Was there really anyone out there that didn’t see this one coming? On March 9, the Chicago Blackhawks became the first NHL team this season to officially be eliminated from playoff contention.
Injuries stacked up early for this team and other than their newest superstar Connor Bedard and a surprise season from Jason Dickinson, the Blackhawks were as advertised for the most part.
That said, as each team is officially eliminated from playoff contention, we’ll look back on the season that was in 2023-24 and where it went wrong, what could’ve changed and what needs to be done moving forward.
Where the Blackhawks Season Went Wrong
Can we say that it happened at puck drop in their opening game this season? I guess that wouldn’t be fair considering they opened their season with a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on the shoulders of Petr Mrazek.
From there, it was back-to-back losses to the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens before a win in Toronto. Three straight losses through late October and the fall really began. The team closed out the first month of the season with a 3-6-0 record and that was just the beginning.
The lone bright spots were the play of Bedard and Dickinson as one of their biggest offseason acquisitions in Taylor Hall had already suffered an early-season injury — one that would hamper him throughout most of the season.
November wasn’t much better as they went 4-8-0 in the month and the poor play prefaced an injury to their superstar Bedard later in the season that kept him out through the all-star break.
In February and March, the Blackhawks had losing streaks of eight and seven games respectively separated by just one win — going 1-12-3 over that 16-game span.
Again, the team came as advertised.
Blackhawks Could’ve Seen Better Outcome
No, no, no, we’re not saying they could’ve been a playoff team. Let’s be real for a moment. That said, a 17-43-5 record with 17 games left could’ve been much better with a few less man games lost to injury — including Hall and Bedard — and a bit better of a supporting cast for the league’s latest superstar.
Related: 2024 NHL Draft – Forbes’ Top 96 February Rankings
Twelve times this season, the Hawks lost by one goal. They were also shutout nine times. If you take even half of the games in which they lost by a goal and turn them into wins, you’re talking about a team that could be 23-37-5. Still not ideal, but…
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