Chicago Blackhawks: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

4. Can Brent Seabrook be productive again?

The Chicago Blackhawks have several holes on their blueline. They gambled on Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook avoiding regression. Both have not been able to do so. While Keith is still a very serviceable defenseman, Seabrook has been hit hard by Father Time.

His days as a top pairing defenseman are over. If Seabrook has to play top pairing minutes, the Blackhawks are out of luck. However, this doesn’t mean his days as a productive defenseman are over. All that means is the Blackhawks have to adjust his role and put him in situations where he can have success.

Head coach Joel Quenneville is a very smart man. Hopefully, he was paying attention to how the Washington Capitals have used Brooks Orpik in the past two postseasons. The Caps used the aging defenseman in more of a third-pairing role. Not only did this allow the Capitals to use Orpik more on the penalty kill, it also gave him confidence against lesser competition.

It’s worth noting, however, the Caps had a much more impressive and deep blueline group than the Blackhawks currently have. So Quenneville probably can’t afford to have Seabrook on the third pairing if making the postseason is the objective. However, he can limit his minutes and give him some more favorable minutes. If the Blackhawks can find a way to help Seabrook remain a productive defenseman, that should give the blueline a huge boost.