Hey, I hear Sasha Pastujov is pretty decent.
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I am happy to be so epically wrong at the mid-way point of the season for 2021. I was expecting this year to be a sheet-cake made of misery and despair. Instead, it’s been a season full of surprises, in a good way. I’m enjoying the ride this young Blackhawks team is taking us on. I hope you are too.