The 2017-2018 NHL season has become a nightmare for the Chicago Blackhawks. They went from one of the top-ranked teams in the preseason to the complete and total mess that they are today. As the Blackhawks decline continues, they look old and slow against many teams, and simply unprepared for others. The Blackhawks level of play has fallen so much that many of their loyal fans are upset and distraught. Social media has become the dumping ground for the fans anger and loathing as they try to deal with the decline of their favourite team.

Chicago Blackhawks Decline Continues

Where did it all go wrong?

2017 Postseason

The Chicago Blackhawks decline actually began when they entered last year’s postseason as the top-ranked team in the Western Conference. They had romped to the best record in the conference with their usual high level of play and were looking for another run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Their opponents in the first round were the Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks had handled the Predators fairly well during the regular season and went into the opening round way overconfident.

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, nobody told the Predators they were supposed to lose the series. They completely dominated the Blackhawks in a four-game sweep. The Blackhawks were out-hustled, outworked, outhit, and outplayed by the Predators. As the Blackhawks were losing the four games, many signs pointed that there was trouble ahead for the storied franchise. Their team looked tired and slow, and also unresponsive to the Predators physical game.

2017 Off-season

After the dismal playoff performance against the Predators, General Manager Stan Bowman faced two problems. He had to deal with the annual salary cap dilemma, as well as retooling his roster to compete with teams like the Predators. With three Stanley Cups in nine seasons, Bowman was expected to pull off another off-season miracle as in past years. Unfortunately, several of the decisions are not working out very well for the team.

Issues. We’ve Got Issues

In the summer, Bowman dealt red-hot scorer Artemi Panerin to the Columbus Blue Jackets for former Blackhawk Brandon Saad and goalie Anton Forsberg. Based on the performance of the two forwards this season, Columbus should be considered the winner of this trade. Losing Patrick Kane’s favourite linemate cost the Blackhawks offensive production this season, which is something the team desperately needs.

• Artemi Panarin – 56 points = 15 goals, 31 assists
• Brandon Saad – 24 points = 13 goals, 11 assists

Bigger Issue

Bowman also traded defensemen by sending Niklas Hjalmarsson to the Arizona Coyotes for Connor Murphy. This trade dealt the biggest blow to the Blackhawks this season. Losing a warrior like Hjalmarsson severely affected the Blackhawks defence pairings. He was a shutdown specialist who blocked shots and faced the opponents top forwards every game. Connor Murphy has not been able to replace what Hjalmarsson brought each and every night. With the loss of Hjalmarsson, coach Joel Quenneville has been unable to settle on a top six set of defensemen all season. There have been 11 different defensemen play for the Blackhawks while coach Q searched for the answer. Unfortunately, he is still looking.

Free Agents

Stan Bowman added several free agents during the off-season while attempting to fill out his roster. He added role players Lance Bouma and Tommy Wingels, and he also brought back former Blackhawk Patrick Sharp. Bouma and Wingels have been solid contributors on the 4th line all year. Sadly, Sharp has been inconsistent and has not added the scoring touch as was hoped. All of them have also been in and out of the lineup as Coach Quenneville has searched for a lineup that can produce offence.

• Patrick Sharp – 14 points = 6 goals, 8 assists
• Tommy Wingles – 12 points = 7 goals, 5 assists
• Lance Bouma – 9 points = 3 goals, 6 assists

Season of Inconsistency

This season has been a roller coaster for the Blackhawks and their fans. Sadly, there have been more downs than ups as the team has struggled. The Blackhawks have lacked scoring and have been miserable in their own end as they try to defend against other teams. Their backup goalies Jeff Glass and Anton Forsberg have been overwhelmed. Both are still looking for some consistency in net during Corey Crawford’s absence. They have struggled with some soft goals, but it would really help if the team in front of them played better defence and allowed fewer shots.

• Anton Forsberg – Record of 5-10-3,  3.05 Goals Against, .907 Save %
• Jeff Glass – Record of 3-6-3, 3.31 Goals Against, .898 Save %

Some Things to Smile About

There have been some bright spots this season. Corey Crawford was having a Vezina-type season before he went down with an injury. He was near the top of the NHL in stats and provided his team solid goaltending every night before getting hurt.

Patrick Kane is again leading his team in points (53) this season. His ability to create offence every shift has been great to watch, but he cannot score every goal himself. Rookie Alex DeBrincat is another bright spot this season with his 21 goals and 37 points. Debrincat’s first season is filled with many highlights as he currently sits 3rd in the NHL rookie goal-scoring race.

Trade Deadline Ahead

As the Blackhawks sit near the bottom of the Western Conference, they will definitely be sellers instead of buyers as the Feb. 26th NHL trade deadline approaches. After nine great seasons trading draft picks away chasing after the Stanley Cup, they need to make some smart moves to bolster their faltering roster. Likely trade bait will be Tommy Wingels and Lance Bouma. Both players were “showcased” the last few games and have played well enough to be sought after by teams needing some depth.

This Is No Social Crisis

The Blackhawk fans struggle this season have been epic as they’ve been unable to deal with the sudden decline of their team. The lashing out on social media is enormous and sadly comical. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times recently vented his frustrations over the vitriol spewing on the Blackhawks Twitter feed. His rant on Twitter was an instant classic as he tried to nicely say Blackhawks fans have had three Stanley Cups in nine seasons and should stop acting so spoiled. Blackhawk fans should relish what their favourite team has accomplished and buckled up for a rough ride while they rebuild the franchise.

From Mark Lazerus on Twitter: “I don’t want to be homer-y here. This season is a disaster in many ways, but JFC, get a grip and get some perspective. You got three Cups in nine years and you HATE these guys. What the hell kind of fan are you?”

Reality Check

The current Blackhawk fans in crisis should count their blessings as they could be watching one of the Blackhawks teams from the “dead puck” era when playoffs were missed all the time in Chicago. Who can forget those dominant teams in the late 1990’s coached by the likes of Alpo Suhonen, Lorne Molleken, or the ever-popular Bob Pulford. Unfortunately, back then the fans would be watching only the road games as the home games were not televised. Dark, dark times to be a Blackhawks fan.

Chicago Blackhawks Decline and The Road Ahead

Depending on what the Blackhawks do with trades at the deadline, they should hopefully pick up some much-needed draft picks. At some point, the Blackhawks will also need to deal with their ageing core player group and their large contracts with no trade or limited trade clauses. That is another off-season issue that needs to be handled soon if they hope to compete for another Stanley Cup soon. In the meantime, sit back, watch the show, and keep up with Twitter for the laughs.

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