Chicago Blackhawks Season Preview

Coming into the 2020s, the Chicago Blackhawks were running ahead with a full head of steam after the tremendous dynasty led by Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, seemingly heading into another exceptional decade of hockey.

Before I get into this outlook, I wanted to say thank you to my friend Jeremy for suggesting this topic. If you have a topic you’d like me to cover, let me know in the comments below.

Having a promising young team and a positive outlook for the future, it seemed as though things were headed in the right direction. This was only further cemented when the Hawks won the draft lottery in 2023 and selected Canadian phenom Connor Bedard. Bedard was viewed as the player who could completely change the trajectory of the franchise for years to come.

The issue was that Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks organization simply could not surround this phenom with enough talent.

With the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, the Hawks selected Artyom Levshunov. Whilst I wouldn’t go as far as calling him a bust, he certainly hasn’t lived up to either his draft pedigree or the expectations that came with being the second overall pick.

Had they instead selected a forward, they could have had their choice of current projected stars like Ivan Demidov, who ultimately went fifth overall to the Montreal Canadiens, or Beckett Sennecke, who was selected third overall by the Anaheim Ducks.

Suffice it to say, Kyle Davidson’s rebuild has been somewhat underwhelming so far.

That being said, I think things are finally beginning to change.

After trading Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers, the Blackhawks acquired goaltender Spencer Knight. The 24 year old American is, in my opinion, already a top 20 goaltender in the NHL, and I believe he’ll continue to improve while helping drag this young Blackhawks team back into playoff contention, much like Jakub Dobeš has done in Montreal.

Selecting Anton Frondell third overall in the 2025 NHL Draft also helped relieve some of the pressure that had been placed almost entirely on Connor Bedard’s shoulders.

Before I get into my projected lineup and expectations for the 2026-27 season, I have to address the elephants in the room.

The first is Connor Bedard requiring shoulder surgery, which sidelines him for approximately four months and keeps him out beyond the opening month of the season.

This is a massive blow.

Bedard is the engine that drives this team offensively, and that’s something every hockey fan already knows. Losing your franchise player before the season even begins makes climbing the standings that much more difficult.

The second major storyline is trading the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for Bowen Byram.

Whilst Byram was very solid playing behind Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo, I do have some concerns about whether he’ll consistently live up to his five year, 12.5 million dollar contract. He’s exactly the type of defenseman Chicago needed, but expectations are now much higher.

With all of that being said, this is how I would line up the Blackhawks.

First Line

Tyler Bertuzzi – Frank Nazar – Roman Kantserov

My first line admittedly looks a little underwhelming without Bedard, but Roman Kantserov scoring 36 goals in 63 KHL games as a 20 year old is incredibly impressive.

I think once Bedard returns, he’ll finally have another legitimate offensive threat to help shoulder some of the workload.

Second Line

Ryan Donato – Anton Frondell – Nick Lardis

Whilst I don’t necessarily love Frondell playing centre right away and would much rather see Nazar as the 2C, there really aren’t many better options at the moment.

Third Line

Andrew Mangiapane – Oliver Moore – Teuvo Teräväinen

This is a line that I actually really like.

Oliver Moore is one of my breakout candidates for next season, and I think this combination gives him the opportunity to take a significant step forward.

Fourth Line

Cole Smith – Ryan Greene – Jordan Greenway

Personally, I really like this fourth line.

They seem like the type of line that hunts every puck, finishes every check and makes sure the opposing team feels their presence every shift, especially with new addition Jordan Greenway joining the group.

Defence

Bowen Byram – Sam Rinzel

Alex Vlasic – Artyom Levshunov

Wyatt Kaiser – Ian Cole

As much as I still have some reservations about this defensive core, I actually think the pairings complement each other fairly well.

Pairing Alex Vlasic with Levshunov gives the young defenseman someone reliable enough to cover for some of his defensive lapses as he continues to develop.

I also think Byram has a very good season. I just don’t necessarily see him repeating another 42 point campaign. That being said, he’ll still be exactly the type of defenseman Chicago desperately needed.

Goaltenders

Spencer Knight

Arvid Söderblom

This is one area where I think the Blackhawks are in relatively good shape. 

Knight has all the tools to become a legitimate franchise goaltender, whilst Söderblom has developed into a decent backup capable of stepping in.

I think with a little more of a solid tandem letting their potential franchise goaltender in Spencer Knight rest might be a great idea.

Overall, I think this Blackhawks team is more dangerous than many people realize.

Once Bedard returns and this group finally gets healthy, I genuinely believe they’ll surprise a lot of people. Will they be Stanley Cup contenders? Probably not.

But could they sneak into a Wild Card spot in the Central Division and finally take that next step in the rebuild?

I honestly think they can.

Thank you so much for reading Theperspectiveofpucks