Opinion: The Window is NOT closed for the Hawks; Here is why.
As you all know, the Chicago Blackhawks were eliminated from the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in a decade. There is shock, and anger. No one expected for this to happen, there are many questions as to what happened and can it be fixed?
Yes it can. On December 23rd, goaltender Corey Crawford got an upper body injury and has not been on the ice since then. The backup goaltender Anton Forsberg was the starting goalie, and the Hawks have called up Jeff Glass a goalie from the AHL. It was a cinderella story from there, but then there were rough patches and he was sent back down to the Rockford Ice Hogs. From there, J-F Berube was the backup backup goaltender for Anton Forsberg.
What the Hawks have to do is hope that Corey Crawford is 100% healthy and ready to go in September, and somehow find a backup goaltender, because I can’t see Forsberg being back in net once Crawford comes back.
On the back end, the defense has been struggling this season. Last Summer, Niklas Hjalmarsson was traded from the Blackhawks to the Arizona Coyotes for defenseman Connor Murphy. Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook have been struggling this season as well, and the defense is getting younger.
What the Hawks can do in this situation is to find a top two or a top three defenseman in the upcoming draft this summer. Ramsus Dahlin is the battle that is happening right now. The defenseman struggles can be fixed. The Hawks have more cap space available this summer as the cap will go up. I would like to see John Carlson from the Washington Capitals or maybe Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators.
There have been bright spots for the Hawks this season. Nick Schmaltz has emerged as 2nd line center and potential 1st line center of the future, Alex DeBrincat has been absolutely pheomenal as a right and left winger and is tied with Patrick Kane for the lead goals. DeBrincat also scored three hat tricks in his rookie season. Matthew Highmore has been called up from Rockford and has scored two goals. John Hayden is back with the Hawks and scored a goal in his first game against the Boston Bruins when he got the call up, also, Vinnie Hinostroza has also emerged as a potential top six winger. Jonathan Toews has been coming back to his old ways and getting in front of the net and shooting the puck from longer distances.
The young kids are shining, and after seeing what happened this season, it was a flukey year, and the Blackhawks will comeback next year and make the playoffs. It is not over. All teams have struggles, all teams get knocked down (even the best ones), but they can always get back up.
Thoughts on the Blackhawks missing the playoffs? Will they be back next season? Let us know in the comments below!
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