Blackhawks: Christmas wish list before we head into 2020
The Chicago Blackhawks have failed to meet expectations in 2019-20 so far. With that said, there is a reason not to give up quite yet.
Chicago Blackhawks fans are pretty lucky. They have had the luxury of seeing their team be one of the most dominant teams over the last 15 years. They were so good for such a long time. It might be a while before we see any Chicago team be that good for that long. From 2008-09 up to 2016-17, the Chicago Blackhawks made the playoff in every single season. They also made it to the Western Conference Finals five times in those years. Three of the five times saw them win the series and then go on to win the Stanley Cup.
Winning the Cup three times in six years is about as close as you can get to a dynasty with the salary cap structure the way it is. It is important to always remember how good the Blackhawks actually were during that time. With all of that said, there are still some things that Blackhawks fans are allowed to wish for this holiday season.
Stan Bowman made sure that the good years halted after the 2016-17 season by making some boneheaded moves that have seen the team fall way off. He traded great players away like Teuvo Teravainen, Phillip Danault, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Artemi Panarin, and Henri Jokiharju. Fans deserve to not see great players like this go when you can prove why they didn’t need to be gone. Stan Bowman’s work in Chicago can be best described as good, to begin with, but fell off big time. A solid wish would be that the Blackhawks move on from him after this season.
Another wish list in the eyes of Blackhawks fans should be a top-four defenseman. Stan traded away Jokiharju for a forward named Alexander Nylander. Nylander has some offensive upside but he is not what Jokiharju is becoming for the Buffalo Sabres. They also chose to select Kirby Dach at the 2019 NHL Draft instead of stud defenseman Bowen Byram. There needs to be another top-four guy brought in soon otherwise this team is going to continue to give up lots of goals.
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The last big wish might be the most important. The Blackhawks head into the Christmas breaks nine points out of a playoff position. The season isn’t even half over so there is plenty of time. If they get on a nice run they could prove some people wrong if they go on a run. They need a stretch where they win seven out of ten games and they could find themselves in the bubble position. These are all things that are somewhat realistic. Fans should be wishing for them to happen for the betterment of the team.