Three Reasons To Keep Watching The 2021-22 Blackhawks Season
The Chicago Blackhawks season did not start out great under former head coach Jeremy Colliton. The team had one of their worst losing streaks in franchise history and they have been better under Derek King the interim head coach, but they definitely are a long way away from the playoffs.
The team has not had a lot to play for, especially during a bad month in December and early January, since then they have won a few games and have put together some points. They are no 2019 St. Louis Blues, but there definitely is still something to watch with this team.
The Blackhawks still have a lot of hockey ahead of them, and fans definitely should still tune in this season to see how the year goes. Not just for a late attempt at the playoffs and or the trading away of players for prospects, there still are some other reasons to keep watching this season.
Let’s go over three reasons Blackhawks fans should continue to watch this season.
1. The Youth
Lukas Reichel had a pretty good first stint with the team when he played on January 13th against the Montreal Canadiens and then again on January 15th against the Ducks. While he did not score any goals during his first trip with the team he did play in two victories and got to spend time with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.
Check out what he had to say ahead of his NHL debut:
Lukas Reichel, Ian Mitchell, and Nicolas Beaudin are definitely going to have bright futures in Chicago, not to mention the young 22 to 24-year-olds this team has in the NHL already. While the season might not end in the playoffs again there are a lot of great young players that are going to make up the future of this organization. Might as well start watching their rise now.
Reichel did get sent back down to the minors after two games, but there is no doubt he will be back later in the year. He even scored a goal in his first game back with the Ice Hogs.
2. Seth Jones
It cost the Blackhawks a lot to add Seth Jones to this team. But so far he has definitely been worth the price. While losing the first-round pick that the team could have had when falling behind in the standings hurt, at least they have the future face of the franchise and the blue line leading the charge.
Jones is having a terrific season with 25 points in 35 games this year. He is a talented defenseman that can play a lot of minutes for this team. He defends well and can even score some nice goals like this one against the Pittsburgh Penguins back in November:
This was his first goal as a Blackhawk and he will have many more over the coming years. Jones could be the next captain for the team as he is the longest signed player and is already a voice in the room and a leader on the ice.
Blackhawks fans might not have a lot to watch as the Hawks miss out on the playoff again, but to see the great play of the team’s new number one defensemen might be worth it on a nightly basis.
3. The Last Chance To See The Stars
The last reason to keep watching is a little unfortunate. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have been the Blackhawks stars for a long time. But with this season not going according to plan and the pair’s contracts being up at the end of next season the future of them with the organization definitely has to be in question.
The Blackhawks have celebrated players like Andrew Shaw with legacy nights, and there even was a Niklas Hjalmarsson sighting at a game earlier this year. The championship group in Chicago is all but gone except for Toews and Kane. If the pair only have another season or two with the team it definitely will be important for fans to watch.
Toews and Kane have not had the success Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have had at keeping their team contending through the end of their careers. That definitely is not on their shoulders alone as the general manager and coaching staff are the ones pulling a lot of the strings. I hope that Toews and Kane get one more chance at a championship, either with the Hawks or on another team after a trade to put them in a position to win.
There definitely are a lot of reasons to keep watching the Blackhawks besides these three things. The team has actually looked competitive the last week and found themselves on a bit of a winning streak before a shootout loss to the Kraken. Hopefully, the wins keep coming for the Hawks!
The Blackhawks’ next game is on Friday, January 21st against Minnesota.
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