Chicago Blackhawks: Was selling at the deadline a mistake?

The Chicago Blackhawks were sellers at the trade deadline. Now, looking back, was that decision a mistake as a franchise?

The Chicago Blackhawks had a very bad weekend. They were defeated by the putrid Detroit Red Wings on Friday night before being blanked by the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night. It was a weekend that saw plenty of opportunities go by. Now, a good amount of points out of the playoffs, it is looking bleak to make something of this up and down season.

So that will, of course, make anyone wonder what went wrong. Was it a mistake to be sellers at the Trade Deadline this year? The two big names that were sent packing were Robin Lehner and Erik Gustafsson. Lehner went to the Vegas Golden Knights while Gustafsson was sent off the Calgary Flames. There might be people who see that as a mistake but it clearly wasn’t.

Gustafsson was not a guy who moved the needle. A lot of people were obsessed with how many points he had in 2018-19 but all in all,  he wasn’t that good with the Blackhawks. He was a mess in his own zone so if he wasn’t scoring then he didn’t provide much to a winning hockey team. Lehner is an elite goalie but he wasn’t able to mask the actual issues with this team.

Corey Crawford has also made every start since Lehner was traded to Vegas and he has been very good in those games. Goaltending hasn’t been the problem for this team in the two losses. Crawford gave up only two goals in each of the two losses. It has been a good run for him individually but the team hasn’t been able to get it done for him.

If they never were sellers at the deadline, they still would be the inconsistent team that they are.  It is probably a good thing that they sold off the unrestricted free agents that they don’t think they will be able to retain once the season is over. The Blackhawks have one last chance to start a hot streak against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.