Chicago Blackhawks’ Trevor van Riemdsyk Needs Role Scaled Back

The Chicago Blackhawks defense is still a group trying to find its identity, but we can safely say we know what Trevor van Riemsdyk brings to the table

Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville won’t be reading this blog anytime soon, but I think it’s important we underscore just how bad Blackhawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk really is.

There’s no sugarcoating this. I’m jumping straight into it. No extended intro to tease to the point. TVR is really not a good NHL defenseman, and it’s hurting the Chicago Blackhawks.

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In last night’s 4-3 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild, TVR was obliterated in possession stats. He posted a Corsi-for of 32.56 percent. Broken down, it means TVR was on the ice for 29 of Minnesota’s shots on goal, missed shots or shot attempts that were blocked, compared to 14 such Blackhawks chances he was on the ice for.

It was just the latest negative performance for TVR in a season full of them. Just think, he started the season posting a 19.23 Corsi-for mark against a St. Louis team that could miss the postseason entirely.

TVR had a nice little stretch in December when he came back from an early-season injury. You can actually see that reflected in the Corsi-for marks he posted, as between Dec. 11 and Dec. 30, he carried possession at 50 percent or better in eight of 10 games.

But things have gone straight downhill since then. Let’s take a closer look at this conundrum and see what the Blackhawks can do to work around it.