{"id":34657,"date":"2018-08-24T10:53:36","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T14:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=34657"},"modified":"2018-08-24T10:53:36","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T14:53:36","slug":"chicago-blackhawks-summer-of-uncertainty-part-two-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/08\/24\/chicago-blackhawks-summer-of-uncertainty-part-two-defence\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Blackhawks\u00a0Summer of Uncertainty Part Two – Defence"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> defence was a problem much of last season, especially after Corey Crawford<\/a><\/strong> went down<\/a> with an injury in December. Crawford’s level of play before his injury made up for most of the defence’s shortcomings. Once Crawford was lost for the season, that exposed the Blackhawks defence as\u00a0being very poor at times.<\/p>\n

Chicago Blackhawks Defence<\/h2>\n

In Part Two of the “Chicago Blackhawks Summer of Uncertainty” series we will look at what happened last season\u00a0and\u00a0what the\u00a0Blackhawks did to improve their defence going forward. We’ll also focus on the lack of NHL ready defencemen that have been\u00a0drafted\u00a0by current Blackhawk general manager Stan Bowman<\/strong> since 2010. This is one aspect that has left the Blackhawks short on defensive talent as they’ve dealt away several quality defencemen due to salary cap issues over the years.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks Defence 2017-18<\/h3>\n

The Blackhawks fell out of playoff contention<\/a> as the season went on last year. The defence corps consisted mainly of Duncan Keith<\/a><\/strong>, Brent Seabrook<\/a><\/strong>, Connor Murphy<\/a><\/strong>, Jan\u00a0Rutta<\/a><\/strong>, Gustav\u00a0Forsling<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Jordan\u00a0Oesterle<\/a><\/strong>, Michal\u00a0Kempny<\/a><\/strong>, and Erik Gustafsson<\/a><\/strong>. They were a very raw defence group with only Seabrook and Keith having veteran experience. This lack of experience showed as the goaltenders faced an onslaught of prime shots night after night.<\/p>\n

In Part One<\/a> of “Chicago Blackhawks Summer of Uncertainty” series we looked at the goalies who replaced Crawford last year. They were reliable backups\u00a0thrown\u00a0to the wolves once Crawford went down. Unfortunately, they could not\u00a0provide\u00a0the team\u00a0Vezina\u00a0quality goaltending like Crawford, which led to many disappointing nights as\u00a0the\u00a0team fell from playoff contention early in the spring.<\/p>\n

Blackhawk Defence Moves<\/h2>\n

As their season spiralled out of control, the Blackhawks traded<\/a> Kempny\u00a0to\u00a0the Washington Capitals<\/a> in February. The Blackhawks acquired a third-round draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Shortly after\u00a0Kempny was traded, Stan Bowman locked up<\/a> his six starting defensemen for the upcoming season. He signed Jan\u00a0Rutta\u00a0and Erik Gustafsson<\/a> to extensions in April. These signings were questionable after watching the same defence struggle so badly last season.<\/p>\n

NHL Draft & Free Agency<\/h3>\n

With the 8th and 27th overall picks, hopes were high that the Blackhawks would draft a defenseman with size who could start in the NHL\u00a0sooner than\u00a0later. Stan Bowman chose to stick to his usual defence mould and drafted<\/a> Adam\u00a0Boqvist<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and Nicolas\u00a0Beaudin<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in the first round. Both of the highly touted prospects are mobile puck-moving defencemen but lack size. Despite the Blackhawks overall draft being given high marks<\/a>, free agency was the next chance to improve the defence for next season.<\/p>\n

On July 1st, the Blackhawks made three free agent signings. They signed<\/a> Cam Ward<\/a><\/strong>, Chris\u00a0Kunitz<\/a><\/strong>, and Brandon Manning<\/a><\/strong> setting off an uproar on social media<\/a>. These lack-lustre signings by the Blackhawks dismayed many fans who unleashed\u00a0a torrent of\u00a0venom against the direction taken by their favourite team. The addition of Manning did not impress anyone expecting serious improvement on defence next season.<\/p>\n

Another defence move by Stan Bowman was to trade<\/a> Jordan\u00a0Oesterle<\/a><\/strong> to the Arizona Coyotes<\/a> as part of the Marian\u00a0Hossa<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0salary dump. The move\u00a0was welcomed\u00a0due to the salary cap relief, but losing forward Vinnie\u00a0Hinostroza<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in the deal is a risk. The Blackhawks now have $5.495 million in cap space for the upcoming season per CapFriendly.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Blackhawks Defence 2018-19<\/h3>\n

The current defence lineup, set to play next season includes Duncan Keith<\/a><\/strong>, Brent Seabrook<\/a><\/strong>, Connor Murphy<\/a><\/strong>, Brandon Manning<\/a><\/strong>, Jan\u00a0Rutta<\/strong><\/a>, and Erik Gustafsson<\/a><\/strong>. The Blackhawks also have highly touted Henri\u00a0Jokiharju<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in the minors as well as Gustav\u00a0Forsling<\/a><\/strong>, Blake Hillman<\/a><\/strong>, and Carl Dahlstrom<\/a><\/strong>. This defence corps is raw and unproven. This leaves many wondering what Bowman’s plans are for the future as Keith and Seabrook continue to age.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks Defence Decline<\/h2>\n

Since the last Stanley Cup in 2015, the Blackhawks defence has been in decline. After the 2015 season, they let Johnny\u00a0Oduya<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0leave as a free agent. After the 2017 season, they traded<\/a> Niklas\u00a0Hjalmarsson<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and Trevor van\u00a0Riemsdyk<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0as part of the expansion draft\/salary cap dilemma facing the team. Another large part of the decline is that both Duncan Keith<\/a><\/strong> (35) and Brent Seabrook<\/a><\/strong> (33) are getting older. This past season was a warning sign to the Blackhawks that these two warriors\u00a0may not be\u00a0able to carry the load\u00a0much longer.<\/p>\n

The next obvious question is where are their replacements over the past few seasons? Stan Bowman has called the shots on Blackhawk drafts since 2010. Unfortunately for Blackhawk fans, Bowman’s record in drafting defencemen since 2010 leaves a lot to be\u00a0desired. In draft years 2010-2014, Stan Bowman drafted 14 defencemen in total. You would think that at least one or two of Bowman’s draft picks on defence would be\u00a0currently\u00a0contributing for the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, only one of Bowman defence picks is currently playing at the NHL level. This is Stephen Johns<\/a><\/strong>, who now plays for the Dallas Stars<\/a>. Bowman ended up traded Johns to the Stars along with Patrick Sharp<\/a><\/strong> after the 2014-15 season.<\/p>\n

2010-14 Blackhawk Defence Draft Picks<\/h2>\n

(Click on each player’s names to see their career stats)<\/p>\n

2010<\/h3>\n