Fansided

Projecting every NHL team’s chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2019

By Griffin Youngs

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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23. Chicago Blackhawks

It’s a dark time for the Chicago Blackhawks after years of unparalleled success. The Blackhawks didn’t take many steps this offseason to solve their issues, and it looks as though a rough year is ahead.

Last season, the Blackhawks finished in 25th with 76 points, and missed the playoffs for the first time in ten seasons.

Why they could win

While things are looking bad in Chicago right now, you can’t count out the core that has won three Stanley Cups in this decade alone. Some parts of it are gone now, but some of the more crucial pieces still remain.

Plenty of the Blackhawks’ well-known core is due for a major bounceback season. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both had down seasons by their standards, but nothing compared to the seasons of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Keith scored only two goals last year, and Seabrook was a healthy scratch at certain points with how poor he was playing. If Chicago can get all of them back to form, they can compete with any team in the league.

What truly sunk the Blackhawks last year was losing Corey Crawford to injury. When healthy, Crawford is among one of the best goalies in the league that was carrying the Blackhawks early on in the season. If they can get him back healthy, the team is automatically in contention for a playoff spot. If the Blackhawks get in, they’ll know exactly what to do.

Why they won’t win

The Blackhawks really don’t have anything even resembling roster depth. The team relies entirely on the skill of Patrick Kane, the leadership of Toews to hold the team together, and the health of Corey Crawford. If any of those are lacking, it all collapses. Even if they have all three it might not be enough.

Once you get past the average top six, the bottom six may as well a close to an AHL team. Dylan Sikura may be alright, but he’s got two unproven linemates with him. On defense Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are now way past their primes and might not ever return to form, and those are Chicago’s two best defenders at the moment. Erik Gustaffson is pretty good fringe top four guy, but that’s really all there is here.

The only steps the Blackhawks made to improve this offseason were signing Chris Kunitz and getting Marcus Kruger in the trade that sent Hossa’s contract to Arizona. They even let Anthony Duclair walk even though he signed a league minimum contract with the Blue Jackets. Either management realizes they won’t compete this year, or they think this is somehow good enough. Either way, this looks really bad.

Conclusion

This is going to be rough season for the Blackhawks, and the sooner the organization can realize things need to change, the better. It was a great run for the Blackhawks this decade, and nothing will ever take away what they’ve accomplished, but it’s over now. Unless all of their stars return to peak form, which is still a possibility, the Blackhawks are going to struggle. The reason they’re up at No. 23 despite being worse on paper then some others is their past playoff success, if they do find a way to get in, they know exactly how to get it done in the postseason.

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