Three thoughts heading into the Chicago Blackhawks 2023-24 season
The Chicago Blackhawks have a new look roster heading into the 2023-24 season. There are so many new faces that fans might need to take a little bit of time to get used to the group.
For the first time in over a decade, the Blackhawks do not have a captain, in fact the team won’t have Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews in their lineup at all. The days of watching #19 and #88 in Blackhawks jerseys are over, but, fans will get to watch #98 this season.
Connor Bedard is entering the league with a lot of expectations. Fans across the NHL are expecting a lot from him, but this is just the first season of his career. Which leads into the first of three thoughts on the Blackhawks 2023-24 season.
Three thoughts heading into the Chicago Blackhawks 2023-24 season
1. The Chicago Blackhawks might have their star player, but it takes a team to win a championship.
The Blackhawks added Connor Bedard at the 2023 NHL Draft. Landing a franchise star is usually the hardest thing for a rebuilding team to do, but the Blackhawks were lucky and the ping pong balls landed their way.
Blackhawks fans are going to have to be patient for a few more years. Even though the team has their franchise icon, they need to build out the rest of the roster more, and that won’t happen over night.
The Blackhawks once again are going to be near the bottom of the standings. Sure, they added Taylor Hall and Corey Perry, but this roster is still incomplete, so for this season, winning is not everything. Which, leads right into the second thought for the 2023-24 season.
2. There are a few young players to keep an eye on that can determine how long this rebuild will be.
Lukas Reichel and Kevin Korchinski are two of the Blackhawks biggest prospects outside of Connor Bedard. If the Blackhawks are to turn the corner on this rebuild in the next few seasons, Korchinski and Reichel are going to have to be two star players on this team. Both are expected to make the jump to the NHL this season, and hopefully they can play in big roles this year.
Fans will want to keep an eye on both Reichel and Korchinski this year, but the potential future core pieces of this organization does not end there. Goaltender Arvid Soderblom is expected to split the net with Petr Mrazek this season.
Soderblom is only 24 and showed flashes last season of being a strong goaltender in this league. If Soderblom can make some big saves and play at a high level throughout the 2023-24 season the team might have their starting goaltender for the next few seasons.
3. So what are some goals the Blackhawks can set for this season?
Take a step forward. Last season the Blackhawks had the worst offense in the NHL and they one of the worst defenses as well. This season is all about taking a step forward in both of those categories.
Finishing near the bottom of the standings once again will allow the Blackhawks to draft another highly skilled player, but tanking is not something fans need to cheer on as devotedly this season compared to last year. Fans should be hoping for a win every night, and I think there is a good chance the Hawks could do what the Coyotes did last season.
Last year the Arizona Coyotes were a tough team to play against. Chicago has some talent both in their forward group and on their blue line, the team also has a ton of young players looking to prove themselves and that will only help make the Hawks a tough opponent.