When to expect the Chicago Blackhawks making the Stanley Cup Playoffs again

The Chicago Blackhawks are in the middle of a Stanley Cup playoff drought. Ever since being swept out by the Nashville Predators in their 2017 first-round playoff series, the Blackhawks have made the postseason just once.

That was only because the NHL had an expanded playoff in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goalie Corey Crawford played brilliantly to help the Hawks win their play-in series over Edmonton. Still, that Blackhawks team was not good enough to make a postseason run and was disposed of quickly by the Vegas Knights.

Outside of the pandemic year, the Chicago Blackhawks have now missed out on playing in one of the best playoffs tournaments four times.

Despite the missed time, the Blackhawks are still ranked in the top-5 of the most playoff series wins over the last 16 years.

This year’s playoff run has been frustrating to watch as many former Blackhawks are thriving.

Instead of cheering on the actual Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs, Hawks fans were forced to cheer for the Minnesota Wild to get into the Western Conference Finals. They failed and now the Blackhawks come away from the Marc Andre-Fleury trade with a second-round pick instead of a first had the Wild advanced that far.

Hawks fans now need the Oilers to make the Stanley Cup Finals. If that happens, the Chicago Blackhawks get a second-round pick as part of the Duncan Keith trade–and also a chance to see the Hawks legend get a chance at a fourth Stanley Cup.

From 2009-2017, this used to be a time Hawks fans watched glorious moments on the way toward winning three Stanley Cups. Sure, there were heartbreaking exits in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014 but it was still fun to watch the Hawks compete for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Poor personal decisions by previous general manager Stan Bowman and a decline in production to the Hawks’ Stanely Cup core have led to this playoff hiatus.

New general manager Kyle Davidson is overseeing a full-out rebuild the Blackhawks should have done five years ago. He plans on not making the same mistakes his previous boss did.

A rebuild is desperately needed but maybe looking at the four remaining teams in the playoff is how long can Blackhawks fans can expect to wait before Chicago is back in the playoffs.

Edmonton Oilers

• Current postseason streak: 3
• Longest playoff drought before contention:  2007-2016 and then missed playoffs in 2018 and 2019
• Biggest moves that got them moving towards playoff contention: Drafting Connor McDavid first overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and hiring Ken Holland as general manager in 2019.

Colorado Avalanche

• Current postseason streak: 5
• Longest playoff drought before contention: 2011-2013 and 2015-2017 when they were real bad.
• Biggest moves that got them moving towards playoff contention:  Drafting Nathan MacKinnon first overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and hiring Joe Sakic as general manager in 2014.

New York Rangers

• Current postseason streak: 1 (but they have made the postseason 13 times since 2006)
• Longest playoff drought before contention: Missed postseason in 2018, 2019, and 2021.
• Biggest move that got them moving towards playoff contention: Naming Igor Shesterki starting goalie.

Tampa Bay Lightning

• Current postseason streak: 5 and they have won the last two Stanley Cups.
• Longest playoff drought before contention: 2008-2010 (and they were also bad in 2012-2013)
• Biggest moves that got them moving towards contention: They followed this plan and drafted really well.

Rebuilds can last two to three seasons or almost 10 years depending on well the plan is executed. One thing these teams have in common is they drafted their cornerstones players and developed them properly.

Drafting and patient development is something Davidson hopes to do in this rebuild. That is something previous leadership did not do and that is why the Blackhawks have missed the playoffs all these years.