A realistic goal for the Blackhawks during the 2020-21 season

The Chicago Blackhawks are realistically not going to win the Stanley Cup this spring, but they might win the year in a different way.

Setting goals is important for anyone, and that includes the Chicago Blackhawks organization. While projections show that the 2020-21 season will be a rather unforgiving season for the Blackhawks, that doesn’t mean the team will not be able to secure some wins.

For me, a successful 2020-21 season would mean the Blackhawks improved their roster for the coming years. Like the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Ottawa Senators the past few years, I want to see Chicago spend time rebuilding and bringing in prospects and draft picks through trades.

While one might consider the games the team would then be playing this year to be meaningless, I disagree. Chicago will be able to use this season to let their future leaders learn on the fly and grow as players and as a unit.

Players like Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist, Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik, Ian Mitchell, and Dylan Strome are the future of this team. That group can learn a lot during the next year and can try to build their own identity.

A successful 2021 season would put the Blackhawks on a list like this next season.

The ‘Hawks need to do their best to improve their pipeline in 2021. The organization’s “win now” mentality has finally caught up to them, and there really is not anyone to blame. Chicago was on this list when they won their championships, but those championships came at a cost.

Chicago’s farm system is starting to grow, but this coming season should give the organization a chance to really invest in it more than ever before. The organization already called for a rebuild, and now it is time to see it through.

How do the Blackhawks accomplish this goal? Well, for starters, they need to let their young players run wild this season and see what they are made of, both in the NHL and the AHL. On the other hand, the organization also needs to let some of their older players on one or two-year deals take up some important ice time this season.

"The team the Blackhawks have the edge on in the central"

The Blackhawks will want to market players like Carl Soderberg or Calvin de Haan throughout the year. Putting them on the ice during big moments and trying to make sure they succeed would instantly land the organization a bigger return in any type of trade.

Goals are important, and for the Blackhawks, their main goal needs to be adding more pieces to the future of this team.