NHL teams can only improve if they learn from what went wrong in the first place. Last season, everything seemed to spiral for the Chicago Blackhawks within the first few games. After they lost 3-0 to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 24, which was then the team’s first three-game losing streak of the season, head coach Luke Richardson stated he felt like other teams did not out-work them, which then became a recurring boo-boo for the rest of the season.
Other factors, like injuries, also contributed to last year’s second-worst finish. But that is in the past. Now, they’re trying to re-shape their team identity, and the tone was set on the first day of training camp on Sept. 19, where Richardson said these five words, “It’s all business this year.”
Blackhawks Know Their Expectations
To understand where the team is headed, it helps to give context to what the players believe their expectations are this season. Players from Seth Jones, to Captain Nick Foligno, to Connor Bedard all alluded to the expectation being to win more games and put themselves in a position to play meaningful games. That doesn’t mean they believe they will be Stanley Cup favorites, but more so, they are ready to start digging themselves out of the NHL basement. It’s not just about winning games, of course, but “how” they win this season.
When Foligno was named captain, he shared in part, “Together we’re going to continue on the path we started last year and the mandate we have for ourselves.” The standards stem back to this summer when newly signed forward Tyler Bertuzzi talked about how if the team brings their best effort every night, they can accept that. Jones echoed similar sentiments: “We want to get a level of consistency where, even if you lose, you like what you did in the game.”
The expectations for the Blackhawks in the standings are not overly high this season, but the perspective is. It’s a good starting point, and you never know what can happen from there.
Preseason Mindset Signals Positive Strides
Fast forward to training camp, general manager Kyle Davidson said that he did not want the Blackhawks to be an easy team to make, and Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Blackhawks reported, “The competition level and position battles in training camp are much more difficult this year than the past two.” Even defense prospect Nolan Allan talked about the scrimmages being more competitive and physical and the pace being high, which he praised.
Some practice examples include Sept. 26, when Foligno and Taylor Hall were battling each other, and even on Sept. 23, when Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reported that Seth Jones pinned Connor Bedard in the corner to steal the puck away from him. Things like that are encouraging, especially when you think about how that can impact players like Frank Nazar, who are fighting for a roster spot.
Related: 4 Blackhawks Who Need to Bounce Back in 2024-25
The Blackhawks’ first preseason game was on Sept. 25 against the Detroit Red Wings, where they lost 4-2. It was hard to tell if the practice intensity carried over because the players seemed a bit rusty (as expected). However, I did notice that prospects like A.J. Spellacy and Samuel Savoie were big physicality factors in a game that wasn’t overly physical, which is a good thing to see from a prospect standpoint as well, setting the culture early for players who could make the Blackhawks roster down the road.
Foligno was emphatic at the end of the 2023-24 season, saying, “We have to change. I want to change. We can’t go through this again. And I certainly won’t allow it. Either the mindset changes from the group or personnel changes.”
The personnel has changed, and the mindset has also changed. How that will translate for the remaining five preseason games and the 2024-25 season itself is yet to be seen. Richardson’s vision of wanting his team to be hard to play against suffered some teaching moments (and bag skates!) along the way, but now the notion is being said clear as day: the Blackhawks are ready to turn a corner, and it starts with the hard mentality.
