4 Big Questions for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21

After one of the most eventful offseasons in recent memory, the Chicago Blackhawks have four questions that they will have to answer this season.

As our 2020-21 NHL Season Previews continue, we now get a chance to take a look at one of the most historic and popular franchises in the entire NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks were a roller coaster of a team during the 2019-20 NHL Regular Season. The year featured some highs, but also had some lows. One of the highlights of this past season was Chicago’s return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since getting swept by the Nashville Predators in 2017.

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Even though it looked like the Hawks would not qualify for the postseason prior to the ongoing pandemic, they were fortunate enough to be in a position to make the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. During the Play-In Round, Chicago surprised many fans around the league and was able to take down a high-flying Edmonton Oilers squad to punch their ticket to the postseason.

As expected, the Hawks fell to the cup-contending Vegas Golden Knights in five games during the First Round of the playoffs. Although their time in the postseason was short, many of Chicago’s youngsters gained valuable Playoff experience. Chicago had the youngest average age (25.6) out of any team to qualify for the postseason. Rookies Kirby Dach and Dominik Kubalik played outstanding hockey down the stretch, and look to be building blocks that Chicago desperately needs to retool.

Just as last season looked to be a sign in the right direction for the franchise, though, it all came crashing down this offseason.

In a shocking move, the team announced that they would be moving on from longtime franchise goaltender Corey Crawford. By choosing to not re-sign the two-time Stanley Cup netminder, they announced they would be committing to youth in between the pipes for this upcoming season. The trio of Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, and Kevin Lankinen only have a combined 84 games played in the league, therefore making the goaltender position a complete question mark for the time being.

Chicago also chose to move on from forward Brandon Saad, who also had been a major part of their two most recent Stanley Cup titles. They chose to ship out the 28-year-old winger and defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm.

Some other minor transactions included re-signing the rookie sensation Kubalik ($3.7 million), Subban ($850,000), and Dylan Strome ($3 million).

Just in the past month alone, many frustrating circumstances have come to fruition for the Blackhawks. The team announced that Alexander Nylander would undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus that he suffered during the Playoffs. His estimated return is four to six months, which is essentially the entire season.

Not even two weeks later, young stud Kirby Dach was injured in an exhibition matchup the night before the start of the World Junior Championships. Dach suffered a broken wrist and elected to undergo surgery. His timetable for returning to hockey-related activities is four to five months.

Lastly, the team announced that captain Jonathan Toews would not join the team before the start of Training Camp. According to the team, Captain Serious has been suffering from an unknown medical issue that has caused him to feel drained and lethargic. It is currently unknown when the franchise center will return to action.

So after all of these events, here are four questions that the Chicago Blackhawks will have to answer in the 2020-21 NHL season…

4. Will Ian Mitchell make the Blackhawks roster?

Prior to the beginning of last season, Ian Mitchell looked to be ready to make the jump to the NHL. Instead, he shocked everyone when he announced that he would return to the University of Denver for his junior season.

Mitchell saw this as one last opportunity to make a run at a collegiate championship, while also captaining the nationally-ranked Pioneers. Unfortunately, his quest to win that National Title was taken away from the youngster when the pandemic hit.

Shortly after it was announced that the NCAA playoffs would be cancelled, Ian chose to finally sign his Entry-Level Contract with the Blackhawks in April.

Many fans and the Blackhawks organization themselves have been anxious for Mitchell to transition to the professional level. He was assigned the #51 by the Hawks, a number that many fans in Chicago are used to seeing on the blue line from Brian Campbell‘s tenures in the Windy City.

Chicago General Manager Stan Bowman has gone on numerous podcasts this offseason and stated that in terms of development, Mitchell was equal to or even ahead of fellow defenseman Adam Boqvist. This is a good sign for the Blackhawks considering Boqvist spent the whole entire season in the NHL last year and displayed some flashes of talent.

Mitchell was a Second-Round Draft selection (57th Overall) by the Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He looks to be a solid all-around defenseman for the Hawks in the future. The only roadblock that could hinder Mitchell is the slew of defensemen that Chicago already has.

So far in training camp, things have looked promising for the 21-year-old. He has been paired alongside NHL veteran Calvin De Haan for the majority of the time, which could be a sign that he could start the season on the Hawks’ third defensive pairing on opening night.

2. Who will play center for the Hawks?

Before last week, the Blackhawks looked to have this position pretty solidified. But with the injury to Kirby Dach and the unfortunate circumstances looming around Jonathan Toews, the center position has now become somewhat of a question mark.

The team finally was able to re-sign Dylan Strome (two years, $3 million) to a contract extension on the eve of Training Camp, so he will presumably be centering the 1st line. Strome looks to return to the level of play he displayed in his debut season in a Hawks sweater since this past season he had regressed slightly.

An interesting candidate has been playing the position on the second line in training camp so far. Rookie Pius Suter has stepped into the role for the time being, which is surprising considering the line features Andrew Shaw on the right-wing. Shaw has played center in the past and is more than capable of playing the position. This must mean that the Blackhawks are very confident in Suter’s ability to adapt to North American ice.

Suter will be a rookie this season, having spent the past few seasons playing in Switzerland’s National League. He averaged right around a point per game in 2019-20 and took home the league’s MVP honors. The Hawks are hoping that he can replicate the success of Calder Trophy nominee Dominik Kubalik, who also was named the NL’s MVP back in the 2018-19′ season prior to joining Chicago last year.

The Hawks also signed veteran Carl Soderberg to a one-year contract in the past few weeks. Even at 35 years old, Soderberg has a ton of experience in the league and still tallied over 40 points last season with the Colorado Avalanche.

He has not yet been able to join the team in Training Camp, however, as he has been struggling with immigration issues. Once this situation gets resolved, he too will be a candidate for the second-line center role.

As for the third-line role, the Chicago Blackhawks have some options that they can plug in and play. They signed Mattias Janmark and Lucas Wallmark this offseason, and both have played the position in the past. Right now, Wallmark is centering the third line in camp, while Janmark is on the left-wing of the same line. Both have a similar mold, playing a very efficient two-way game.

The Hawks also reacquired Brandon Pirri in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights this offseason, so he is another name to throw in the mix.

Lastly, Chicago also still has some guys that played center last season. Ryan Carpenter, David Kampf, and Matthew Highmore all look to be still on the Hawks Opening Night roster, as the trio is currently making up the entire fourth line in training camp. All three have played center at some point for the Blackhawks last season, as they all are useful on the penalty kill as well.

As you can see, the Blackhawks do have some options at the position, however, it should be interesting to see who can step up and try to fill the void left by Dach and Toews.

1. Who becomes the starting goaltender for the Blackhawks?

Going back to the point I established earlier, the Chicago Blackhawks clearly lack experience in the goaltending department.

Malcolm Subban presumably will start the season in net, but he has struggled at the NHL level so far. In his 66 games played, he only has a SV% of .899 and a GAA of 2.97. Both of these numbers raise some question marks as to how long of a leash will Subban receive after signing that two-year extension this offseason.

The second option in the crease for Chicago is Collin Delia. Delia only has had one prior stint in the NHL, and that came almost two seasons ago. In the 16 games played, he posted a SV% of .908 and a GAA of 3.61. That GAA is very concerning, especially when you factor in the Blackhawks allowed a league-high 2,458 shots on goal last season.

One good thing for Delia is the fact that he has developed a bit with the Rockford Ice Hogs in the past couple of seasons. He was an AHL All-Star game selection in the 2018-19 season and had another decent year in 2019-20, posting a 2.66 GAA and a SV% of .912 for Rockford.

The last, but least likely option for the starting Blackhawks goaltender job would be Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen currently has never played a game in the NHL, but he also was an AHL All-Star Game Selection in 2019-20. While his numbers were somewhat similar to Delia’s (3.03 GAA, .909 SV%), Lankinen proved that he could be in the mix for the position as well. He is only 25 years old, which is one year younger than Delia and two years younger than Subban.

Do one of the goaltenders win the job outright, or do the Hawks choose to roll with whoever has the hot hand?

Regardless of whom the Chicago Blackhawks decide to roll with, the goaltender battle will be one of the main things to keep an eye on in the upcoming season.