— Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Blackhawks finished last year with a record of 33-39-10, which is 33 wins, 39 losses, and 10 overtime losses.
The Blackhawks finished in last place in the NHL Central Division and 10th place in the NHL Western Conference.
Chicago was unusually bad last year, which may be attributable to the lack of two star players: Marian Hossa, who was out with a skin condition, and Corey Crawford, who was out with vertigo.
With the stench of failure following the team, the Blackhawks went into the offseason hoping to regroup for a playoff push this year.
The Blackhawks offseason started with the 2018 NHL Draft, where they selected defenseman Adam Boqvist with the 8th overall pick.
Boqvist will not be playing for the Blackhawks this year though, as he will continue to play in the Ontario Hockey League, a minor league for younger hockey players.
Chicago then signed two veterans to add to their roster, Chris Kunitz and Cam Ward.
The Blackhawks then finished their offseason by trading Vinnie Hinostroza and the dead contract of Marian Hossa, who retired during the season, to the Arizona Coyotes for Marcus Kruger and a 5th round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Offseason predictions from hockey experts predicted that the Blackhawks would get 85 points this year, with a record of 36-33-13.
That would be an improvement over last year, but still not good enough to make the playoffs.
Chicago continues to be lead by two star players, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
The Blackhawks are also lead on offense by players like Brandon Saad and Alex DeBrincat. On defense, the Blackhawks are lead by veterans Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.
In the goaltender’s net, the they continue to be missing Corey Crawford, who is still dealing with vertigo-like symptoms. He has been cleared for practice, but he has not been cleared for actual games yet. In his place, Cam Ward will be in net for the beginning of the year.
Chicago kicked off their season on October 4th against the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa.
The Blackhawks won that game 4-3 in overtime with Jonathan Toews scoring the game winning goal.
Chicago then traveled to St. Louis to play the St. Louis Blues. Chicago won that game 5-4 in overtime with Jonathan Toews once again scoring the game winning goal.
The Blackhawks then played their first home game of the season when they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, losing 6-7 in overtime.
Chicago then traveled to Minnesota to play the Minnesota Wild, where they lost 3-4 in overtime.
Chicago then came back home to play the St. Louis Blues and won 4-3 in overtime with Alex DeBrincat scoring the game winning goal.
It has been an exciting start to the season so far and it seems like it will continue to be exciting for the rest of the year.
The Blackhawks boast a high-powered offense and they look like a team that can go far in the playoffs.
Chris Leonchik
Sports Editor
About Post Author
