Chicago Blackhawks: There is 1 major position of need this summer
The Chicago Blackhawks are not a very good hockey team. They fooled some people early in the 2020-21 season but they have so many flaws. It is going to take years to undo the mistakes made by Stan Bowman. However, there is one flaw that can be patched up that may put a bandaid on some of the overall problems that the team has. That would be the position of goaltender. If they can figure out how to get some help there this summer, they might be okay.
The Chicago Blackhawks have some big decisions to make over the summer.
When Corey Crawford left in free agency to ultimately retire before the season even started, the Hawks knew they were in trouble. People saw Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, and Kevin Lankinen as a disaster of a trio and they were right for the most part. Lankinen had a nice year but one out of three is not good enough.
Some people believe that Lankinen can be an organization’s number one goalie in the league and they may be right. With that said, the doubters also might be right as he came back down to earth as the 2020-21 season went along. The best course for the team would probably be to find someone who can share the net with him so he can continue to work on his craft.
If they go into next season with Collin Delia or Malcolm Subban as his backup, they are in big trouble. The free-agent market is actually loaded with goaltenders who can help Lankinen out. There are goalies like Frederik Anderson, Devan Dubnyk, Antti Raanta, and Jaroslav Halak amongst others to consider once the free agency period opens. If the Blackhawks added someone like that to the mix, they might have a very formidable duo.
Of course, having another good goaltender isn’t going to fix all of the problems. However, it can mask a lot of them. The Hawks play a system that doesn’t even slightly fit their roster but it may work if they get elite goaltending. It shouldn’t be too hard for them to recognize that but then again, it is Stan Bowman we are talking about here.
Related Story. Who should Hawks fans root for in the Stanley Cup Final?. light
Any team that is confident in their goalies is confident in themselves as a hockey team. If you are solid at that position, you have a chance to win every night. The Hawks don’t do much to help out their goaltenders lately but guys like Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner have shown that it can be done. It would be nice to see the Hawks do something about this issue going forward.