The Chicago Blackhawks entered the 2024-25 campaign as one of the league’s most improved teams on paper. General manager Kyle Davidson added a ton of veteran talent to the lineup to help get the rebuild going after selecting forward Connor Bedard first overall in the summer of 2023’s NHL Entry Draft.
Following an abysmal 2023-24 campaign, these moves included forward Tuevo Teravainen, who was on the 2015 Blackhawks Stanley Cup team. Davidson also brought Craig Smith, Tyler Bertuzzi, Ilya Mikheyev and Pat Maroon to help Bedard.
On the defensive side, three-time Stanley Cup champion Alec Martinez came to Chicago along with TJ Brodie. To solidify the goaltending category, the team also acquired Laurent Brossoit to get a longer-tenured second goalie.
A month into the season, the Blackhawks have played 13 games. The team currently sits at a record of five wins, seven losses and one overtime defeat. Because of that, they are second to last in the central division. Despite the rough start, the team looks better and more cohesive this season. Davidson sees the improvement even with the sub-.500 record.
“I actually like the way we’re playing,” Davidson said to the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s unfortunate we just haven’t gotten results. That’s frustrating. But at the same time, in the bigger picture, we’re playing better than last year. There has been definite improvement.”
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Bedard cleared for takeoff
It has taken some time for Bedard to get going. It took him three games to score his first goal of the year, and he did not score again until two weeks later. In the team’s most recent game against the Anaheim Ducks, Bedard tallied three assists in a 4-2 Blackhawks win.
In the same amount of time in his first season, Bedard scored nine goals and added four assists, so it has clearly been a slow start for the youngster. However, he has quietly put nine assists on the board, including the three in his last game against Anaheim.
With three goals and nine assists, totaling 12 points, Bedard leads the team in overall point scoring. With how the Blackhawks have looked better as of late, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before Bedard starts lighting up the scoresheet.
Tending the goal
Both goaltenders on the Blackhawks currently sit with losing records. Petr Mrazek started 10 games with four wins and six losses, while Arvid Soderblom started three games and chipped in one win, one loss and an overtime defeat. Both have save percentages above 90% and are averaging between 2.3 and 3.1 goals against per game.
Offseason signee Brossoit still has not recovered from his knee injury, which he had surgery on in late August. Once healthy and ready to play, he will provide further goaltending depth to the organization. Also, this will allow Mrazek, who has started 77% of the games this year, to rest more and remain healthy.
An underdog turned leader
The team leader in goals is Ryan Donato, with seven, and is currently on a five-game point streak. At the same point last season, he had only scored three goals and added four assists. The eighth-year forward entered his contract year possibly on the bubble of being dealt but is now the top producer on the team.
“It’s tough,” Donato said to the Chicago Tribune. “You do a lot of good work, and sometimes it doesn’t go your way. I always say it goes back to my faith and just working hard. And right now, it’s going in.”
Donato has even seen time on the first forward line with Bedard. Third-year head coach Luke Richardson said Donato scraps for rebounds and gets knocked down a lot, still finding ways to find the back of the net.
Who else is producing?
Forwards Teravainen, Smith, Nick Foligno and Bertuzzi have scored four goals each. Three of these players were off-season acquisitions, with Foligno acquired in the summer of 2023. The forward depth added for this season has helped the Blackhawks put more crooked numbers on the scoreboard.
Defensemen Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic both have seven assists, and Jones has even scored two goals for a total of nine points, tying Donato. Teravainen also has four assists, bringing his point total to eight.
What’s ahead?
The Blackhawks play back-to-back matches starting Nov. 6, when they host the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion forward Patrick Kane will make his second visit to the United Center since being traded away during the 2022-23 season. When Kane made his first visit with the Red Wings on Feb. 25, 2024, Kane scored in overtime to push the Red Wings to a 3-2 win.
