Western Conference bubble teams: What are the keys to playoff qualification?
By Matt Morrow
Chicago Blackhawks
Cap Space: $2.8 million (LTIR) per CapFriendly. This is tricky because of the players they have on LTIR. If Corey Crawford is indeed out for the rest of the regular season, they could place him on LTIR and gain even more cap space. Stay tuned for the next episode of that saga. It’s also going to be interesting to see how Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman uses this aforementioned cap space. He hasn’t been afraid to make bold trades in the past, whether it’s at the deadline or in the off season. This team could use both a top four defenseman and a depth center, and his decision as to which they need more will largely determine how the season ends.
Points: 50
They key for this team is simple. Play consistently! I’m a Blackhawks fan, so I have personal ties to this. They come out some nights and dominate some teams, and other nights they come out and it looks like they have no interest in playing hockey. These athletes and their coaching staff have so much experience, they’re going to need it down the stretch more than ever. In Chicago, the “flipping the switch” narrative is no more. They need to bring it each and every night.
The other key to the rest of the Blackhawks season is the health of Corey Crawford. Like I mentioned earlier, this is a very interesting and vague situation. The front office is being extremely tight lipped on this injury, and we haven’t heard from Crawford at all. If he comes back, this team has a real chance at making a run. While the Jeff Glass story is heartwarming, he and Anton Forsberg don’t have what it takes to advance this team very far in the postseason, if they even make it there.