Chicago Blackhawks: 6 potential moves to get back to contention

Chicago Blackhawks fans saw their team in unfamiliar territory last season. How do they get back on track?

The Chicago Blackhawks had a rough season last year, missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade. For a few reasons, this team didn’t feel quite like they had in the past when watching them on the ice. Though the Hawks have brought home three Stanley Cups during the 9-year playoff streak, fans simply aren’t satisfied with what happened over the course of 2017-2018.

There were many problems with the roster this past season including a lack of size in the top six, lack of defensive depth and skill. Also, after Corey Crawford went down, there was a lack of competent goal-tending in general.

There is not a one-step solution to fix this roster. Maybe the one exception, in John Tavares, is a pipe dream at best for the Hawks. They simply do not have the cap space right now, or in the future, to take on that huge contract for one player.

That being said, there are plenty of legitimate options for the Hawks to explore that would make them contenders again in the upcoming season. Here is a list of six moves that would vault the Hawks back into contention next season, and hopefully for years to come.

Sign James Van Riemsdyk

One of the most overlooked reasons why the Blackhawks drastically under-performed this year is because of the absence of Marian Hossa on the top line, playing along side Jonathon Teows and Brandon Saad. Hossa was a threat to score in all areas of the ice and was able to take pressure off of Saad on the opposite wing, enabling him to find open areas on the ice. Along with his scoring ability, Hossa brought size to the top line as well, making them really hard to play against.

James Van Riemsdyk, although not as good on the defensive side of the ice as Hossa, can bring the same size, skill and physicality that Hossa brought to the top six. Riemsdyk has previously played with Patrick Kane for team USA as well so there is prior chemistry between them. In an ideal world you could bring Van Riemsdyk in and leave him at his natural left wing position and put him on the second line with Kane and Nick Schmaltz, giving that line a bigger body to avoid them getting pushed around.

The only thing that could prevent this signing from taking place is the price tag attached to Van Riemsdyk. Ideally the Blackhawks could sign him to around a 5-year deal at around $5.5-$6 million per year. To make this happen, the Hawks would have to move some pieces already on their roster to clear cap space. But, this move would be a huge improvement along the top six and give Patrick Kane another true scoring threat on his line.