Chicago Blackhawks: 2017 Season Preview, Predictions
Forwards
The Chicago Blackhawks have relied heavily on Toews and Kane in the past. While the former is a great shutdown center, the latter is an elite offensive player. This won’t change in 2017-18, as the Blackhawks depth isn’t ideal. But the two have proven they can carry the team. Getting Saad back helps Toews, but losing Panarin could hurt Kane.
Projected Forward Lines
Line combinations via Daily Faceoff, roster via Cap Friendly.
Saad – Toews – Richard Panik
Sharp – Nick Schmaltz – Kane
Ryan Hartman – Artem Anisimov – Wingels
Bouma – Tanner Kero – Tomas Jurco
Extra forward candidates: Vinnie Hinostroza, John Hayden, Laurent Dauphin
On the rise: Alex Debrincat, Matthew Highmore
Anismov centered the second forward line last season. However, Schmaltz did rather well with Kane and the Blackhawks liked what they saw from him. So it wouldn’t be surprising if Quenneville starts with Schmaltz centering the second line. Especially with a proven “plan B” in Anisimov.
Panik emerged last season as Toews’ most consistent line mate not named Hossa. He had 47 career points before last season and ended it with 91. Panik set career highs with 22 goals and 22 assists. This earned him a nice pay raise, as he got a two-year extension with an annual cap hit of $2.8 million.
Hartman will be relied on to help drive the third line. He showed a lot of potential last season and earned Quenneville’s trust. Hartman will have a larger role this season and could be the Chicago Blackhawks’ plan B for Sharp.
One very fascinating storyline in training camp and preseason will be seeing Debrincat try to earn a roster spot. He’s unquestionably talented as a goal scorer. However, Debrincat is also very raw defensively. However, his incredible offensive abilities might make it impossible to keep him off the NHL roster. Long term, Debrincat could be a Panarin replacement.
Highmore is someone who the Blackhawks could turn to if they need a little more scoring. This will be his first season in the AHL, but he’s coming off an impressive QMJHL career.