Chicago Blackhawks: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

3. Can Nick Schmaltz hold down the second line center role?

Last season’s struggles weren’t the worst thing in the world for the Blackhawks. They allowed players to step up in roles they wouldn’t have gotten on a contending team. A terrific example of this is Nick Schmaltz. He was given more minutes as the second-line center. Schmaltz rewarded the Blackhawks for their faith in him by scoring 21 goals and picking up 52 points.

He nearly doubled his production from his up and down 2016-17 rookie season. At 22 years old, Schmaltz seems ready to take on an even larger role in 2018-19. Barring any unforeseen moves, he will start this season as the Blackhawks second-line center, the same role he thrived in last season.

But this time around, the Hawks will be asking him to hang onto the role. It’s one thing to play the role well. Fulfilling it on a playoff contender is even more difficult. Schmaltz is going to need to further improve his performance if the Blackhawks want to make the postseason.

His offense is nothing short of terrific. A 60-point season is well within the realm of possibility, especially if he continues to play with Patrick Kane or Alex DeBrincat (more on the latter later) and he continues to improve on the power-play. However, Schmaltz leaves a bit to be desired on offense. Despite his impressive production, his five-on-five CorsiFor percentage was in the red. Also, Schmaltz won just 40.1 percent of his face-offs.

With some minor improvements and a more consistent left wing, Schmaltz could be a critical cog in the Blackhawks success next season.