The Chicago Blackhawks Are Somehow Worse This Year Than Last And Apathy Is Setting In

Apathy. That's word that can be used to describe the majority fan base and on many nights...the team. I am surprised we are here to be honest. Last year was a disaster basically from the word go. The Corey Perry situation was ugly. Taylor Hall got hurt. The roster was bad. I hated the way the team played and competed. It was miserable, but also hard to judge the coach because the roster was subpar. 

This year was supposed to be different. They added a TON of veterans. Teravainen, Bertuzzi, Martinez, Brodie, Maroon, Smith, etc. A year of growth for Bedard and other young players. Kyle Davidson said it was time for the organization and the rebuild to take a step forward. Here is where things sit currently:

Dead last in the NHL doesn't feel like a step forward to me. 

Again, this is not all on Luke Richardson. There have been a few positives. I think the transition defense is much improved. The powerplay is better. That's about it. We haven't seen that consistent performance. We have yet to see a complete game. Once again, watching the Blackhawks has felt like a chore this year. 

For the first time in the rebuild I think you can point a finger at Kyle Davidson. I posted this tweet the other day and it was understandably misinterpreted. I should've been more clear

Obviously we are still early into the rebuild. I am not judging him on his drafts yet and I largely feel good about the individual players. If he wanted to take a step forward this year then having ZERO centers on the team outside of Jason Dickinson is a pretty big mistake. He had to, at least when sitting up at night alone, wonder if Bedard could be a center in the long run. Even if Bedard was going to be your 1C…you'd still be two centers (minimum) short of a roster that is ready to take a step forward. Prospect pool looks pretty solid, but the roster construction is bad. 

Nazar has been looking very good in Rockford and by very good I just mean his stats are good. I can't say I've watched him this year. His toolkit and size suggest his best position in the NHL would on the wing. I think he will be a good NHL player at some point. Is he going to be an all-star…far from settled. Ditto for all the other forwards. This group needs to have some size, some centers, some toughness, and a goalie added to the mix. At this moment there isn't any of that in the pipeline. That's a problem for another day though. 

As of now…Richardson can't get a tune out of this roster and the most important player hasn't improved. I liked the way Bedard played for stretches against Anaheim. Playing him with an actual center was a good start and they had some chemistry. That change shouldn't have taken this long and it does feel like the communication between the players and the coach is strained based on comments from Taylor Hall and Seth Jones. How long will the organization let this go on? Again, not everything is on Richardson, but if they set a standard of a "taking a step forward" and you're literally going backwards through 20% of the season then changes need to be made. 

The other problem is that you don't want to make a change for the sake of making a change. You need to upgrade the position. It can't be an internal hire, in my opinion. It's going to take some boldness and some money to get a better, established, coach to take this job because, well, George Patton couldn't lead this roster on a playoff march. I would call Jim Montgomery. I don't think the Blackhawks will because of his somewhat checkered history. I think their coaching options will be limited as proven coaches are likely waiting for the Pittsburgh, Detroit, Montreal, etc jobs to open up. So…they might just be stuck. Rolling backwards down hill. 

Here is another thing I think I've realized these last two years…it's hard to build a culture with mercenaries. I really like Foligno, Martinez, Smith, and Maroon. I am sure they are pro's pros. All of those guys are likely on their last NHL contract. Everyone knows it. I don't think those guys can build a culture that lasts if they're not going to last. When the Blackhawks rebuilt the last time they had Marty Havlat, John Maddon, Bob Lange, Martin Lapointe, and some other vets, but they weren't the guys who really built the culture. That was done by Seabrook, Keith, Sharp, Bolland, James Wisniewski. Young guys who bought in and were largely here for the long haul. There are only two guys here in Chicago who are guaranteed to be here again when the Blackhawks are hopefully good again. Bedard and Vlasic. I don't know much about them. Never really spoken to them. Someone needs to make sure that they know this is THEIR team. They aren't rookies anymore. They need to set the culture. And beyond that…for the sake of building culture…I think bringing up the other younger guys like Nazar and Dach could help change the culture because there's going to be buy in and eagerness from players who know they're here for a long run. I am all for a slow and steady development track, but at this point I think maybe veterans mercenaries who are stunting that development. That is a just a theory. Another lever to pull. Right now things aren't good enough and changes have to be made. 

Winter classic jerseys are cool though. Let's see Nazar wear it for the varsity.