Welcome to Brooke’s Blackhawks Notebook, a recurring series that will discuss all the latest topics surrounding the team in a notebook fashion. This means all grievances will be aired, and all peaks will be celebrated (depending on the day, of course!). If you have strong opinions on all the latest happenings in the Blackhawks’ world, you have come to the right place!
March has been good for the Chicago Blackhawks. They have won six out of 12 games and scored the most goals per game (3.09 goals), making it the best month of their season. Sure, they’re second-worst in the NHL and have been eliminated from playoff contention, but the storylines are worth discussing.
The Infamous Bag Skate Works Wonders
I know fans and pundits alike keep discussing that head coach Luke Richardson had the team participate in a bag skate at practice on March 25 due to what he described as unacceptable performances on their recent California road trip, and he was correct. So, I will harp on this one more time because I noticed an interesting NHL parallel.
The Blackhawks had lousy starts on that road trip against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. They even had a horrendous start against the San Jose Sharks on March 23, going down 4-0 until they woke up for an epic 5-4 win. This bag skate is noteworthy because the team’s effort has been hit or miss all season. They are a team that beat the Toronto Maple Leafs twice, the third-best team in the Atlantic Division, but then put up some of their worst performances against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Ducks, teams who are also at the bottom of the standings and the Hawks should have been able to compete with, or even beat. Therefore, the consistency has been off, which happens during rebuilds, but even last season, the compete seemed more consistent despite the results.
The bag skate prevailed, as their 3-1 win against the Calgary Flames on March 26 was one of the best 60-minute efforts I have seen from them. As Richardson said after the game, “We were flying, physical, dominant in a lot of areas and didn’t let [the Flames] have a chance to get going.”
Related: Blackhawks’ Richardson Utilizing Multi-Faceted Coaching Style
This scenario reminds me of Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella, who is notorious for bag skates. Ironically, Tortorella also got Richardson into coaching when he played under him with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2006-07, so he may have taken some inspiration there. They’re very different coaches, but maybe Richardson should have tried something like this with the Hawks sooner, considering their effort struggles all season. Players addressed the issue to the media in different ways, mainly to the tune of holding each other accountable, but now they see the team responded to it. I’m unsure how this will translate for the remaining ten games, but seeing the players push back was great to see.
Slaggert’s Production Is Starting to Show
Landon Slaggert has been one of the prospects making noise. He has been a fourth-line staple in six games, and the production is starting to come. The boom came when coach Richardson decided to shake things up against the Flames and put Joey Anderson and Jason Dickinson, who had primarily been on the second line, on Slaggert’s fourth line.
What I like about Slaggert is that he seems to play well with everyone. He was an even plus/minus in his NHL debut on March 15 against the Los Angeles Kings, playing with MacKenzie Entwistle and Ryan Donato, and against the Flames, he was a plus-2 and had a two-point night with Dickinson and Anderson, making it the first NHL points of his career. He also had a goal, but it was called off for not having completely crossed the line. Bummer! But it was a fun moment. The pairing of him, Dickinson, and Anderson makes sense because they’re all like-minded players who play tough-to-play-against hockey, and they were a big reason why Chicago beat Calgary, contributing to two of the three goals.
Slaggert has had some unlucky breaks, goal-wise. He could have had three on the season already since his debut, but they will come, especially with how he plays. Dickinson said about him, “He’s been working hard. He’s a smart player to play with, he fits in with our line really well, he plays hard, he puts pucks up the walls for us, nothing fancy, but that’s what our line wants, that’s what we need. We work well together for that to get pucks below the goal line and create from there.”
I think he could be utilized as a Dickinson-type forward down the line. Dickinson has been very versatile, as his skillset fits the bottom-six but has been able to fill a top-six role when needed. Considering Slaggert plays similarly, coaches could possibly utilize him anywhere in the lineup, and it helps that his style of hockey complements any player. There is a lot to like about the 21-year-old’s potential, and it also helps that he seems like he has a fun personality to match:
Also, if the Hawks re-sign Anderson this summer, a Slaggert, Dickinson, and Anderson line could be an option for next season.
The Unpopular “Tank” Debate
Okay, since this is a notebook, I have to be (too) honest. The Blackhawks have won their last two games. They have yet to win three straight games all season but will look to change that against the Ottawa Senators on March 28. However, after the Hawks win any game, there is a discourse about conflicting feelings due to draft lottery implications. Here is where I stand on the debate: I will never not root for wins. I couldn’t do it last season, even when tanking was their identity to land Connor Bedard first overall. I understood it wholeheartedly, but I felt whatever happened in the draft lottery would happen, knowing the Hawks still had a shot to win. If not, they would still get a top-five player, even if it were disappointing to miss out on Bedard.
From last season, I remember the Blackhawks getting three points in their final two games, which moved them from last place to third-worst in the NHL and gave them the third-best odds of winning the draft lottery (11.5%). We all know how that turned out, so the odds don’t mean much. Nothing is guaranteed.
Related: 2024 NHL Draft: Baracchini’s Top 96 March Rankings
I believe the Blackhawks need these wins right now—not for the standings but for the locker room. All this losing over the past seven years has taken a toll. Rookie Alex Vlasic mentioned, “The last month and a half or so, losing what seems like every game, it’s a little bit tough mentally. It can be tougher coming to the rink when you’re not really getting the results you want.” (from ‘Sleep, shakes, and short memories: How rookies like Connor Bedard handle the NHL grind’ – The Athletic – 03/09/2024)
It’s not something you want to hear players say. Even Foligno talked about the importance of building a winning culture. It has implications down the road.
Would I love for the team to land Macklin Celebrini first overall this summer? Oh, you bet! A future Celebrini and Bedard tandem seems like a dream scenario. The team still has as good a shot as any to win the draft lottery, as they will likely finish in the bottom-three again. But knowing the Hawks could end on a high note could mean more to that locker room than anything, and they could still end up with another generational talent in the end. Both sides of the coin can coexist.
So if the Blackhawks can pull out wins, I say, “Let’s go.” Like Richardson said on March 17 when addressing the draft lottery topic, “We play as hard as we can and the right way. Good karma and good things happen, and that’s what happened last year for us.”
That’s the way it should always be.
Although there are only a handful of games left, they are still just as important. Players are continuing to grow and find their place in the NHL, and if the remaining games crash and burn, there is always Bedard and the rest of the prospects to look forward to watching.
