The Chicago Blackhawks are the next in line for a team overview. It feels like not too long ago that we were in the middle of watching the Blackhawks win 3 Stanley Cups in 6 Years, now they are the worst team in the league. The Blackhawks have quickly become a laughing stock over the past 3 years. At the beginning of last year, things seemed quite promising for Chicago. They were able to trade for defenseman Seth Jones and for goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, coming off of his Vezina trophy winning season, but the season was a train wreck. The Blackhawks ended up trading away Fleury, their top goal scorer Alex Debrincat, and their 2019 3rd overall pick Kirby Dach. They also let Dominik Kubalik, Erik Gustaffson, Dylan Strome, and anyone else that made an impact walk in free agency. The only players that will give the Blackhawks any sort of chance to win games this year are primarily Patrick Kane, Seth Jones, and then Jonathan Toews. Kane and Toews have been the backbone of the Blackhawks franchise since 2007, and the light is at the end of the tunnel for them being in Blackhawks jerseys. The Hawks signed a bunch of veteran players that have bounced around the league to just fill in the open spots on their roster. Among those signed are Andreas Anthanasiou, Max Domi, Jack Johnson, and Colin Blackwell. Each of these players are typical role players for whatever team they find themselves on. However, for the Blackhawks, they will be filling out their top 6 forwards and second line of defense. Chicago also traded for journeyman goalie Petr Mrazek who had the worst year of his career last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mrazek was put on waivers several times during the season and not even the most goalie-needy teams claimed him. This team is going to be abysmal. They will end up trading both Kane and Toews to cup-contending teams at the trade deadline and continue their short descent to the bottom of the league. Chicago has some young talent on their team that they hope to use to jumpstart this rebuild, but the most crucial piece of that puzzle is centered around winning the draft lottery. For the Blackhawks, winning the draft lottery and getting Connor Bedard is their Stanley Cup this season. Bedard is being touted as the best prospect since Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid and if Chicago can land him, that would be franchise changing. The Blackhawks will simply be the worst team in the league this year and it is not going to be close.
Record Prediction: 19-56-7
Playoff Prediction: No
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