The 2019-20 Chicago Blachhawks Autopsy Report is taking a look at another disappointing season for the Chicago Blackhawks as well as what they face going into next season. This year’s Autopsy Report is similar to the 2018-19 Autopsy Report that covered a second season in a row without a playoff appearance. The only difference this year is that this one is being published a couple of months later thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the NHL Pause. The Chicago Blackhawks faithful are certainly disappointed with their team’s recent exit from the post-season. There is however potential for improvement for their favorite team. That of course will depend on several moves as well as who gets to decide those moves.
2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks Autopsy
We will be looking at what the team did at several stages since the previous 2018-19 season. Two straight seasons without a playoff appearance certainly put the focus on their beleaguered general manager. He definitely had to get his roster and team in order.
2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks Autopsy- The Pre-Season
General manager Stan Bowman started last summer off with two trades trying to improve his defence. He picked up Olli Maatta and Calvin de Haan, both of whom would instantly improve the defence and especially the penalty-killing unit. His next moves were to trade for some grit acquiring former Blackhawk Andrew Shaw and then Zack Smith. Both players were added to bring a workman’s ethic to the team and agitate when needed. Unfortunately, both players suffered season-ending injuries during the year.
2019 NHL Draft
At last summer’s NHL Draft, everyone expected that Bowman would address the deficiency on defence with the third overall pick in the NHL Draft. It was assumed that Bowman would select Bowen Byram who was considered the top defence pick available. Nobody walks away from the best defenceman in the NHL Draft, right? Well, with the third overall pick Bowman sent shockwaves around the city of Chicago by selecting Kirby Dach third overall. Dach did well enough that he made the team and stayed for the entire season. His growth as a player was certainly one of the few bright spots. It will be interesting as he and Byram develop over the next few seasons. Both players will be compared in Chicago to see if Bowman got it right or wasted a chance to improve his defence corps.
2019 Free Agency
The Blackhawks’ first free-agent signing was Ryan Carpenter early on July 1st. Carpenter at 6’0″, 200 pounds brought some more size to the forwards and more depth at centre for the team. Later on that day, Bowman would sign Vezina finalist Robin Lehner to a one year $5 million deal. The addition of Lehner was a bold move shoring up the team’s goaltending position. Corey Crawford’s concussion history was a big factor in the signing. The 2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks goaltending tandem of Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner would provide a solid one-two punch in the net.
2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks – The Season
Early on in the season, the players struggled to find consistency. In many games, they looked like potential Stanley Cup contenders, however, in others, they looked like bottom feeders of the league. This was also true during games where they would dominate their opponent and then take several shifts or even an entire period off during the game.
It was also frustrating to watch the team get overwhelmed and spend an entire shift in their own zone several times a game. Their lack of puck possession went on for what seemed like an eternity some nights. This put enormous pressure on the goalies every game. Luckily for the Blackhawks, Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner were very solid in net. If not, the team’s record would have been far worse than 5-7-3 after 15 games.
The 2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks Autopsy finds the goaltending tandem of Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner continued to provide a solid one-two punch in the net as the season wore on. They were both seasoned competitors and battled together to backstop their team while Lehner was in Chicago. They shared time in net and did incredible as their team’s defence played inconsistently in front of them.
At the midway point of the season the two goalies records were:
- Robin Lehner: Record, 12-7-4; Goals Against Average, 2.92; Save Percentage, .922
- Corey Crawford: Record, 6-11-2; Goals Against Average, 3.20; Save Percentage, .905
They continued to backstop their underperforming defence until Lehner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in February. Crawford was again the main man in goal and continued his outstanding play until the COVID-19 pandemic paused the season.
Special Teams
The Blackhawks did improve their league-worst penalty-killing unit from the previous season and were at 9th in the NHL with an 82.1% effective rate. That is a drastic improvement over being dead last in the NHL for most of last year. Unfortunately, their power-play unit was fourth from the bottom of the NHL at 15.2%. The players were still not doing the hard work needed to score power-play goals in the toughest area of the ice, the slot. Their preference was to work the perimeter and set up back door plays often making one pass too many. There needed to be a more consistent effort of getting pucks to the net. There were also far too few screens, rebounds, tip-ins, and greasy goals by the power-play unit.
Playoffs Anyone?
The Blackhawks managed to play in the NHL Qualifying Round after the NHL Pause was phased out. They played against the Edmonton Oilers and took them down in four games thanks to more outstanding play from Crawford. Unfortunately, their next opponent was the Golden Knights who beat the Blackhawks handily in five games. Losing to the Knights exposed several weaknesses with the Blackhawks’ roster. They were the bigger, stronger, better defensive team compared to the Blackhawks. After willing themselves past the Oilers with experience, they could only manage one win against Vegas that Crawford absolutely stole for them. His efforts were even more impressive considering he was recovering from COVID himself.
Chicago Blackhawks – The Future
There are several areas that need addressing for the Blackhawks. We will look at a few today in our 2019-20 Chicago Blachhawks Autopsy Report. There are a few that need immediate attention.
Time For A Change
One constant for the Blackhawks since 2010 has been their inability to successfully draft, develop, AND retain their prospects since Bowman became general manager. Now, this is usually where the “Bowman Apologists” start their tantrum in defence of Mr. Bowman. They will state that their hero has been “great at drafting” and brought three Stanley Cups in six seasons. They believe that the three Cups should be appreciated and that saying anything against their favorite genius borders on heresy. Fortunately, we are here to analyze reality for you.
Here are the numbers for Stan Bowman’s 10 drafts since taking over
- 10 1st round picks
- 14 2nd round picks
- 13 3rd round picks
That totals up to 37 picks in the first three rounds in 10 drafts. Of those 37 prospects, only four are currently producing for the Blackhawks. They are Brandon Saad (2011), Alex DeBrincat (2016), Adam Boqvist (2018), and Kirby Dach (2019). Looking at those prospects we see Saad and DeBrincat as the only two players from the 2010-17 drafts that are with the team. There were 31 prospects drafted 2010-17 and Bowman has managed to have only these two still with the Blackhawks. The rest are either producing elsewhere for NHL clubs, never made it to the NHL, or are no longer playing hockey. Yes, that includes the 2010 2nd round sensation Ludvig Rensfeldt folks. If you would like the complete analysis of Bowman’s draft history click HERE.
Accountability Time
Stan Bowman was given the helm of the Blackhawks thanks to blatant nepotism involving his father. In easier to understand terms, Bowman was given the keys to a franchise on the cusp of greatness and ran it into the ground.
Imagine if you will, a loving grandfather giving his teenage grandson the keys to a mint condition 1963 Chevy Corvette Stingray. He then tells his favorite grandson that the classic has to be maintained so that it keeps performing at a high level. Then 10 years later the grandson pulls up in front of grandpa’s house in what looks like the “Blues Mobile” from the Blue Brothers movie. A stunned grandfather looks on as his formerly favorite grandson gets out of the car and says, “sorry grandpa, I did the best that I could.” We have to imagine Bowman facing team owner Rocky Wirtz in a similar fashion this week after his team was eliminated. That being said, it is time for Stanley to go. After firing team president John McDonough this should be easy for Rocky.
Coaching Quandary
Our next topic in the 2019-20 Blackhawks Autopsy is coaching. Jeremy Colliton was put in an unenviable situation when he was hired. He became the head coach after the firing of Joel Quenneville who had issues with Stan Bowman’s rosters his last few seasons. “Coach Q” had won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks and was an institution in Chicago and the NHL. Q’s popularity with the players on the team was also well known. Colliton was put in a tough position. He had to convince the veteran leaders on the Blackhawks to buy into his style and systems despite his inexperience and replacing a widely popular figure in the city and team.
What Colliton had going for him was his ability to develop younger players while coaching in Sweden. This was the main reason Stan Bowman allegedly hired him to coach the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL. Unfortunately due to Bowman’s rash decision to fire Quenneville, Colliton was thrust into a no-win situation at the NHL level. His ability to develop younger players has not panned out as well with the Blackhawks.
Coach Colliton is still over his head and was severely outcoached in the playoffs. Assistant Coach Marc Crawford was hired to bring an experienced voice to the lockerroom. It is time to promote him to head coach or bring in another coach with NHL experience.
2019-20 Blackhawks Autopsy – Wrap Up
The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of work to do going forward. The first steps are to bring in better management and coaching. As pointed out in our 2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks Autopsy, they have nowhere to go but up. In our next piece, we will cover the roster, salary cap constraints, as well as positional issues facing the team in the off-season.
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