Blackhawks Winter Classic Fallout: Takeaways & Thoughts on the Future

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All the pomp and circumstance is over, and the Discover NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field came to a disappointing end on New Year’s Eve, the last contest in 2024 for the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks were blown out for the third game in a row and their fifth consecutive loss, this time by a final score of 6-2 to the St. Louis Blues.

Related – Blues Defeat Blackhawks 6-2 in 2025 NHL Winter Classic

It wasn’t pretty, and to lose on such a big stage at a high-profile event hosted by your own city just rubbed salt into the wound. The Blackhawks have some major regrouping to do, and the irony is that some of the pomp and circumstance was really great! In the spirit of covering the entire event, let’s get into some of the good before we delve into the game; as well as discuss where the Blackhawks can go from here.  

The Blackhawks Grand Entrance

It’s common at big outdoor games for the teams involved to make some kind of a themed entrance. The Blackhawks made a very unique entrance, with multiple meanings. They were led by a bagpipe procession, and had their skates hung on their sticks over their shoulders, just like you “would walk to an outdoor rink”.

The leadership group of captain Nick Foligno and alternate captains Connor Murphy and Seth Jones came up the idea of honoring Chicago’s first responders and highlighting how important they are to the community. The players all modeled “Team Chicago” gear to the game, with patches for the Chicago Fire Department, Police Department and Emergency Management & Communications down the sleeves and pants.  

Each player also picked a charitable or community-based organization that was important to them to wear on a custom-made hat. Here’s a look at Connor Bedard with his skates over his shoulder, and the list of each player’s organization choices.  

I don’t know about you, but in my book this is pretty meaningful and very, very cool. To quote Murphy in his press interview before the game, “Obviously the season hasn’t gone great for us so far, but just to be able to celebrate it as a city. With the sports and the charities and the fans, it’s just a unique and great way to celebrate the game and celebrate Chicago.”

Kudos to the Blackhawks for coming up with something so special and unique.

Donato’s Big Day

Another feel-good story from this big event is that forward Ryan Donato finally got to participate in a Winter Classic. He played for three other teams that participated in Winter Classic games, but the timing was never right for Donato. He was a healthy scratch for the Boston Bruins when they played the Blackhawks in the 2019 Winter Classic in Notre Dame. He was traded from the Minnesota Wild before they partook in 2022 Winter Classic. Then he signed with the Blackhawks before the Seattle Kraken played in the 2024 Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

But this time it finally came to fruition. As a matter of fact, the 28-year-old was one of the best players in the 6-2 loss. It was Donato’s shot that Taylor Hall corralled the rebound for the first Blackhawks’ goal of the game.

Besides registering this primary assist, Donato contributed five shots on goal and six hits, a team-high in both categories. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen doesn’t refer to Donato as a “dog on a bone” for nothing.

I’m sure Donato isn’t happy with the Blackhawks’ loss, but he can certainly say he made the most of his Winter Classic experience.

Bedard Extends Point Streak

Let’s face it; Bedard is one of the main reasons the Blackhawks were chosen to participate in this Winter Classic. The 2023 first overall draft pick is not only the new face of the Blackhawks’ franchise, but he’s also seen as a big face of the NHL, and the future of hockey. He was definitely a highlight during pre-game festivities.

The 19-year-old didn’t make a huge impression in this game, as he and basically everyone else in the world would have liked. But he did manage to get on the scoresheet, registering a secondary assist on Tyler Bertuzzi’s goal in the third period.

This extended Bedard’s point streak to five games; he’s tallied three goals and four assists (seven points) in that stretch. The teenager hasn’t had the best season by his standards, but he’s still third on the team in goals (10) and leading the team with 23 assists and 33 points.

Foligno Fights Back

Here’s a segment from the game that shouldn’t be lost for it’s irony. Blackhawks’ captain Foligno and the Blues’ captain, Brayden Schenn, talked at warmups about the team’s shaking hands at the end of the contest. Which they admirably did! But not before a fight broke out between the two team leaders.

I’d say Foligno was the winner of that tilt! After all, he was obviously the more frustrated of the two. It served to provide some old-school entertainment for the roaring crowd, and was obviously meant to provide a spark to the rest of the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, that second part didn’t exactly work out.

Hall’s Honesty About the Game’s Bad Outcome

We spoke earlier about Hall contributing the first goal of the game for the Blackhawks. At the time, the team was only down by two tallies, and this cut the lead in half. But per usual, the game got away from them yet again.

Taylor Hall Chicago Blackhawks
Taylor Hall scored a goal for the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve, 2024. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

A very despondent Hall was one of the few players that met with the media after the game. When asked what went wrong, he immediately said, “Execution”.

Tonight the execution was just not, wasn’t even close. And they hopped on us. They were just quicker to pucks, they were on top of us, they were making plays and it seems like we just didn’t make plays and pucks were hopping and we just, we didn’t have it…

…and they practiced later than us last night, they weren’t back to their hotel until probably 9 or 10 pm. We had lots more rest. There’s no real excuse for us, they were better than us tonight. Like I said, it’s disappointing.

The veteran did mention that he thinks there’s hope and potential with this current group, but it hasn’t been transferring into much success on the ice right now.

I love the guys in here and I love some of the kids that we’re bringing up. They’re great, they’re awesome. We have a lot of really good people in here, we just can’t, we can’t play like that.

It seems like we’ve lost a little bit of confidence and a little bit of that swag that we had for a few games there. We’re a young group, so that can be a bit fickle at times to keep that mojo high, but it seems like we have a bad game and it takes us like three games to get back, so.

Nobody seems to have the answer right now. Including the new coach.

Sorensen’s Response Speaks Volumes

Interim head coach Sorensen didn’t mince words in his post-game presser following the Blackhawks’ 6-2 loss.

When asked about his overall thoughts on game, he said, “Sour.”

When prompted, he did expand a little bit about what he saw as the main problem.

The difference is [the Blues] won the battles around both nets. They won in front of our net; they won in front of their net. That’s really what it boils down to…the compete level around the net…and winning those battles.

When asked if he was satisfied with the consistency of the compete levels of his players, he responded with a distinct “No”.

That’s not very encouraging. It’s obvious that the new coach bump is over and the Blackhawks are back to their same old ways before the coaching change. Former head coach Luke Richardson preached a more conservative system. But the Blackhawks are making the same mistakes under Coach Sorensen, even with a system that’s designed to be more offensively aggressive. Long story short, that system isn’t really working either.

Where Do the Blackhawks Go From Here?

It’s safe to say that coaching wasn’t the problem. Some might disagree, but I’m going to stick with my statement. This roster has some talent, but probably not enough. The youngsters aren’t there yet and the offseason free agent signings aren’t collectively pulling their weight. Is it a roster problem? A management problem? Scouting not making the right decisions? A combination of all of the above?!

Anders Sorensen Chicago Blackhawks
Interim head coach Anders Sorensen is struggling to get his team to respond, just like the former coach did. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)

Either way, the Blackhawks were supposed to be better this season, and they’re not. This is disappointing. But the team is rebuilding, and when that happens there are going to be setbacks. I would expect some changes in 2025, but there’s only so much that can be done at this time.

Related – Blackhawks’ Mikheyev Showing He Is More Than Just a “Utility Guy”

The team could bench some of their underperforming veterans (I’m looking at you, T.J. Brodie), and perhaps bring up some prospects from the Rockford IceHogs. The youngsters are the future, so why not let them build some chemistry and get some of the kinks out in this lost season?

The Blackhawks will also probably make some changes at the Mar. 7 trade deadline. Who can they move to potentially build for the future? It will be very interesting to see what general manager Kyle Davidson might have up his sleeve.

All in all, it’s troublesome that the Blackhawks of the future (Bedard, Alex Vlasic, Frank Nazar) are dealing with this kind of deflating situation right now. Will this affect their development? All this losing is not a good thing to expose to young players who are trying to find their way and become professionals in the NHL. In some ways, adversity makes you stronger. But at some point, too much adversity just affects you negatively.

Can the Blackhawks find the right balance for their up-and-coming stars?

Other Blackhawks Tidbits From the Winter Classic

In an effort to end on a positive note, here’s some fun tidbits I collected from my time covering the Winter Classic.

The Bertuzzi Babies

Well, now if this isn’t an adorable scene of the Bertuzzi’s at the family skate. Each family member was given a jacket and a hat with their last name and jersey number on it.

Nick & Alex

During post-practice interviews on Dec. 30, Foligno and Vlasic were at the podium. Foligno said he was joking around with Vlasic on the ice; “He is actually at altitude, he’s taller than us”.  

At 6-foot-6 and with such long legs, I’m sure Vlasic is the brunt of these type of jokes all the time. Which is why it’s funny that Vlasic is the little midget in the right corner of this tweet.

Baby Anderson & Baby Dickinson

Because you need more wholesome content after that disappointing game!

Related – Blackhawks Roundtable: Reichel, Sorensen, Most Underrated Player, Trade Targets

We’re headed into the doldrums of January, where many teams are making their playoff push, and clubs like the Chicago Blackhawks are getting left behind. There’s really not much to play for right now, but the Blackhawks will have to dig deep and find a way. They have their pride, and they can look at 2025 as a fresh start.

The team will have a few days off, but will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 3 when they host the Montreal Canadiens at the United Center. Start with one shift, one puck battle, one goal. All it takes is one win to get things going in the right direction again.

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