We’re a month away from the start of the 2024-25 NHL regular season, and fans are already starting to circle the games they’re most looking forward to.
The Chicago Blackhawks, in association with the league and its American broadcast partners in ESPN and TNT, announced on Aug. 29 that the team would appear on national television 15 times between the two networks throughout the season. For a franchise that’s finished near the bottom of the standings for three consecutive seasons, including a 23-53-6 record with 52 points and the second-worst record in the entire league in 2023-24, it’s hard to imagine nearly a fifth of your season being played in front of a national audience.
But when your team has a generational talent like Connor Bedard, the 2023 first-overall pick whose talent we saw just a glimpse of through rookie season, you’re always going to be near the top of the bill. Your name doesn’t have to be Patrick for you to be considered Showtime.
Related: Blackhawks 2024-25 Season Schedule: 10 Games to Circle
With that in mind, I’ve looked through the list of games the national audiences will have to see Bedard and the rebuilding squad, and I’ve put together a list of the ones that will be a must-watch. Here are the top five nationally broadcast Blackhawks games to watch in 2024-25.
Side note: if you want a longer list filled with both local and national games on the schedule, read my THW colleague Gail Kauchak’s list of her 10 games to circle on the schedule!
Utah Hockey Club – Oct. 8
Opening night – need we say more? Oh, we do? Well then, picture this: Blackhawks fans will get their first look at a lineup full of budding young talent like Bedard, Philipp Kurashev, Alex Vlasic and Kevin Korchinski, plus a handful of fresh-face veterans that joined Chicago in the offseason: Tyler Bertuzzi, Alec Martinez, and T.J. Brodie – those are some serious NHL chops.
Oh, and how often do you get to say you were the first group that a new team in the league played?* Not only do you get a chance to be part of history, but you get a chance to hand them their first loss in franchise history! Win-win, baby!
Related: Celebrating Blackhawks Netminders for NHL Goaltender Week
*Yes, we know Utah Hockey Club (HC) isn’t a new club, they’re the relocated Arizona Coyotes. But this is my article, and damn it, when you move to an entirely different market, change your name and your uniforms, you’re a new team.
Detroit Red Wings – Nov. 6
One of Chicago’s oldest rivals, it’s always an entertaining matchup when the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings faceoff. What’s added to the history of this rivalry is the addition of Patrick Kane to the Red Wings last season, a player who has a strong case for being the greatest player in Blackhawks franchise history.
When Kane returned to Chicago for the first time in a Red Wings uniform, you couldn’t have written a better script. In fact, if you wrote that exact script, the movie studio would tell you to get the hell out of their office. Kane assisted on the game-tying goal, then sealed it in overtime with a breakaway snipe, giving his new team the two points and his old one a moment they’ll never forget.
Related: Patrick Kane’s Return to Chicago Couldn’t Have Ended Any Better
They may not be able to replicate it completely, but anytime Kane comes back to the Windy City is a treat for all of us.
St. Louis Blues – Dec. 31
Death, taxes and the Blackhawks playing an outdoor game. They haven’t played in one since 2019, but that will change on the last day of 2024 when they host the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, for this season’s Winter Classic. Nature is healing.
It’s not the first time these two teams played one another in an outdoor game. For the 2017 NHL Winter Classic, the Blues hosted the Blackhawks at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis won 4-1, thanks in large part to two third-period goals from Vladimir Tarasenko.
Edmonton Oilers – Feb. 5
Hey, it’s the two Connors! When the Edmonton Oilers roll into town this February, hockey fans will have a chance to see the best player in the game today and the best player in the game tomorrow. Last December, the first time the two played one another, Bedard came out guns a-blazin’ scoring three minutes into the game. From then on out, it was all Oilers, with Connor McDavid posting two assists in Edmonton’s 4-1 win.
McDavid and the Oilers are coming off a magical Stanley Cup run that put them one win away from hockey immortality, only to lose to the Florida Panthers in Game 7. However, I fully expect Edmonton to continue being a monster in the Western Conference for the foreseeable future, and games like this are a good opportunity for the Blackhawks to see how they stack up against the league’s elite.
Related: Connor vs. Connor – NHL’s Current Superstar Meets His Successor
For a sport where so much is assigned to teamwork, all for one and one for all, the logo on the front not the name on the back, yada yada yada, having opportunities to see the league’s two biggest superstars faceoff is a meaningful event. If hockey ever plans to grow the game, throw the faces of these two on every single billboard in the week leading up to this game, then do it for 10 more years afterward.
Pittsburgh Penguins – April 8
I don’t know how much longer we’re going to see Sidney Crosby play hockey. Next season will be the 37-year-old superstar’s 20th season in the league, and that just felt weird and macabre to type. The players we loved growing up, the ones we watched make tight turns in the opponent’s end or feed teammates backhand passes, we only get a finite amount of time to forge these memories that need to last us a lifetime.
Who knows how good the Pittsburgh Penguins will be in 2024-25. They might be better than the Blackhawks, but they could wind up playing the same amount of playoff games as one another. Fans will get two chances to watch two generational talents – Bedard was born just weeks after Crosby was drafted in 2005, to put it into context – and who knows if we’ll ever see them play against each other again. Steve Yzerman was injured the one time Crosby could have played against him, and he only got to face Eric Lindros once as a Dallas Star. You can’t take these moments for granted.
There’s going to be plenty of excellent hockey to watch through the season, and this handful of upcoming games is just a small glimpse of what’s to come. But try to carve out some time for yourself on April 8 to watch Crosby and Bedard. Trust me, you’ll never regret sitting down to watch a hockey game with these two playing.
