Blackhawks: Who is on the ice with a minute to go?

The Chicago Blackhawks lineup is not as deep as it used to be, as seen by the current state of the team. So next season when the team finds themselves in a close game down a goal who should they put out on the ice?

Chicago is horrible in one-goal games this past season. The Blackhawks were 2-9 during one-goal games last year, and that was with Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner in net playing their best. So, next season if Chicago finds themselves in a close game down by a goal who should they have out on the ice?

The obvious answer would be Patrick Kane being double shifted throughout the entire last ten minutes of the game, however, the Blackhawks need to start giving other players the opportunities late in the game to see what they are made of and to give them a chance to learn on the fly with their development.

Here are the players I would like to see on the ice during the final two minutes of a close contest for the Blackhawks: Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, Kirby Dach, Nikita Zadorov, and Adam Boqvist.

When the time is right, go ahead and pull the goalie and put Patrick Kane on the ice, but let’s give our young players a chance to shine more so than ever next season. I truly do think next season will be a great year for the Blackhawks franchise, maybe not in the record book, but definitely in developing the next generation of star players.

The years of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook controlling hockey in Chicago is over as this next generation of star players takes over. This season will show where the Blackhawks see these prospects falling with the team, and I am excited to watch them take on bigger roles with the franchise.

The moves this offseason indicated that Chicago is ready to focus on the youth within this organization, and that is not going to stop during a close game for Chicago. Hopefully, Jeremy Colliton can turn every situation into a learning situation for the young players and deploy them as best as possible.