Chicago Blackhawks Roundtable: Bye Weeks And Stretch Running

An important time is coming up for the Chicago Blackhawks — after the important off time they’re currently engaged in

We don’t have any game action to talk about until the end of this week when it comes to the Chicago Blackhawks. Good thing we have items like our weekly roundtable the fill the void the Blackhawks are currently leaving in our hearts.

Of course, they didn’t decide to not play for most of the week — though I doubt most of them mind. The NHL’s new bye week idea has hit the Blackhawks this week, constituting a mandatory five-day break.

The Blackhawks defeated the Edmonton Oilers last Saturday and will not compete again until they host the Oilers this upcoming Saturday. It’s a good time to get some rest, unless you got sent to the AHL yesterday.

After the bye week ends, though, the Blackhawks will be in a critical part of their regular season. Granted, they’re fairly well locked in to their No. 2 spot in the Central Division, but it’s never bad to pile up points and continue playing well as you get closer to the postseason.

So today, we’re looking at both of these topics: the bye week and the stretch run. Here were the two official questions for today’s Chicago Blackhawks roundtable:

Question 1: Do you think the bye week is a good idea for the NHL, and why or why not?

Question 2: Which member of the Blackhawks’ core do you think needs to perform the best for the Blackhawks to succeed down the stretch?

Let’s see what our esteemed panel of Blackhawks and hockey experts had to say on these matters.