You already learned about Johnny Oduya’s importance to the Chicago Blackhawks run of dominance. That was all made possible because of his fellow Swedish defense partner Niklas Hjalmarsson. He might be the most underrated player to ever play for the Chicago Blackhawks. He was so good defensively that if he just put up more points he easily would have been up for Norris Trophies. He is one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL to this day so there is no doubt he was during the prime of this decade.
He and Oduya would be put out there by Joel Quenneville against some of the league’s best players. There are a lot of elite offensive players around the league and Hjalmarsson was as good as anyone at shutting them down. His pair also allowed the coaches to use the other pairs in different ways. Some other pairs might have had more of an offensive mindset added to their game and it was all made possible by Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Without Hjalmarsson, you can bet that winning as much as Chicago did during his time might not have been possible. He was the best on the team at blocking shots from the back end to make it difficult for their opponent. He was so good out there so he deserves to be recognized as one of the best Blackhawks of the 2010s.