The Chicago Blackhawks‘ 3-1 victory Wednesday night (Jan. 8) over the Colorado Avalanche was a nice way to mark the midway point of their season. Now 41 games in, these Blackhawks are 14-25-2 (30 points), which is unfortunately still last place in the NHL. They weren’t supposed to be this bad this season, now in the third season of their rebuild. But offseason free agent signings don’t seem to be collectively panning out, and all the young prospects are still trying to find their way. Overall, it hasn’t been a good recipe for success so far in this 2024-25 campaign. Here’s 10 thoughts at the Blackhawks’ midway point.
Richardson Out, Sorensen In
The Blackhawks struggled out of the gate this season. Nothing seemed to gel. As the losses added up, head coach Luke Richardson started changing the lineups on almost a nightly basis, saying he was “desperate” for more offense. Finally, with a record of 8-16-2 and after four straight losses, general manager Kyle Davidson made the difficult decision to fire Richardson. He was relieved of his duties on Dec. 5, just 26 games into the season.
Richardson was replaced by Anders Sorensen, head coach of the Rockford IceHogs for the last four seasons, and assistant coach for four seasons prior to that.
While Richardson preached a conservative, defense-first system, Sorensen’s plan involved a much more aggressive approach, encouraging the forwards to be heavy on the forecheck and the defensemen to jump into the play whenever possible.
This mindset has definitely benefited some players (more on this below), and the Blackhawks had a very typical new-coach bump (going 4-3-0 in their first seven games under Coach Sorensen). But once things settled in, the Blackhawks continued to make the same mistakes. They are still losing a lot more than winning.
Barring any further developments, Sorensen is slated to be the Blackhawks’ bench boss for the remainder of the season before any other coaching decisions are made.
Penalty Kill a Strength for the Blackhawks
The penalty kill has been a positive for the Blackhawks all season long. Through 41 games, they’re currently ranked an impressive fourth in the NHL while down a man, with an 83.9 PK percentage. The team collectively has only allowed 19 goals on 118 tries.
Related – Blackhawks Winter Classic Fallout: Takeaways & Thoughts on the Future
The Blackhawks’ top penalty killers include defenseman Alex Vlasic (115:38 total minutes on the PK), center Jason Dickinson (108:12 minutes), forward Nick Foligno (101:57 minutes) and D-man Connor Murphy (85:30 minutes). Other major contributors on the penalty kill include Ilya Mikheyev, Seth Jones, Wyatt Kaiser and Teuvo Teravainen. Kudos to these players for contributing to one of the most positive aspects of the team right now.
Power Play Progression
The Blackhawks power play has seen some incremental success as well. While there are times the team seems discombobulated and can’t seem to get set up, there’s other times where they’re really in a groove and moving the puck well. It’s culminated in the team currently ranking 13th in the league on the power play, with a 23.1% success rate.
Individually, Connor Bedard has the most assists (13) and the most points (17) on the power play. He’s third place in goals, with four. Tyler Bertuzzi has the most PP goals (six), while Teravainen comes in second in all categories (5G, 8A, 13P). Vlasic ranks third in assists (eight) and points (nine). This is interesting because Vlasic mans the point on the second power play unit, while Jones handles this responsibility on the first unit. Although, Vlasic did take over first unit duties for the 16 games Jones was out with a right food injury. For reference, Jones has two goals, five assists and seven points on the man advantage.
All in all, the power play seems to be progressing as the players continue to build chemistry. Hopefully it will continue to do so in the second half of the season.
Bedard Quietly Having Strong Season
After a slow start (only four goals throughout October and November), many pundits were saying Bedard was in a sophomore slump. But the 19-year-old has certainly benefited from Coach Sorensen’s more aggressive playing style, notching six goals and 16 points in December.
Related – Chicago Blackhawks 3 Stars for December
Bedard is currently riding an eight-game point streak, which includes four goals and seven assists (four of them primary), which is the longest of this career. It also puts him in some good company among former Blackhawks and the rest of the league.
Connor Bedard joined Jonathan Toews, Eddie Olczyk and Bobby Hull as the fourth teenager in @NHLBlackhawks history with an eight-game point streak as Chicago snapped Colorado's own point streak at eight.#NHLStats: https://t.co/0XtEzMKLFn pic.twitter.com/YMAwAcfhAe
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 9, 2025
He’s built some great chemistry with linemate Bertuzzi; six of his recent seven assists have resulted in Bertuzzi goals. In the most recent contest (Jan. 8) against the Avalanche, Bedard put up a goal and an assist for a two-point night. In the below goal, he puts the finishing touches on a timely pass from none other than Bertuzzi.
Connor Bedard scores his 11th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/3pcrBF5mpY
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 9, 2025
Bedard currently leads the team in assists (26) and points (37). His 11 goals is tied with Ryan Donato for second on the team.
Bertuzzi Leads Blackhawks in Goals
We’ve already discussed how Bertuzzi has the most PP goals (six) on the team, as well as gelling with Bedard. The veteran has a knack for getting to those dirty areas in front of the net, and it’s paid off. “Bert” currently leads the Blackhawks with 14 goals, and he’s on a four-game point streak that includes three goals and the assist shown in the above Bedard goal. His 22 points ranks third on the team (Teravainen being second with 26).
Pretty hard to believe considering Bertuzzi started out with just five goals through the first two months of the season. He’s notorious for his slow starts, so let’s hope he continues to build momentum.
Faceoffs a Sore Spot for Chicago
Due to their rebuilding state, the Blackhawks are working with a lot of young centers (Bedard, Frank Nazar, Lukas Reichel), as well as forwards that likely wouldn’t be taking faceoffs on other teams. This reality has reared its ugly head, with the team having a dismal 44.2 faceoff percentage, which is 31st in the league.
The Blackhawks’ current centers and their faceoff percentages are: Bedard (32.5%), Dickinson (47.6%) Nazar (38.2) and Reichel (37.1). Yuck!
Other regular contributors at the dot include; Foligno (51.1%), Philipp Kurashev (48.3) and Donato (44%). Double yuck!
Foligno is the only one over 50%, and Dickinson has been over 50% his many of his most recent games. Other than that, it’s been an uphill battle. Without winning faceoffs and gaining possession right away, the players are having to do a lot of extra work chasing the puck. This can be exhausting, and obviously deters from offensive production.
In many cases, the only way to improve is by repetition. Player faceoff percentages could improve over the rest of the season. But this will likely remain a sore spot. Or, the Blackhawks could just have Dickinson and Foligno take most of the draws (I’m only half kidding).
Blackhawks Defense Is Going Young
The Blackhawks’ organization wanted to surround their up-and-coming defensive prospects with some veteran leadership this season. That started with existing Blackhawks’ defensemen Jones and Murphy, and was further supplemented with the offseason additions of Alec Martinez and T.J. Brodie.
But Martinez has only suited up for 15 games due to an ongoing neck issue. Jones recently returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with a right food injury. Murphy is currently dealing with a groin issue and has missed the last three contests. Finally, while 34-year-old Brodie has been available most of the season, many are questioning whether his play merits him still being in the lineup.
Related – Meet the New Blackhawks: T.J. Brodie
Meanwhile, 23-year-old Vlasic has played the most minutes of any Blackhawk, positively contributing in all situations in just his second full season in the NHL. 21-year-old Nolan Allan rather surprisingly made the opening night roster and has never looked back. He’s suited up for 34 of the Blackhawks’ 41 contests so far, and deservedly so, averaging 15:08 minutes of ice time and having contributed a goal and six points.
22-year-old Wyatt Kaiser has played in 31 games this season, averaging 17:40 minutes of ice time and contributing three points. As a matter of fact, he just notched his first NHL goal on Jan. 5 versus the New York Rangers.
Wyatt Kaiser's first NHL goal 👏 pic.twitter.com/S9W6Qc1GmF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 5, 2025
23-year-old Louis Crevier has been up with the big club since mid-November, playing in 12 contests and also scoring his first NHL goal on Nov. 27. Coach Sorensen recently gave Crevier some kudos for his play. “He plays really well here in the NHL. His position is really good, his range, killing plays defensively, has been really good, and he’s getting more predictable with pucks too.”
Finally, 20-year-old Kevin Korchinski just received a nine-game stint with the Blackhawks before returning to the AHL Rockford IceHogs. He rejoins 21-year-old Ethan Del Mastro and 19-year-old Artyom Levshunov, who are both having solid seasons in Rockford.
The point behind all this is that while the veteran blueliners have struggled and dealt with injuries, there always seems to be another talented youngster that’s able to commendably step into their place. Instead of the defensive prospects of the future, this season is turning into the young defense of the present.
Goaltending Getting By
The Blackhawks goaltending situation hasn’t exactly gone as planned this season. Initially, veteran Petr Mrazek and free agency addition Laurent Brossoit were slated to be the 1A, 1B tandem. But then Brossoit underwent meniscus surgery to his right knee before the season started. He then had an additional setback that required another procedure in late November. Brossoit has yet to play for the Blackhawks, and there have been no further updates.
Arvid Soderblom, who was expected to play in Rockford after a subpar 2023-24 campaign, has been tasked with backup duties. The good news is Soderblom is having a much better season than last season, posting a respectable .905 save percentage and a 2.92 goals against average in 18 games played. The 25-year-old has now played in over 60 career games, so he will have to clear waivers if sent down to the IceHogs. It will interesting to see how the Blackhawks handle this if/when Brossoit is cleared to play.
Mrazek, for his part, started the season strong but was rather rusty since returning from yet another groin injury on Dec. 21. But his most recent start (against the Avalanche on Jan. 8) might have been the turning point. He made some incredible saves, stopping 35-of-36 shots for a .972 SV%. Overall, Mrazek’s .897 SV% and 3.13 GAA in 24 starts is commendable considering his workload.
Related – What is Behind Goalie Petr Mrazek’s Recent Play?
Additionally, while Mrazek was out 22-year-old Drew Commesso made his first NHL start against the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 14. He also relieved Soderblom in the previous contest against the New York Islanders on Dec. 12, after Soderblom had a rough night and allowed five goals. Cumulatively, Commesso’s .846 SV% and 3.36 GAA are nothing to write home about. But we have to factor in the team in front of him. He really wasn’t ready for the NHL level, and held his own when pressed to play because of the circumstances.
In short, the Blackhawks’ overall goaltending hasn’t been phenomenal. But it also hasn’t been the main reason the Blackhawks are losing games.
Reichel & Kurashev Non-Factors
Who woulda thunk we’d be talking about Reichel and Kurashev as non-factors at the midway point of this 2024-25 season?! But here we are. Reichel has been a healthy scratch for six contests this season. When he has played, he’s mostly been relegated to the fourth line, and that’s been the case with both coaches. He’s only averaging 12:25 minutes of ice time, and he’s contributed just three goals and 11 points.
One would argue a finesse player like Reichel would fare better playing farther up in the lineup. But when he’s been given the opportunity, he’s never done enough to warrant staying there. It’s telling that two separate coaches are choosing other players over Reichel, even on this rebuilding team.
The same goes for Kurashev. The 25-year-old excelled playing alongside Bedard last season, registering a career-high 18 goals and 54 points. But this season? He has three goals and five points through just 30 games. He’s endured numerous healthy scratches, and has sat out for the last four contests.
Perhaps Reichel and Kurashev can make a resurgence in the second half of the season, but right now their respective futures with the Blackhawks don’t look very good.
Bring On the Kids!
We already discussed Allan, Kaiser and Crevier on defense. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the forward call-ups of Nazar and Colton Dach.
Considering the Blackhawks aren’t doing so hot, it’s a quandary whether to bring any youngsters into this negative situation. After all, prospects could be excelling in the AHL and playing in all situations. If brought up to a struggling NHL team, it could potentially have a negative effect.
But Nazar pretty much forced the Blackhawks’ hand by taking the AHL by storm, posting 11 goals and 24 points in 21 games for the IceHogs. To the delight of the Blackhawk’s fanbase, 2022 13th overall pick was called up on Dec. 13. In 12 games with the big club, Nazar has posted two primary assists AND his first goal of the season Wednesday night (Jan. 8) versus the Avalanche.
Frank’s first NHL goal of the season 🤝 Dach’s first NHL point pic.twitter.com/b1S1gTykJr
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 9, 2025
Guess who provided the primary assist?! That’s right, it was his former IceHogs’ linemate, and now Blackhawks linemate, Dach. The 22-year-old joined the Blackhawks for the contest versus the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 3. He had a phenomenal first outing, registering five shots on goal and five hits. Now he has his first NHL assist in just his third game with the big club.
Let’s face it; this is yet another lost season for the Blackhawks. So why not bring in the kids, the future?! Sure, they might struggle. But they will be struggling together, and learning and growing while they’re at it. Together.
Related – Blackhawks Prospect Report: Moore, Felcman, Dach & More
The first half of the season hasn’t been pretty for the Blackhawks. But they’re still a rebuilding team, so some of this is to be expected. We’ve seen some promise; especially with the younger players who are the future of the franchise. Will we see improvements moving forward? What can the Blackhawks accomplish, in the second half of their 2024-25 campaign?
