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Chicago Blackhawks: October brings lots of hope for the team

By Vincent Parise

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 25: Alex DeBrincat #12 of the Chicago Blackhawks gets a pat on the head from Jonathan Toews #19 after scoring an empty net goal in the third period against the New York Rangers at the United Center on October 25, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Rangers 4-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 25: Alex DeBrincat #12 of the Chicago Blackhawks gets a pat on the head from Jonathan Toews #19 after scoring an empty net goal in the third period against the New York Rangers at the United Center on October 25, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Rangers 4-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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October is finally here! Hockey is back and the Chicago Blackhawks are going into it with plenty of hope and excitement for how the season can go.

We finally made it! October is here and hockey is back! On the eve of the season, the Chicago Blackhawks have a lot to be excited about. They bolstered up their roster a little bit and will have a chance to get back into the playoffs for the first time in two seasons. If that is going to happen while playing in a strong Central Division, they are going to need a lot of things to go right but there is no reason to believe the won’t.

Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith are still there along with netminder Corey Crawford. They have all shown that they can be difference-makers, even as they start to age. Especially Kane, who is coming off of an MVP type of season. If both he and Toews can replicate what they did in 2018-19, there should be enough depth on this team to do well.

This is a big year for Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome, who are both on expiring entry-level deals and should receive nice paydays. They have both shown that they can be close to a point per game and in DeBrincat’s case, score lots of goals. These two should join forces with the likes of Toews and Kane on the power play as well, creating lots of good scoring chances.

They have a few new faces as well to be excited to see. They added Robin Lehner to back up Crawford and potentially take the weight of being a full-time starter off of his shoulders. Crawford has also had some injury issues over the past two seasons so hopefully, that is resolved as well. An old face is also a new face in the case of Andrew Shaw. He should provide a spark to this lineup both by mixing it up with the opposition and by providing some nice depth upfront. Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta, Alexander Nylander, Ryan Carpenter, Zack Smith, and Dominik Kubalik are also some notable additions that will provide good depth for this team.

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If they can provide the same level of offense as they did a year ago and keep the puck out of their own net at a much better rate this year, they should be a team that competes for the playoffs all year long. It is going to be a long season and there are lots of good teams in the mix in the Western Conference, but the Blackhawks should definitely be one of them.

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